Happy New Year Strong Figure Community!

How was your holiday, strong figures? Did you eat a lot of yummy foods? Celebrate with loved ones? Get a lot of presents or go anywhere special? (I’m pretty sure I did ALL of the above.) 

I have not written a blog post since the beginning of December and I hardly know where to start. Erik and I have been “vacationing” at his parents’ house (it’s been a wonderful vacation for us–not so sure his parents would agree with our mess and constant lounging on their sofa–haha) and we have really enjoyed this time with his family.

We’ve celebrated Erik’s mom’s birthday, Christmas, his brother’s wedding, and the new year…among so many other nights out, game nights in, and various days of shopping, wine drinking, and singing “Let It Go” one time too many. And lying ahead of us is even more celebrating: Christmas with my family and friends, a murder mystery game night, and well, just lots of fun in my future. 2015 is already looking to be a great year.

And that brings me to resolutions. Who’s making a resolution this year? I think last year I made ten. Not even kidding. I love setting goals. Guess how many of those resolutions I stuck to? I couldn’t even tell you because I have no idea what they were. I set way too many goals for myself–constantly. When trying really hard to be a successful business person, you learn a lot about yourself and in 2014, I learned that I’m not a good business person because I have too many goals and ideas, I don’t focus well on one task at a time, and I don’t really prioritize the “right” things.

But I also learned in 2014 that I have a FANTASTIC business partner: Erik. Erik spent more time in 2014 actually learning how to run a successful business so that we can take what seems to be a million ideas that we have and really do something big.

So in 2015, we’re not making resolutions. Instead, I’m following Erik’s lead and I’m coming up with three words that I want to be the focus of my life this year. Why three? Read Erik’s post on how he came up with this idea, why it’s better than a resolution, and what his three words are. Once you read Erik’s words, come back and read mine because mine will make more sense after you read the background on where these words come from.

PRIDE

My first word for 2015 is “Pride.” I chose this word because this word is supposed to be about “me” and pride is something I really wish I had more of. Like many women, I am my absolute worst critic. I spend too much time looking in the mirror and tearing down my body instead of enjoying my accomplishments or being happy with what I have. I compare myself to too many women, and I feel depressed when I don’t look a certain way some days. Working in the fitness world is hard sometimes and it’s really easy to feel down when all you see in social media are perfect bodies, perfect meals, and perfect lifts. Several times, I’ve thought to myself, “If I didn’t have Strong Figure, I’d give up social media.” In fact, I haven’t even been on my StrongFigure Instagram since mid-December. I’ve been posting fun crafts and wedding pics on my personal IG instead. And though I’ve checked in on Facebook here and there, I’ve not been on it much. I feel like I’ve actually taken a vacay from media in many ways. And while that’s nice, it’s NOT why I got into fitness, and it’s NOT how I envision helping others. So that’s why this year I really want to take more PRIDE in myself, what I do, what I write, and how I feel. I want to take more pride in my body–good days and bad–and take pride in NOT comparing myself to every female I know or see on social media. It’s really easy to get wrapped up in the “what you should be like,” instead of appreciating myself, my strengths, and my abilities. And that’s why this year, I am going to be a bit more proud of myself.

I read this post on Facebook early this morning and thought it was very fitting for my first word. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out. A woman writes about what her husband really thinks of her. It’s great. I think we all could benefit more if we looked at ourselves through the eyes of others.

TIME

My second word for 2015 is “Time” and this reflects my word for my loved ones. As said above, I tend to spend a LOT of time working, writing/blogging, coaching, and workout out. There have been times in the past where I have woken up at 5:30am to teach a class, teach another at 8, do a quick workout at 9, get to work by 10:30, workout or coach or blog at 6p, and then get home or settled down by 8 or 8:30pm. Dinner would follow at 9 and I’d be in bed by 11 to get up and do the same thing over. I’m tired. I want to spend more time with my friends and family. I want to worry less about the too-many priorities that I tend to take on, and I want to start relaxing more with the people I care about. In November of 2014 when I took a break from lifting in order to fix some injuries, I realized that I had a lot to give back to people. I hung out with friends more, I made Erik more dinners, and realized I have a lot more interests and hobbies than just lifting weights. I think in 2015 I would love to spend more time at home, with friends, with family, and especially with Erik. I know it sounds a little cheesy and even sappy, but life is short, and I need to prioritize my time.

FOCUS

My last word for 2015 could be my most important because I think that if done well, my “time” and my “pride” will benefit from my focus. My “focus” for 2015 is about business and finances. I said several times already that I tend to have too many goals and never really focus on the most important ones. Between Erik and myself, we consistently come up with “cool ideas.” Heck, he has four fledgling websites that he is working to begin promoting in 2015. We are always working on something. Our Strong Figure Makeover eBook is another project about 80% completed that we hope to publish very very soon. And we’re in the middle of making over the actual Strong Figure site itself. We have plans to build our business income, and at some point in my future, I want to make it my priority to be a “work-from-home, full time writer.” So I have a LOT to focus on. This has forced me to rethink a lot on my priorities in life. I might go to the gym three or four days a week instead of six or seven, and I may work out for an hour instead of two. I will work harder and shop less so that Erik and I can pay off our debt and one day be able to get married, buy a house, and start a family–debt free. I will prioritize all my ideas–with the help of my savvy business partner–so that I can work on what’s most important for my future and my career instead of making ten “to-do” lists and then working on social media instead. So my biggest word, “focus,” might be the one word–that if I can follow–I might be able to change a lot about my life–not just for the good, but for the great.

Here’s a post from “Elite Daily” about 15 things we need to STOP doing in 2015. Most of them reflect a combination of my three words. I love this post. 

I want you to think about what your three words for 2015 might be. The first one must be about YOU, the second about your loved ones, and the third about your business/finances. Please tell me in the comments section below what your words are and if you choose to, tell us why! 

More about Strong Figure and 2015

Erik and I have been working hard on making Strong Figure bigger and better. If our site looks different to you…it should! Erik upgraded our CSS and our site looks way better now on your mobile devices. We’ve also simplified the site. Our menu includes our manifesto, our blog, contact info, our shop, and our awesome ambassadors. You can find all our posts under the blog, but you can also find them by the drop down “Categories” menu found toward the bottom of the page. There are still a lot of “technical issues” that we’re working through, so we appreciate your patience until we’re fully “up and running” again. And if you notice any technical issues, shoot us an email.

Some of the changes you’ll see…

In order to have more “Time” in my life, I’ll be devoting much of my Sundays to Strong Figure. My goal is to give you everything you need for the week by Monday morning. That means three “Strong Figure Conditioning Workouts” just like normal, along with any other blogging/recipes/info from me. We’re hoping to bring you at least two big features each month, and we’re NOT looking to clog your inbox. So keep your eyes open MONDAY MORNINGS! 

We’re also in the process of switching over to how people subscribe to our site. We’ll be using a different company that should help us out with our mailings, subscribers, etc. It’s a complicated process (thanks Erik for tackling this), and there is a chance you all may have to re-subscribe to the site. So PLEASE, pretty please keep your eyes out for that post when we ask that you re-subscribe. We really don’t want to leave you out of this STRONG community!

Last, a big Strong Figure goal for 2015 is to give YOU more of what YOU need. We’ll be sending out surveys within the next month or so either via email or Facebook in order to collect some important information from you. Please let us know what YOU want to read/learn more about. My goal for Strong Figure is to help others and I can’t help you unless I know what you want!

Speaking of “what you might want,” keep your eyes open for our next eBook in which we are designing for those who are brand new to healthy lifestyles and fitness. Many of our ambassadors and their success stories/tips/advice will be featured in this book. It’s built for those who want to start their journey–just like us!–but don’t know how. We’re hoping to publish by the end of January!

Don’t forget, I’ll be sending out your new Strong Figure Conditioning Workouts Monday mornings. And until then, think about your three important words for 2015, and let us know what they are below!!