30 Effective Ways to Make Progress in Your Life

In the pursuit of personal growth and development, making progress is essential. Whether it's in your career, relationships, health, or personal fulfillment, taking deliberate steps forward can lead to significant positive changes in your life. Here are 30 actionable ways to make progress and unlock your full potential.

1. **Wake up early:** Start your day with intention and seize the early hours for productivity and self-care.

2. **Read daily:** Feed your mind with knowledge and inspiration by making reading a daily habit.

3. **Eat well:** Nourish your body with nutritious foods to fuel your energy and overall well-being.

4. **Love yourself:** Cultivate self-love and acceptance to build a strong foundation for personal growth.

5. **Judge less:** Practice empathy and understanding instead of being quick to judge others or yourself.

6. **Be yourself:** Embrace your authenticity and uniqueness, allowing yourself to shine without fear of judgment.

7. **Set goals:** Define clear objectives to work towards, providing direction and motivation in your endeavors.

8. **Plan your day:** Organize your time effectively by planning your tasks and priorities ahead of time.

9. **Maintain a positive attitude:** Cultivate optimism and resilience, focusing on solutions rather than problems.

10. **Have purpose:** Discover your passions and values, aligning your actions with a greater sense of purpose.

11. **Find inspiration:** Seek inspiration from various sources such as books, art, nature, and people who inspire you.

12. **Help others:** Make a positive impact by lending a helping hand and contributing to the well-being of others.

13. **Build a network:** Surround yourself with supportive and like-minded individuals who can offer guidance and opportunities.

14. **Automate:** Streamline repetitive tasks and processes to free up time and mental space for more meaningful pursuits.

15. **Delegate:** Learn to delegate tasks that others can handle efficiently, allowing you to focus on high-priority activities.

16. **Track finances:** Take control of your financial health by monitoring your expenses, savings, and investments.

17. **Build a brand:** Cultivate your personal or professional brand to stand out and create opportunities for growth.

18. **Interact:** Engage in meaningful conversations and connections, fostering relationships that enrich your life.

19. **Learn skills:** Continuously invest in your personal and professional development by acquiring new skills and knowledge.

20. **Invest:** Strategically invest your time, money, and resources in pursuits that offer long-term benefits and growth.

21. **Journal:** Reflect on your thoughts, emotions, and experiences through journaling to gain clarity and self-awareness.

22. **Meditate:** Practice mindfulness and meditation to quiet the mind, reduce stress, and enhance focus and clarity.

23. **Get a mentor:** Seek guidance and support from experienced mentors who can offer valuable insights and advice.

24. **Think big:** Expand your horizons and set ambitious goals that challenge and inspire you to reach new heights.

25. **Be productive:** Prioritize tasks effectively and eliminate distractions to maximize your productivity and efficiency.

26. **Spend wisely:** Make conscious decisions about how you allocate your resources, focusing on value and long-term benefits.

27. **Educate yourself:** Never stop learning and expanding your knowledge in areas that interest you or are relevant to your goals.

28. **Have ambition:** Set high aspirations for yourself and strive for continuous improvement and growth.

29. **Work:** Take consistent and focused action towards your goals, knowing that progress comes from dedicated effort.

30. **Just start now:** Overcome procrastination and inertia by taking the first step towards your goals right now, no matter how small.

Conclusion:

Making progress in life is a journey that requires dedication, self-awareness, and continuous effort. By incorporating these 30 actionable strategies into your daily routine, you can unlock your full potential and create the life you desire. Remember, progress may not always be linear, but every step forward counts towards your ultimate success and fulfillment. So, embrace the journey and keep moving forward with purpose and determination.

Turkey Leg Workout

Reinvent Yourself For 2015

Reinvent Yourself For 2015!

It's that time of year again. The time of year that we imagine the arrival of a new year will magically provide the catalyst, motivation and persistence we need to reinvent ourselves.

Traditionally, New Year’s Day is styled as the ideal time to kick start a new phase in your life and the time when you must make your all important new year’s resolution. Unfortunately, the beginning of the year is also one of the worst times to make a major change in your habits because it’s often relatively stressful time, right in the middle of the party and vacation season.

Don’t set yourself up for failure in 2015 by vowing to make huge changes that will be hard to keep. Follow these easy steps for success in making a new year’s resolution you can stick to for good.

1. Pick one!

You can't change your whole life and lifestyle at the same time it won’t work. Pick one area of your life to change and start there. Make it something concrete so you know exactly what change you’re planning to make. If you’re successful with the first change you can go ahead and make another change after a month or so. By making small changes one after the other, you still have the chance to be a whole new you at the end of 2015 and it’s a much more realistic way of doing it.

2. Plan ahead

To ensure success you need to research the change you’re making and plan ahead so you have the resources available when you need them. Here are a few things you should do to prepare and get all the systems in place ready to make your change. Plan for success – Get everything ready so things will run smoothly. If you’re taking up running make sure you have the trainers, clothes, hat, glasses, ipod loaded with energetic sounds at the ready. Then there can be no excuses.

3. Anticipate problems

There will be problems that's life so make a list of what they’ll be. If you think about it, you’ll be able to anticipate problems at certain times of the day, with specific people or in special situations. Once you've identified the times that will probably be hard you work out ways to cope with them when it happens.

4. Pick a start date

You don’t have to make these changes on New Year’s Day. If you truly want to make changes then pick a day when you know you’ll be well-rested, enthusiastic and surrounded by positive people.

5. Go for it

Do everything 100%. Make a commitment and write it down on a card. You just need one short phrase you can carry in your wallet. Or keep it in your car, by your bed and on your bathroom mirror too for an extra dose of positive encouragement.

Your commitment card will say something like:

·         I enjoy a clean, smoke-free life.

·         I stay calm and in control even under times of stress.

·         I’m committed to learning how to run my own business.

·         I meditate daily.

6. Failure Happens

If you do fail and sneak a cigarette, miss a walk, or shout at the kids one morning don’t hate yourself for it. Make a note of the triggers that caused this set back and vow to learn a lesson from them.

If you know that alcohol makes you crave cigarettes and oversleep the next day cut back on it. If you know the morning rush before school makes you shout then get up earlier or prepare things the night before to make it easier on you. Perseverance is the key to success. Try again, keep trying and you will succeed.

7. Reward Yourself

Small rewards are great encouragement to keep you going during the hardest first days. After that you can probably reward yourself once a week with a magazine, a trip to the movies or whatever you like. Later you can change the rewards to monthly and then at the end of the year you can pick an anniversary reward. Something that you’ll look forward to. You deserve it and you’ll have earned it.

Drinking in Moderation

As promised by the Fat To Fit Radio Show...

Drinking in Moderation

Drinking in moderation can reduce the chances of serious health problems. It's recommended women should have 1 drink a day and no more than 2 drinks a day for men.

One drink for example:

Bottle of beer (12 ounces)

Glass of wine (5 ounces)

Shot of liquor (1.5 ounces)

Improve your health by cutting down drinking or quitting. If you have a problem see a doctor right away. Drinking less or quitting can help lower your blood pressure, lower your risk of injury, heart disease, some types of cancer, liver problems, lose weight, and save money. If you are concerned with your drinking keep track of it by writing down your set drinking limit and how much you consume for 1 week. Do not drink when you are upset and avoid bars, or other places that encourage you to drink a lot. If you drink often make sure you are keeping up with your blood pressure. Change your drinking habits for a healthier lifestyle. Surround yourself with friends and family who support your decisions to cut down or quit. 

Don't give up! Set goals for yourself and push yourself to conquer them!

Keeping on Track with your Fitness Goals while Traveling!

My good friend Arbie is traveling right now and struggling to stay on track. So I thought I would share this to help and if you have any future travels ahead for the summer, make sure to copy this down.

My business partner, Heather Harp and I traveled out to California many times over the past year and to save money and eat healthy, this is how we did it. We got rooms either with a fridge or a kitchen (Marriott Residence Inn's rock!)
We buy plastic bags and plastic utensils, every morning we would cook and pack for the day! I hope you are entertained by our pictures. First trip heather would prepare the salads and I would run downstairs to the lobby microwave and cook eggs.. we definitely winged it and stayed on target with our training and eating clean.

Tips for Keeping on Track with your Fitness Goals While Traveling

1. Take out a pen and paper and write down what food you will need to bring with you.
2. Bring a cooler to store all of it in.
3. Ask for a fridge and a microwave in your room.

4. Go to the local market and get yourself some must-haves for your room. (Protein, Fruit, Veggies, Almond Milk)
5. Scope out the hotel website and check to see if they have a gym on location or nearby that you can drop into. Change of scenery is always good.

Always ask for a fridge, we were able to fit food for 2 people

Heather eating on floor of hotel room 

No plates don't worry, buy ziploc bags and plastic forks, Cindy eating breakfast

6. Plan out what you will do and when based on your schedule
7. Bring some resistant bands and a jumprope with you for in-room training
8. Don't forget to pack your running shoes, gym clothes, and a magic bullet if you have one so you can make smoothies on the go!

Worked out daily!

This would be our wine mishap, or should I say Heather's

Shopping at the local market

This cooler went everywhere with us, even during business meetings we would pull it out and snack :)

So No Excuses when you are Traveling!

Be Determined!

Be determined and let no one or nothing stand in your way from reaching your goals!

New Year’s Resolutions means time to start making plans to be a better YOU!

New Year’s Resolutions means time to start making plans to be a better YOU!

The gyms are packed with new faces this time of year, but how long will it last? Four out of five people who make New Year’s resolutions will eventually break them. In fact, a third won’t even make it to the end of January. That’s what time management firm FranklinCovey found when it polled more than 15,000 customers about their planned New Year’s resolutions. Make 2013 about you, focus on your needs whether it is to quit smoking, lose weight, or spend more time with family and friends.

Every year we get a surge right before Christmas of new clients, it is people wanting to get a jump start on their fitness goals before the usual 5-10 pounds of holiday weight gain. I have found the clients starting before January 1 usually stick with the new exercise regimen longer than those who wait for the holidays to pass. Envision your goal and start making plans now to reach it.    

It is easy to make New Year’s Resolutions, but how do we make them last and become part of our everyday life. How do we keep all the new faces that pop up in the gym in January stay throughout the year? As with any commitment, you have to hang in there long enough to create a habit. Old studies show 21 days to form a new habit such as incorporating more water into your day, this study was done in 1960, and new research is showing it can actually take up to 66 days to form a habit. The key is keeping you interested long enough for the habit to form.

From my own personal experience if I make a goal it is better to make small attainable goals that can be rewarded often instead of a huge goal that seems unreachable. I tell my clients to take baby steps, if your goal is to lose 70 pounds, don’t focus on the 70 pounds, focus on one pound a week or 5 pounds a month. When reaching your small goals, you will feel accomplished which in turn motivates you to keep pushing more each day.

Make yourself accountable to your goal. Write it down and keep a journal along the way. Tracking your progress will keep you motivated on the days you are not feeling like your accomplishing anything. So many times my client’s feel like they are not getting any results because the scale isn’t moving, in reality they are losing body fat, gaining muscle, and losing inches. The only way to track this is by measuring and writing it down each month.  Having a support group is another way to stay accountable, by letting your family and friends know what you are trying to do and having them along for the journey. Having a positive support group around you, you have created an environment to keep you from slipping. If you know you have someone making you accountable to your goal then you’re less likely to be a New Year’s Resolution statistic.

Rewarding yourself when you meet your goals is great motivation! If losing weight is your goal make sure to reward yourself in a way that does not contradict your resolution. Treat yourself to some new workout clothes, spa day, or even going out to eat with friends but choose wisely. Find innovative ways to reward yourself so reaching your goal becomes fun and different each week. The key is to stay motivated! Remind yourself often why you are doing it and tell yourself “you can do it!”   

Life is going to throw you curve balls, so if your goals get derailed for one or two days, get back on track and refocus your energy. There are a hundred excuses we can use each day for why we aren’t able to meet our goals, but remember you are worth it.  Make 2013 the year of changes and be the best possible version of yourself.