Remember back to the beginning of this year when you were thinking about the year to come and looking forward to what it was going to bring.......
Ahh....
Maybe a holiday (or three), time with your family, meeting up with friends, happy hours, fun adventures and going to a few gigs or the theatre.
And then this crossed your mind......
"If only I had more time, I would be able to do all the things that I truly want to do".
Then look what happened.....
Your wish was granted, you got more time.
More time with your kids, more time at home, more time for you, more time to think, more time to just be, the whole she-bang.
Then, remember when the lockdowns started and you said to yourself that you could use this time to do that thing you'd always wanted.
To play an instrument, to learn a language, to exercise or to bake more
So my question is, did you do it?
Did you do the thing?
The thing with time is though, you can never have enough of it.
There will always be a reason to not do something.
I started my lockdown saying that I was going to lose weight. I was carrying some excess weight which was making me feel sluggish so I went out and walked 10,000 steps a day for weeks! I'm gonna lose so much weight I thought... This is going to be the year I go from squidgy to strong.
The problem was I found that this year has been like a rollercoaster in Disneyland. There's been so many twists and turns and you're so dizzy you feel like you're gonna throw up.
For me the issue was gyms open, gyms shut, gyms semi open, gyms shut...you know the drill.
So, although I had much more time at home, that also meant more time for food. In fact food became my one pleasure this year. Without a partner or a family and not being able to see my friends or socialise I found that me and the fridge became firm friends.
So guess what happened?
I put all the weight I'd lost back on!
So even when we get the gift of time, there appears to be another consequence.
For me what was weight gain.
So when the second lockdown came I said it would be different.
I began to eat differently. Instead of me counting calories and becoming obsessed with My Fitness Pal. I started to eat intentionally.
I began to show up consistently no matter what for my weight loss journey.
And since I started being more consistent, I've noticed this has seeped into other areas of my world.
I noticed some of my other bad habits started to change.
I'd been inconsistent around exercise (remember the gym shut/open scenario) so instead I signed up for an online fitness membership one of my clients ran.
I decided instead of trying to fit hour long exercise in 3 times a week, I would show up daily for 30 minute classes.
I also started intemittent fasting which has many health benefits so I would eat within a period of 8 hours per day.
I'd also noticed alongside the other changes that I'd started eating slower and I began to enjoy every bite. Instead of just eating anything, whatever I bought I would make sure that I really loved it and took time and care to make it.
No stood eating by the fridge light kinda thing!
Before I knew it I was exercising daily, I was journalling, meditating, losing weight, reading daily and sitting at my desk working everyday.
And do you know what happened?
I had the best month in my business, I lost weight, I had so much more energy and I felt powerfully aligned to my purpose
And there was one word that kept coming up for me while I was going through these changes
Brendon Burchard had also said that this word changed his life.
When I was at his HPX event in San Diego earlier in the year. I remember him saying that he was in his bedroom sat at his desk trying to be a writer, but the bills kept piling up.
He remembered his wife-to-be getting into bed literally underneath this pile of bills that he had placed on the bed.
He knew then that he couldn't let her be in that position any longer. He knew something had to change.
So what was the one word that changed everything for us both?
Intention
This has meant a 180 degree shift in my life and business this year and as for Brendon, well he isn't doing too badly!
For me, it was about actually sitting down at my desk consistently. And not just sitting there browsing the internet, actually sitting there doing the work.
Actually showing up for myself and my clients every single day no matter what.
Really being intentional about building a business that I could be proud of
Also for me it was being intentional around what I was eating.
Instead of mindless eating in front of the TV, it was actually preparing food that I really liked.
It was cutting down on the junk food and quitting the daily refined sugar hit.
It also meant showing up for exercise classes daily.
It was about being mindful of my time.
I found that if I started things, I actually learnt to finish them rather than leaving them half completed or leaving that cup on the side that I'd tidy away later
Being intentional began to filter into every area of my life.
I've learnt this year that we can't control what happens in the world around us.
But we can change ourselves.
This is the year we get to re-wire our whole consciousness.
This is the year we get to do a factory reset.
Conclusion
Now that you know the one word that has changed me, you can also learn to lead yourself with intention.
Love
Nikki xx
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