365 Days

365 days.

That’s how long you’ve been waiting.

You said 2019 would be your year, but you waited.

You waited until tomorrow. But tomorrow turned into next week, next week into next month. And next month is now next year.

It’s been going on much longer than that; probably your entire life.

You said you had a goal, but how seriously did you take it?

Did you make the time? Did you prioritize?

Or, did you bullshit?

Did you lie to yourself?

I don’t have the time.

I don’t have the money.

RELATED: Jeff Guller's 2019 in Review

It will be better when….

The lies piled up, and you got worse.

Now, you’re here.

365 days later, maybe you’re even worse than you were a year ago.

You’re unhappy with your eating, your sleep, your job, and your fitness. You said you were going to change it all. But it never happened.

Why not?

Is it the moon? The sun? The ocean? Your spouse? The Chinese New Year? The new baby? The wedding?

It’s because of YOU.

That’s the only reason why.

 Ivelin Radkov  © 123rf.com

Yeah, I know, you’re busy. But here’s the thing…everyone is busy. And even if you’re really as busy as you say you are, I know you have fifteen minutes somewhere. Odds are, you have more than that, but if that’s what you say ya got, well, then, fifteen minutes is what you’ll have to dedicate to your fitness every day. That’s better than nothing.

You want to change? You want to say “New year, new me” and all that? Then you need to be honest with yourself.

Stop lying and convincing yourself of all of these same excuses. None of them is true.

Take a long, hard look in the mirror. That’s who’s responsible for your failures.

That’s also who’s responsible for all of your success.

That’s who’s responsible.

Period.

The president, the government, and your spouse have nothing to do with your choices.

You are the reason why you’ve succeeded or why you’ve failed.

Own up to that. That’s Step One.

Step Two: Have a specific goal.

If you say, “I want to lose weight this year,” you’ve already failed.

You must be as specific as possible.

“I will lose 35 pounds by December 1^st, 2020” is more like it. The more specific, the better.

Your goal must have a specific start and end date if you’re going to achieve it. The goal must also be measurable so that you can track your progress and see how you’re doing.

Once you figure out your goal, write that shit down, and read it every single day.

If you don’t know exactly what you want, and remind yourself of it daily, then you won’t be clear on how to achieve it—or remember what you want to achieve in the first place.

Step Three: Create a detailed plan.

When will you train? How many days per week? For how long? What does your training routine look like?

What time will you go to sleep? What time will you wake up?

What will your diet look like? When will you food shop? When will you cook? How will you deal with work, events, parties, etc?

Don’t let every small detail overwhelm you, but it’s extremely important to be clear on these things.

The plan must be detailed, but keep it extremely simple. There’s no need to overcomplicate.

And if the plan isn’t working for you, don’t hesitate to change it. Be cool with that because sometimes you don’t see the problem with your plan until you’re in it.

You know the old cliché. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Create a plan.

Step Four: Work your f*cking ass off.

There are no shortcuts.

No magic diets.

No magic programs.

Unrelenting hard work, commitment, and discipline are what it will take.

There will certainly be ups and downs, but remember the big picture goal. Don’t look to crash dieting and unsustainable behaviors. All that will do is create an unhealthy, short-term change that won’t last more than a few months.

Look to change the behaviors that have led you here in the first place. What choices and actions do you repeatedly make that are misaligned with the outcome you ultimately want?

You have to look deep into your life and make note of what really needs to change. Then, work on changing those behaviors every day. That will require you to write these things down and read them over and over, because it’s very easy to forget this stuff after a few days and revert back to your old ways.

But you must take ownership.

This isn’t only about fitness.

The same four steps can and should be applied to every area of your life.

Relationship not going so great? See above.

Hate your job? See above.

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Not happy with where your life is headed? Disappointed with who you’ve become? You can change everything.

2020 can be the best year of your life. It can include incredible transformation inside and out. But just because some ball drops, that doesn’t mean everything will magically be different.

If you want a different result, then YOU are going to have to change.

Because YOU can change ANYTHING you want about your life. But it doesn’t just happen with the same old routine and habits.

The bad habits must be replaced with good ones.

Figure out exactly what those bad habits are, and then, determine what good habits will work for YOU.

It’s time to man up.

It’s time to put on your hard hat and go to work.

It’s time to achieve your full potential and stop holding yourself back.

But it’s up to you and you only.

That doesn’t mean you won’t need help. I highly recommend that you seek out the experts in whatever it is you want to change and have them help you to get there.

But we can’t do the work for you.

Only you can do that.

And that starts right f*cking now.

So, Happy New Year.

It’s time to go to work.

Be safe today and always. Here’s to making 2020 the best year of your life.