Have you been looking to turn things around and get your swagger back in 2018? You can no matter what time of year it is! People seem to let the calendar mess them up when it comes to making changes in their lives, but the truth is you don’t have to wait until the New Year to become a “new you” or until spring to decide to “spring forward” in your life. Creating a solid foundation, no matter the time of year, is a good place to start.
Stop focusing on the calendar and start focusing on yourself and what you want to be doing to set a foundation in your life that you can build your dreams on. Here are three things you can do that will help you lay that foundation. First, go see a doctor. Second, go see a therapist. Third, remix your to-do list.
Health Is Wealth
The first thing to do in order to set up a solid foundation in your life is go see a doctor. Why haven’t you seen a doctor in a while? Everybody gets wrapped up in life, but your health needs to be a priority. Creating and succeeding with your goals ain’t gonna happen if you’re not healthy.
“The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he [or she] is sick.” -P. T. Barnum
So go see a doctor (and dentist and eye doctor too) for an annual check-up. You wouldn’t put brand new tires on a car if the transmission was failing. The tires would do you absolutely no good. The same goes with your body. Nothing you try to do is going to work if your health isn’t up to par. Go see a doctor to make sure your engine is running smoothly and you’re healthy enough to make your goals a reality.
Don’t Only Call Your Mom
Now it’s time to help your Mama and them (Dad, siblings, best friend, neighbors, coworkers, pastor, bartender, hairdresser, barber, and basically everyone in your life) out by helping yourself to some professional support. It can be in addition to all those folks I mentioned. This is the next thing you get to do to lay a foundation in your life for success.
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” -Buddhist Teaching
There is a stigma that exists about going to see a therapist. People believe that if you go and see a therapist you’re either rich, weak, crazy, or all three. That you don’t have a good family support system and you must be in a “bad” place in your life. In all reality you don’t have to be any of those things in order to go see a therapist, you can go just because you’re human. The journey from Underdog to Unstoppable can be challenging and therapists can help you along the way. They can help you organize your thoughts, fully express your feelings, and understand your past. They can also support you staying on the right track or help you create a new track.
Family and friends are good, but they are not mental health professionals. You wouldn’t take your broke down car to your Mama who isn’t a mechanic, you’d seek professional help. But, when it comes to mental health, so many Underdogs take their issues to their Mama and/or other loved ones instead of seeking professional help. According to Mental Health America, over 40 million Americans have a mental health condition. Of those 40 million people, 76% of youth and 56% of adults go without treatment.
Please don’t let money be the reason you don’t make this happen. There are so many therapy options available, some that will cost you little to none. You could go to a training clinic, a community mental health clinic, group therapy, or access resources available to you at school or work. Places like the Psychology Today website have therapist directories if you don’t know where to start to find one. Get the added support so you can lay a solid foundation toward having the life you want.
Remix Your To-Do List
Physical Health, CHECK! Mental Health, CHECK! Now it’s time to remix your to-do list using the three C’s. Yup, three C’s. CUT, COMPLETE, or CONTINUE. Look at where you are and where you have been, and then look at where you want to be. Then figure out what you need to CUT out, COMPLETE, or CONTINUE doing in your life to get you to where you want to be and achieve your goals. Maybe you smoke but you want to be healthy, you have to CUT smoking.
Then after you figure out what to cut, it’s time to figure out what needs to be completed. If you’re one of the 29 million Americans that wait until the last days to file your taxes or if you haven’t even filed your taxes yet, that is something you get to COMPLETE before adding “manage money better” to your goal list.
And then after that it’s onto most people’s favorite “C” which is figuring out what goals and actions from your past you want to CONTINUE. Some goals just take time to complete. Maybe you want to lose 75 pounds or maybe dig yourself out of $50,000 of debt. These goals could easily take you years to complete. Don’t get discouraged right away and give up or feel like you need to change what you’re doing and create completely new goals just because it’s a new season or new year. Sometimes the most important thing you can do is simply continue on and carry on with what you have already been doing!
Reset Right Now
Those are the three things you need to do in order to lay a foundation in your life for success. Go see a doctor to make sure you are physically healthy enough to be successful. Then check in on your mental health and then remix your to-do list by figuring out what to CUT, COMPLETE, and CONTINUE. Restart your life not by depending on the calendar, but by stepping up and laying a foundation that you can use to be successful. “Underdogs, can’t nobody do it like you do it. NOBODY!” -G.N.