Jan. 1 is just two months away, which means many people will soon start to think about next year's New Year's resolutions.
Rachel Hollis, the motivational speaker and bestselling author of "Girl, Stop Apologizing" and, "Girl, Wash Your Face," does things exactly the opposite.
(MORE: Rachel Hollis on what women get wrong about self-care)She sets her New Year's resolutions now and then spends the last months of the year working to make them happen.
Hollis's Last 90 Days program is one of her most popular, with tens of thousands of people using the #Last90Days hashtag on social media to share their successes.
Read below for Hollis's tips to make the last months of the year as impactful as possible.
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How to finish off the year stronger than you started
Remember when you said at the beginning of January that this was going to be "the year"? This would be the year that you finally stuck with your New Year's resolution -- but then life caught up to you and you fell off track. Well, we're in the last two months of 2019.
The last two months, you guys! And not just that, it’s the end of a decade!
How many of you feel like the year just flew by? How many of you can't believe we're here nearing November? You've got two months until New Year's Eve. Two months until -- if you're like me -- you make goals or resolutions about what you'd like to accomplish and who you'd like to be.
Well, you are way more likely to achieve your New Year's goals if you end your year flying high instead of crashing and burning.
Think of it like this: If you needed to climb to the 20th floor of a building and you're already on the 10th floor, does it make sense to go back down to the basement and start all over in January? No way! We're already here. Maybe we charged up the 10 flights last January or maybe it took us all of 2019 to get to this place, but dang it, we're here. It doesn't make any sense to blow it all now. But the thing is, that's exactly what we do when we mail it in at the end of the year! You throw away any momentum you have and keep resetting in January and you wonder why you can't even get across the finish line. You can't get across the finish line because you keep leaving the race! What if we try something new? What if we reset our intentions and keep working our way up the remaining flights? What if we find the energy and momentum today that we usually reserve for Jan. 1? An object in motion stays in motion, and I say we don't stop moving.
Here's the deal: If you want to see real and lasting change you've got to change your whole life and your whole outlook. No pressure, right? I know it seems like a massive ask, but honestly, you only have to take this one day at a time.
They say if you do something for 21 days it becomes a habit, but if you do it for 90 days it becomes who you are. That's what we're interested in -- not a quick adjustment or a short-term solution, but a total upgrade to the life we're currently living. The way to do that is by committing to change individually, and by committing as a community to hold each other accountable and lift each other up and that starts here. This is why I started the #Last90days Challenge. Each week of our challenge is themed around a different topic based on the things my community has told me they struggled with most: procrastination, anxiety, self-doubt, relationships, health, fitness, relationships -- we're going to work to change our perception on every single one.
Besides challenging ourselves weekly we will also challenge ourselves daily. I call it "Five to Thrive," and we're going to do these things every single day, for 90 days, my friends. Any one of them, formed into a habit, will brighten your outlook. The combination of them all, will utterly change your life.
Every day, I want you to ...
1. Get up an hour earlier than you normally do and use the time for yourself. Workout, pray, meditate, read, work on your novel, get started on your 10,000 steps -- whatever it is, just commit to something that makes you feel great! Everyone constantly says they don't have enough time for self-care. I call bull-crap! You make the time. So every day for the rest of the year, commit to waking up an hour earlier. You'll be shocked at all you can accomplish.
2. Work out for at least 30 minutes. I can hear you now, "Rach are you serious?! Every day??" Yes! Every. Single. Day. Doesn't matter what it is: walking, running, Zumba, jumping on the trampoline with your kids, dancing at a club (I assume some of you are young and cool enough to still do that!), flag football, yoga -- whatever! Just do it, every day for 30 minutes. You won't believe what this will do for your mood and your energy level.
3. Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. As in, take the amount that you weigh, divide in half and whatever that number is in ounces is your new water goal. Carry a water bottle with you and refill it everywhere you go. Dave and I are so hardcore about water consumption and we pee more than any toddler you've ever known. Put in a lemon slice, cucumber, apples, cinnamon sticks -- whatever! Just get your water in.
4. On this one you get to choose. Give up one food category you know you shouldn't be eating. Caffeine, white bread, refined sugar, Diet Coke, dairy, meat -- whatever. Just choose something you know it would benefit you to do without. Pretend it's Lent. I'm not asking you to give it up forever, just 90 days. Replace that category you gave up with fresh veggies -- any of them will do. When you kick the habit for 90 days I promise you you'll never go back to eating that item or you'll at least eat way less of it.
5. Last but not least -- every single day I want you to write down five things you're grateful for. I started doing this last year and it has utterly changed my outlook on life. I feel so blessed all the time because I'm constantly on the lookout for my blessings. You can choose big things (your children, your partner, your job), but I'd actually encourage you to look for simple things: the sound of laughter, a pretty sunset, how comfy your pajamas are. True happiness is in the little details, not the big stuff.
So what if you ended this year stronger than you started? How would set yourself up for success in 2020? Remember it’s the end of the decade, what does the 10-year version of you look like now. I hope you join me in having the last days of the year give you the motivation to become the best version of you.
If you want to join in this #Last90Days challenge, just click here.
(MORE: Terrible at New Year's resolutions? Try monthly micro-resolutions instead)