2016: Do it Afraid.

In 2015, Erik and I attended Jeff Goins’s TRIBE conference in Nashville for writers and bloggers. The conference was designed to help people like us–writers trying to make a living by writing professionally about what we love. The two-day event was jam-packed FULL of professional speakers, writers, bloggers, copywriters, editors, even photographers–all to tell us how to hone in our craft and turn our habits into a full-time pursuit. And other than being insanely successful, these speaker/writers all had one thing in common:

They all pursued their journey “afraid.”

Now before I start, I have to give full credit to Christine Niles who got up on the Tribe stage, day two, and in big bold letters on her presentation told us all, DO IT AFRAID. What did she mean by this? She was telling us all to go out there into the world and just write. Blog. Do what we love and who cares if we’re afraid! Do we have to be perfect? Do we have to please everyone? Will we learn from our mistakes? Of course! Just because we’re scared it doesn’t mean we can’t pursue our dreams, right?! And wouldn’t you tell someone the same thing?

Do you have a dream? A 2016 goal? And are you scared?

Would your goals even be worth it if you weren’t at least a little terrified? I think sometimes the bigger the goal, the scarier it becomes–especially when the goal gets nearer and nearer to reality. Dreaming is one thing…but taking action on your dreams, now that can be a scary thing!

For many, changing your health in 2016 might be a goal. Where do you fit in this year?

Lose weight
Make over your kitchen
Start a fitness routine/join a gym or fitness class
Learn how to food prep
Gain 10 pounds of muscle
Learn how to lift weights without being scared of the weight room
Compete in an athletic event
Shop local and organic
Overcoming a disease
Stop over- or under eating
Other

Would you laugh at me if I said that these goals weren’t a tad bit scary? I remember when I saw a photo of myself that jolted my world. I knew I needed to change my health and considering I saw said photo in December, I knew January was a great time to start my health and fitness makeover. I didn’t know what I was doing all those years ago, so that’s how I ended up with a passion for writing about this journey–trying and not being afraid to fail several times.

The thing is, we’re all scared.

I still have bad days and bad weeks. I still have to pep talk myself sometimes and say, “Hey–the holiday is over, get back to the gym.” Or “Calories really do count on your birthday–and your birthday doesn’t last all week.” 😉 And I still see photos that sometimes make me cringe. “Must have been relaxing a bit on the macros this winter season…time to step up my game.”

It’s really tough to stay on top of all things healthy sometimes. Especially when you’re a foodie who loves life, holiday parties, family celebrations, reds, whites, and local craft brews.

Making the healthier food choice isn’t always easy. Having one glass instead of two isn’t necessarily fun. Making sure you reach 120 ounces of water daily is sometimes annoying. Not skipping the gym on Monday…dear Lord that’s just dedication.

But none of it is necessarily easy. It’s choice. And choice will easily turn into habit after a few weeks of making the right choices. And once you have formed habits–good habits–they’re incredibly hard to break.

So yeah. Having one cookie instead of three, skipping dessert and opting for extra fruit, going on a long walk while everyone else sleeps in….they’re all healthy habits that just stem from making the right choices a few times. I may cringe on Monday and say, “Oh man, I really need to get to the gym today…” but in years past? For the bulk of my life, I didn’t even have a gym membership or know how to exercise at all!

Progress is progress and we commit ourselves to a life of success by starting small: Making one choice that leads to two. Experimenting with foods, gyms, workout routines, recipes. Ditching what we don’t like, keeping what we do. Forming habits. Loving kickboxing class. Buying our favorite protein shakes.

Before you know it, you’re giving someone else advice on how to do tricep push-downs and what to eat post-workout. And where did you first start? Afraid. That’s where you started, where we all started: afraid.

Go get ’em 2016. Whether you’re scared or not, set your goals, and then just go and get ’em. We’re all behind you; your support system is right here.