It’s that time of year again. You know the one where we all vow we will exercise, eat better and be better people. First, let me take a second to be real. When I looked up pictures to feature moms and exercise, they were all smiling. Every single picture showed a mom with their child and behaving. I honestly don’t know how they captured those moments because even with our youngest at eight years old, she still climbs all over me or under me when I am trying to exercise at home. Or I have to stop fifty times to get this or that. I usually admit I am laughing while I exercise due to it just being comical how much we stop and start.

So, let’s get back to our new year, new you trend that comes upon us every January. I mean, how long do you stick with it? Have you ever asked yourself why, like really why you stop? Not enough time is not a good enough reason. Because, to be honest, that is NOT the reason. Maybe in 2021, dive into your deep story of why you let yourself quit. There are many ways to do this because your surface answer usually isn’t it. The second reason usually isn’t it either. One day, when you’re doing something, it will hit you out of the blue, an old story you are still running on.

What do you do in the meantime? You get a planner. You set up daily goals for yourself. Even if the first couple for the week are my 5 top secrets you can grab here https://empoweryourstory.com/shop/5-secrets-no-one-is-telling-moms-about-their-exercise/  (or go to our website and it is in the freebie library) when you build the routine up and stick with it, your body and mind get used to it. You feel better, energy increases, and trauma actually can begin to leave your body. Did you know traumatic experiences are trapped inside our cells, in our body?

But I was hoping you could go one step further. You need to check in with your goals more than once a day. Why? If we don’t focus on ourselves multiple times, then other priorities will be running our day.  Then we will reinforce our belief and actions of being put last. This is a belief and action that is worth changing.  In our private Facebook group, I posted a question that was about me once being angry over my husband doing what he wanted when he wanted. But I took a step back and thought maybe he has this right. Maybe I need to step back and re-evaluate why I am so upset that he is doing what he wants when he wants.  He isn’t mean; he isn’t disrespectful. He is just putting his needs and wants first. Ummm, I need to look at why this triggered me so much. And to my surprise, taking this approach with carving out my own time, making what I want a priority, our household didn’t stop, it didn’t blow up with arguments, and it didn’t stop. But what I noticed, I felt a lot better in our space, about myself, and happier. The quote was, “when my husband wants something that restores him a little, he feels zero guilt about asking for it. I used to be annoyed with him for that but now I’m thinking that he’s always had it right and I’m the one who should be taking notes.”

I was the worst about exercising. Like I literally would find every excuse not to do it, not to go, and we own a gym! I held up our table and desk more than any weight we had out on the floor. My excuses kept me feeling tired, brain fog, unmotivated to get extra stuff done that I desperately wanted to be done. My house was a mess zone, my meals were okay but lacked quality, and my life lacked many things that I wanted.

I never put into place if one area of your life is lacking; it directly affects every area of your life. Putting yourself first, taking care of yourself makes you a better mom, wife, and woman. Give yourself time, the gift of sticking with it, and join me this month of January. Let’s do this together, from one mom to another mom.