Dress: NY & Company // Shoes: Similar // Jacket: Similar // Bag: Similar

Hi, Friends and Sleevenistas! First, let me talk real quick about the dress.  It’s lovely, right?  Plaid is such a classic print that’s perfect for work, and this dress is a great length for the office.  And bonus! The belt I’m wearing comes with the dress!  It’s also on sale for 40% off $45 (I did not feel like doing this math, but it’s a great deal!).  I highly recommend.  So, on to my tips for getting back on track with your 2019 goals.

Can you believe January is almost over?! If you are anything like me, then you’ve made new year resolutions or set goals for the new year. I think it’s a good idea to periodically review your goals and get back on track if you’ve strayed off course.  For me, I’ve set certain goals for myself this year, NONE of which I’ve begun actively working on.  Well, that’s not true.  I wanted to be more consistent with the blog, and I’m doing that.  So, yay me!  But some of the other goals have fallen by the wayside.  I’m writing this post for both you and me to encourage us to get back on track with our 2019 goals and not let months pass by without making any progress!  Like George Eliot said, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

1. Remind yourself of your WHY – The biggest thing you can do to encourage yourself along the journey is to remind yourself of why you decided to make those goals in the first place.  What are you trying to accomplish?  Are you trying to get your finances in order?  Maybe your why is that you want to create wealth or stop living paycheck to paycheck.  Maybe you want to change your family tree and create a life for your children that you didn’t have.  You can do this no matter what your goals are.  You have to keep reminding yourself of what your life looks like at the end of this journey, then work to get there.
2. Forgive yourself – You aren’t going to be able to go from zero to one hundred real quick (hehe), i.e. without a little bit of struggle.  Often, getting to where you want to go takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice.  You are a human being, so you are not perfect.  Don’t beat yourself up for getting off track.  That’s what the road to success looks like! It’s a lot of ups and downs and is often all over the place.  So, forgive yourself and move forward!
3. Start small and build up –  Let me use myself as an example.  One of the things I said for this new year was that I wanted it to be the year of the routine. I want to get to a place where I can just be on autopilot when it comes to certain things that are good for me, like eating right and working out.  As another example, I tend to get very lazy when it comes to skincare, especially in the evenings. So, I decided that to combat this, I would do everything I need to do once I get home, instead of waiting until I’m about to go to sleep.  Have I done it yet this year?  No.  Because when I get home, I’m tired! or hungry!  So, ok. Referring back to tip 2, I will forgive myself then start a new plan.  Instead of trying to be perfect, I’m going to make some baby steps towards this goal. Maybe I won’t do my entire skincare routine at first.  Maybe I’ll just wash my face every night, then later build to using all the serums, creams, etc.  Other examples – Maybe I won’t pay off as much debt this month as I planned, but I can still pay off some, then readjust next month and pay off more.  Maybe I won’t go to the SoulCycle 4 times a week, but I’ll go 2.  But the key is that I’ve gotta build on this!  I can’t just stay doing things halfway.  Starting small will get me in the habit, then I can increase as the days and weeks go by.
4. Adjust your goals, if necessary – This is perhaps a spinoff of Tip 3. If your goals are starting to look unrealistic, adjust them, then work your way up to the original goal, if necessary.  Maybe the plan of working out seven days a week was setting yourself up for failure.  So, adjust it to 3 days a week and stick to that for awhile.
5. Keep your list short – This is similar to Tip 3.   At the beginning of the year, I have a tendency to want to change everything all at once.  I want to work on my finances, my fitness goals, my skincare needs, my health, my relationship with God, and the list goes on and on.  And I want everything right now!  And a lot of these things take daily habits in order to become successful.  Habits that I don’t currently have. lol.  So, yes, I have a million goals.  But maybe this week, I just work on one.
6. Don’t compare your progress to that of others – It’s impossible to know what someone else is dealing with.  You can’t even make an honest comparison.  You never know what people have struggled through or what they needed to work through to get to where they are.  You are your own person and you have your own path.  Focus on where you are trying to go and don’t worry about what other people are doing.

Do any of you have tips for getting back on track? Have a great week, and thanks so much for reading!

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Photographer: Jerren Willis Photography