9 Steps For Making 2016 Your Best Year Ever

2015 was the best year of my entire life! “Ok good for you, Lance. Why should we care?” Because I want you to receive what I have received. 2015 has been a period of intense physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and professional growth. I want you to experience the joy, harmony, and peace that has now become the foundation of my existence. These sensations are new, as it was not always this way for me. Although not entirely visible to the outside world, most of my life was lived under a guise of trepidation, uncertainty, mass confusion, and distraction. Being able to overcome these obstacles has been a process and practice.

However, I AM NOT SPECIAL. Sure, I have certain talents or advantages that I am able to utilize, but WE ALL DO.

With the knowledge that anything I can do, you can do better, my goal is to provide a practical guide – a starting point – of steps I took to go from a place of pain and discomfort to having the most explosively enriching year of my life. My hopes are, for those of you who had a less-than-satisfying 2015, to implement these ideas to create a year of success that amazes you.

1. First, you need to believe that you have the power to change your own situation. If you’re reading this online, chances are you’re not a slave, therefore, you have free will. Of course you may have roadblocks and challenges, but you will always retain the power to decide and choose your response.

2. Stop living in fear. Stop listening to media, people in your life, or your own inner-voice that attempt to diminish, submit, and belittle you. I am giving you permission right now to turn off the TV, free yourself from toxic relationships, and silence the voice in your head that says “you can’t” or “you’re unworthy”.

3. The worst decision you can make is not making one at all. Stop floating in the limbo of uncertainty. Decide what it is you want from this next year of your life. Craft a vision. Imagine all the sights and sensations accompanied with receiving your request. Not deciding is a form of resistance and ultimately becomes an energetic drain, weighing on your mind, and exhausting you. Whatever comes your way, either choose to embrace it or deflect it, do not fall into the trap of resisting making a choice.

4. Get in alignment with who you really are. Cease the self-destructive behaviors of your past. Act in accordance with who you envision to be the best version of yourself. The more your thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors mirror who you truly are, the less resistance you will face to achieving your goals. You do not have to continue unproductive behaviors simply because they have been previous habits. During this process, do not punish yourself for missteps, but do hold yourself accountable.

5. Find the value you add to this world. Pursuing passions can feel great and rewarding, but your deepest sense of satisfaction and accomplishment will come from your contributions. What do you feel the world needs which you are uniquely gifted to offer?

6. Find the strength to make positive changes through vulnerability. Exposing your own weaknesses, absolves them from being a weakness. The person who provides disclosure is harder to attack. Walling yourself up in a self-made fortress only leads to loss of perspective and reality. Once you are honest with yourself about your perceived flaws, you have the self-awareness to be able to enact improvement of these deficiencies.

7. Find the wisdom to decipher the correct choice through seeking understanding > answers. A fixed mindset never evolves. If you are unwilling to discover other perspectives, or you view any belief different from your own as a threat or wrong, you have already retreated. Only once you seek to understand the other side, do you have enough information to choose. At this point, is not a matter of deciding the right or wrong answer, but rather choosing the path that feels most true to you. This path should resonate with the highest version of yourself.

8. Do all things with lovingkindness, which stems from a connection with all things. Separation from your environment breeds a “you vs. them” mentality and closed loop. Connection with your environment and those around you fosters creativity, comprehension, and an open loop that is capable of growth.

9. Above all, develop a sense of gratitude and appreciation for what you have already been blessed with, and the things you are in the process of receiving. Know the difference between having and getting. Focusing on what you currently have is a check box of either “yes I have it” or “no I don’t,” which can cause dissatisfaction for what you don’t have. By putting more emphasis on what you are getting, you appreciate the process itself, not only the end result. Therefore, you can take a simple self-inventory by asking yourself these two questions: “Do I have what I want?” If yes, great, be appreciative! If no, then the next question is “Am I in the process of getting what I want?” If yes, great, be grateful that you are on your way! If no, remember at any point you have the power to change your course of action.

 

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the strategies I have implemented or recommend. However, this is an excellent place to begin the process of reshaping your life for the better. I want the absolute best for you and desire that you want the best for yourself.

You are capable of far more than you give yourself credit for. The only person limiting you, is YOU. Stop getting in your own way and go get what you want!

 

About the Author: Lance is Austin Simply Fit’s Chief Growth Officer . Having himself been previously weak, fat, and injured, he is motivated to help you reach your optimal health. Lance currently trains as a competitive powerlifter. Click here to read more about Lance