New Year, New You?!
I don’t know about you, but I’m over it already! New year, new you, new decade, new vision board, goal planning, journals, everything. Listen, I want to let you know that December 31st ain’t that different from January 1st! It’s all about the attitude and mindset that you want to bring into it and in this episode, I am walking you through how I’m actually getting ready for the new year.
My goal is to shift your thinking away from feeling like you’re something that needs fixed with a resolution and recognizing that you are already complete and ready to take on 2020!
Thanks for hanging out with me today friend! I love hearing your thoughts on these episodes so keep sharing with me on instagram or even send me an email at [email protected]! Talk to you soon.
00:00 Hey friend, you’re listening to The Nicole Walters Podcast. I’m a former six-figure corporate executive who woke up every morning feeling stuck in the life that I built for myself but using my corporate skills I took to the Internet and built a multi-seven-figure business, showing others how they can build a life they love. Now on this podcast, I share stories of being an entrepreneur, a mom to my three amazing girls and a wife to my crazy, cooky dancing Hubbin. I’ve had a couple of viral videos too. So you know there’s going to be a lot of laughs here. So whether you’ve seen me on my viral vids or on the Today Show or read about me in Forbes, this is the place where we can meet, share stories, share laughs, and share fun. I’m your best friend in your head. So sit back, listen close, and let’s get started.
00:49 Hey friend, so it’s been a little while since we’ve chatted, but I couldn’t imagine letting this year, 2019, or this decade go by without checking in one final time. Now it’s so easy for us to get caught up in things like New Year’s resolution, starting fresh, new year, new me and all the hashtags that we are seeing float around on Instagram. But instead of goal planning and restructuring, doing things all over again and starting fresh, I wanted to share a different approach and hopefully you’ll be interested. I dunno about you friend, but I feel like this year just flew by. It was like in a blink of an eye, it was all done. Can you believe that? Just in January one year ago we started having these chats. That’s right. It’s only been a year and it’s gone so, so fast. The kids are growing older. We’ve accomplished things that we never thought we’d accomplish.
01:56 Life has thrown us curve balls that we never expected and of course there’s the mile long to do list that we didn’t quite make it through. These are some of the things that I want to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about the fact that you may be looking at this year and saying to yourself that it wasn’t enough, that you weren’t enough, that there was more to be done, better work to be accomplished and that 2020 can’t be the same. So I want to shift away. I want to shift away from what everyone else does and you know exactly what I’m talking about, when they say, Hey, this year I’m going to be this person or I’m going to make a resolution to change this thing about myself and I’m going to modify this and change this and accomplish this and hit this goal more and more and more cause I’m less, less, less.
02:53 Well, I want to tell you right now, I’m not buying that, not for you friend. I want you to understand that there is nothing about you that needs fixing. You’re a complete person and anything that you bring to this world, anything you do or accomplish is just an enhancement upon what’s already there. And that is the attitude, spirit, and energy that I want you to bring into this new decade. Instead of approaching things as if you’ve got more to do and you’ve got to repair something and be better, start approaching it from the standpoint that you have a gift to bring to this world and that you are just looking to align closer to using that gift, well, to serve others. That’s what God’s called us to do. That’s all we’re here to do, is to help each other become our best selves. That’s our relationship, right?
03:45 You make me better and hopefully I make you a little better too. And that’s exactly what I want to focus on. So yeah, sure. Pull out the journal, make a list of goals. I’ll even tell you in just a little bit how I plan on getting ready for the new decade, but I also want to let you know that if you don’t crush every single one of those goals, but you still manage to show up every single day, that you did a lot and there’s something to be proud of. And if you aren’t able to be all the things to all the people all the time, well that’s okay because you still showed up for your family, for your community, for yourself and the world that counts for something. When you’re looking back on 2019, when you’re looking back on this whole decade, because I mean, gosh, it’s crazy when they do the countdowns that are just one year, but it’s even crazier when they’re doing a 10 year countdown. When you look back on all of that, I want you to understand that this has been big for you. I look back on my 2019 and I’m like, Oh my gosh, you know, we beat cancer in our household. If that was the only thing that we done this year, we did it all.
04:58 When I look back on this decade, this is the decade where I moved from Maryland to Atlanta, Georgia, where I became married to the most amazing man in the world, and I became mama to three beautiful babies and there’s something I want to call out here. Those three things. Oh, and I started a business. I started a business and a podcast and we met for the very first time. These are big things you guys and I just want to call out. When I look back on those things, if you’d ask me back at the very beginning of the year 2000 if I’d even thought for a moment that I’d be spending the next two decades doing things like that, getting married and having babies and starting a business and doing all sorts of crazy things, I never would have been able to add that to my goal list. Never, and so that’s what I want to remind you. That’s what I want to call out. You can make vision boards and goal lists and honestly it’s fun to do, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is just showing up because if you’re showing up, great things are going to happen.
06:12 If you’re giving it your all great things are going to happen. If you’re trying to align and use the gifts that God has given you to show up every single day in service of others, great things are going to happen and the best things that are going to happen won’t even make it to your vision board because you won’t even expect it. You won’t even know what’s to come. Now let’s talk about how we prepare. Here’s what I can tell you because I know myself and because I know how life shapes up and because I’ve really gotten used to letting go and wanting what God wants for me and not necessarily what I want for me, right? His will be done. I’ve learned that I can kind of loosely plan, I can kind of make a map and outline and that’s good enough. And that’s what I’ve started focusing on.
06:57 So here’s how I prepare for the year. I divide my life up into five simple categories: faith, family, finances, fitness and fun. That’s it. Faith, family, finances, fitness and fun. And in each of those five categories, I write three simple goals. So here’s a simple one for you guys, for family back in 2018 one of my goals was to be able to take off every single Friday so that I could spend that time with my family. I just wanted to be available. So whatever that meant needed to happen in the business, whatever that meant would need to happen in terms of timing and financing and planning. That was something I was committing to do in 2019 so that I could do that for the family and the way that worked out well. Was I able to take off every Friday? Nope, because in real life things happen, but I definitely was able to take off more Fridays than I wasn’t and I got closer to the goal and in 2020 it’s certainly looking like Fridays off for the family is going to be a real thing and I’m super excited about it because again, that was one of my simple goals that I wanted to happen and I’m thrilled that I’m actually going to be able to do it.
08:27 But the intentionality of writing it down and making it plain was the very first step to actually seeing that happen in my life. Now, I want to let you know that again, even though I’m writing down three simple goals in each of these five categories, I’m also leaving room for life to happen because you know what? I want everything that God has planned for me. I want all the fun. I even love that life throws me the occasional surprise curve ball because you know what? It keeps it exciting and above all else, those things are the things that really transform lives and I want you to be open to that. I want you to know that, yes, we want to hit our goals on our vision board. Yes, we want to make use of that journal, but if come February 1st things look a little different than we planned, but we’re heading in the general direction that we want our life to be in then things are going great.
09:19 No beating yourself up about resolutions. No beating yourself up because he didn’t use that gym membership the way you thought you would. Just redirect. Maybe it’s just time to sign up for a yoga class or maybe it’s just time to use those new sneakers to walk around the block every single day for 30 minutes after dinner. That’s still a way of accomplishing your goals, hitting the mark and making progress forward. So that brings us to the end of this chat. I want you to know that with everybody saying to you, new year new you, let’s make the most of this decade. Let’s go be more vision plan, right? Use this journal, do all of these things with all of these pressures being pushed towards you. I just want to remind you the general tone of our chats that we’ve had all year. Let’s just try to be our best.
10:12 Let’s just try to focus on living our legacy. Let’s just try to connect with our families, our community and ourselves because ultimately at the end of the day or at the end of the decade, that’s all that matters is that you are using your best gifts to serve others. I am so excited for what 2020 is going to bring and I want you to know right now that I am standing in agreement with you that this is going to be the best yet that this is going to be a transformative year, that it’s going to be a time where you are going to realize things that are going to move you forward. Whether it is overcoming struggles or powering through things and surviving in a way that gives you the energy force and belief to know that you are able to do it. I know that this year for you is going to be a year of testimony where you’re going to be able to go back and say to yourself, I did it.
11:17 I did it. My child overcame cancer, my business grew, my bank account is better. I made choices that I am proud of. I made it through 2020 is going to bring clarity to you and I’m so excited to see it and I want to let you know, don’t forget these words. I believe in you and you can believe in yourself too. It is possible. All things are possible. Make sure that you keep me posted. I care about our chats, I care about our time that we spend together and I care about you. Drop me a note on Instagram. I love to hear from you. Email me [email protected] and I’m excited to share that in 2020 I’m going to have even more ways for us to connect in person and maybe in your own home. I know plot twist. I can’t wait to see you in 2020 you’ll learn more soon.
12:25 Here’s to being our best selves and living our legacy. Happy new year. Thanks so much for listening, friend. If you enjoyed this podcast, head over to NicoleWalters.com. I’d love for us to stay in touch, so make sure you drop your email address so I can send you inspiration, business details and the occasional funny story and because I’m so generous, there might even be a selfie in the mix. Thanks again. Make sure you subscribe and come back soon.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why you don’t need to focus on recreating yourself for 2020,
- What I’m actually doing to get ready for the New Year, and
- How I set simple goals based around 5 categories
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
- Write a quick review for the show on Apple here!
- Don’t miss the previous episode – Episode 37: I got into a fight.
More about The Nicole Walters Podcast:
The Nicole Walters Podcast is for the everyday entrepreneur that wants to increase their income but doesn’t know where to start. If that’s you, you’re in the right place!
Nicole Walters is a wife, mom, income strategist, entrepreneur, and the founder of The Monetized Life™. Join Nicole each week for a new episode packed with what you need to know to gain clarity, grow your network and monetize your life using the proven corporate strategies she mastered in 10 years as a Fortune 500 executive.
Whether you’re just starting out and don’t know your next step, or you’re multi-passionate and don’t know the right next step, Nicole is here to break it down for you! Richfriend, let’s add some commas to your bank account!
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