Before we dive in, quick question. Have you shared this podcast with a friend trying to make their health a priority, or do they need a little help getting clear on what they want out of life? Would you mind just grabbing the link to this episode or the podcast in general and just texting a friend and saying,” “Hey, I think you might love this podcast? Take a listen””? It would mean the world to me. My mission is to use my podcast to help as many women as possible, so I’d be grateful if you could help me make that happen.

I started this year on a high. Figuratively speaking, that is😊 In part because of my word of the year. For the past few years, I’ve been choosing a word at the beginning to summarize how I want to address the coming year. And really, how I want to feel. My word kind of serves as a north star, so to speak. A continual reminder to guide and support me. This year’s word is Unstoppable. I want to feel unstoppable physically, mentally, in my career, and spiritually. And I think I was so pumped on January 1 because I felt I was hitting the ground running.

The doors opened for The Clarity Club, and I registered with my sister for a fitness competition, and that’s just on day 1. All the habits and changes I’ve decided to make revolve around becoming unstoppable in my self-care routines, my business, and my impact on the world. I don’t know about you, but the last two years have been too full of restrictions and playing small. This year it’s all about to change. Who’s with me on that? So I want to encourage you – if you don’t already have a tradition of picking out how you want to feel and a word of the year, consider doing so and use it to guide you as you make your next life shift. I’d love for you to share your work with me on Instagram.

Now, New year’s resolutions are more than writing a list of wishes. It’s about continually improving and working towards goals that serve you better. The thing is if we can’t believe them to be possibilities. If we can’t believe that we deserve whatever we’ve set out to accomplish, we don’t have the support of our body, mind, and really the universal guidance we need when we set out to make ideals a reality.

Mindshift #1; “As if” not “When”

The best way to work towards goals is to act “as is”; they are already a reality. This is one of the first mental shifts towards making your life shift. You aren’t the person that is working out to win a fitness competition, and you aren’t the person who is trying to lose 20 pounds. You are the person who works out because it is part of who you are. You are the person that eats healthy because you value your body. When we focus on the new identity versus the final end goal, we are creating and living into the habits of our future selves.

Mindshift #2: Your new identity

Making a life shift without connecting to your new identity will be challenging. We need to know who this future self is we are working towards. And in doing so, we must ensure it aligns with our true selves.

Is it really something you want deep down, or is it something that society has told you you should want? This month in the clarity club, we talked about what New York Times bestselling author and master life coach Martha Beck calls the Body Compass and how the body’s sensations are a phenomenal guidance indicator in finding the path of least resistance to the true self.

Have you ever had that gut feeling where you couldn’t put your finger on it, but things didn’t seem entirely right? That’s usually your body warning you to proceed with caution. Sometimes if you go against it, you see exactly what your body was trying to warn you against right. It’s those little hints that the body makes that are integral in making life run more smoothly.

So in this Mindshift step, really check in with your body. What does your gut tell you? Does it feel good? When I checked in, I was so motivated. Sunday morning, I immediately had this rush of energy, and I decided to organize and start preparing for stepping into being Unstoppable. Literally, you couldn’t get me to sit still. I was on a mission and energized the whole time.

Here’s the thing. Starting with a bang is great. But what happens when the bang fizzles. Life gets lifey, and you begin to think, maybe I bit off more than I can chew.

Unstoppable? Why didn’t I choose something easier, like cleaning my closet, learning the Watermelon Crawl, or trying to stop singing so darn loudly in the shower? LOL, So it got me thinking of how often we dream big but then start questioning if we are capable and worthy of reaching our goals. Two answers – yes and yes.

Today I want to give you the tools you need to figure things out, reach your goals, and say on December 31 – I did it! If you check out www.truebasishealth.com, there is a download called “”Making the Ideal Real”” on the About page. I encourage you to use it as you craft your future self!

So we talked about a couple of mind shifts already – acting as if and connecting with your new identity. But how exactly do you connect with your new identity? Simple.

#1 VISUALIZE

First, you want to visualize what you truly want. Feel it in your body. Make sure it aligns with your true self, your higher self, your future self – however you refer to yourself with the capital S. Because whatever you have decided on will need to become part of this new identity. Confirm it’s not what you” “think,”” you need or “should be” doing. It needs to be something you truly desire deep down. They call these self-concording goals – goals that are aligned with who we are and what we really want to do. Sometimes it is easy to want things but” “not really.”” Do you know what I’m talking about?

So, Visualizing is important because you have to make sure you are fully committed. There’s a country saying about breakfast, the hog was committed, but the chicken participated. 😊 The top reason failure is so common when life shifts are attempted is that when not truly committed, people lose motivation, are too busy, or decide to change their goals and priorities. It’s easy to do.

One way to figure out commitment levels is to visualize how following through with items on your list and see how your life would look 5 years from now. If you can’t imagine it, you can’t create it. Total commitment is a prerequisite for change; it requires knowing the goal is possible and 2) actually seeing and feeling yourself achieving the goal.

So really feel into it. Are you grateful you followed through? Are there any adjustments your future self tells you to make so the process is more straightforward? Trust. Your body will tell you the answers, and the answers to your questions are as important as the hard work it will be to get you there. There will be challenges, there will be doubts that try to sow seeds of failures, and there will be ups and downs along the way. Holding your vision is what is going to help you get through those hard times.

Ask yourself. What if nothing was impossible? How would your life be different if you knew anything you imagined could become a reality. Because it can be. You want to ignore the outcome. Like literally, ignore the outcome and just focus on your new identity. Who do you need to be, someone who is whatever your word of the year is. In my case unstoppable, And then you come up with your system. This leads me to mind shift #3 – Creaking new habits.

Mindshift #3- Creating New Habits

Acting “as if” the new habits will build your new identity one step at a time. So how do you act as if? You create a plan. You make a list of new habits that would be part of your new identity. And know, in the beginning, this acting “as if” will be pretend. It is make-believe. You’ve heard the adage “Fake it til you make it.” That’s what this is. When I explained this concept to my husband the other day, he made the train “whoot whoot” sound from Mr. Rogers and said, “ok, Lady Elaine Fairchild, are you ready for the land of make-believe?” All joking aside…. each time you take action, you are building the new identity. “As if” not “when” or “what if”. It works in creating new habits.

Now For you overachievers out there. You don’t need to implement all the habits simultaneously. In fact, I recommend you don’t. It’s all about baby steps. And they are magical because as you master each baby step, they build on each other.  The last thing you want to do is get overwhelmed, so have your big list but start small. Layer them in and take them one day at a time. Be totally present and just follow your plan. Every action begins creating change at the deepest level. And each step starts cementing your new identity. Having clarity about the vision is a massive recipe for success. In time, you’ll notice that everything you do reflects who you believe you are and can be.

So it’s all in the detail. What are the steps you need to accomplish each item? Small, realistic steps. Microshifts. How will you integrate them into your life? What are your backup plans? And science shows it actually takes people 65 days to sink into new routines and behaviors. Here’s the things. Each time you successfully complete a new habit and take action in service of your goal, you get a dopamine hit. So each time you are successful, it’s like a mini reward. You do it again, another hit, and before you know with consistency, the new behavior begins to feel automatic. There’s less struggle and more surrender. And I’m not talking about surrender in a negative – give up kind of way; I’m talking about surrender in terms of the knowingness that despite what happens, despite what obstacles you encounter, you are on the right path.

If you haven’t read James Clears, Atomic Habits, I highly recommend it. He talks about establishing new habits by tucking them into existing routines and easily achievable and how once habits are fully integrated, they become part of who you are. One of the examples he gives is brushing your teeth. We all brush our teeth daily, twice a day – and if you don’t, shame on you. LOL, But seriously. At one time brushing your teeth wasn’t a habit. Your mom had to remind you. And now it’s just what you do. Its part of your routine, and it’s non-negotiable. Any habit you want to create can become as easy as the habit of brushing your teeth. And when times get tough, and you don’t want to do your new habit. Remind yourself of all the other habits you weren’t keen on to start with and how you’ve successfully integrated them.

About 15 years ago, I decided I wanted to stop drinking sodas. I had this nasty habit, when asked if I wanted a drink, immediately default to Coke, a major faux pas, as I live in Pepsi country. LOL Growing up, I had always helped my dad out at the club he managed, where sodas were on tap. It was like the go to if I was thirsty. Old habits die hard. Even though I had vowed to stop drinking sodas, inevitably I’d be out and about and I’d order a Coke. I would begin to beat myself up as I reset the clock on the number of days I’d be soda free.

Then I decided you know, 1) it’s ok to correct yourself when your mouth speaks before your brain and 2) you are allowed some slack. So the new default became. “I’m sorry, I meant to say an unsweetened tea.” And I allowed myself one “actual” mistake per month. That meant I could have a soda once per month if I decided to. It’s was like a treat. You know how some people have a cheat day when they go on a diet? I had a cheat soda. I no longer felt deprived by the harshness of no sodas because I knew I had the choice, even though it was restrictive. Such a game-changer. It took a good three months before I got out of the habit of asking for a soda.

Since then I’ve scaled from ½ and ½ tea to plain tea and eventually to water. Such an amazing different eliminating that sugar from my diet. And, I have to say that when I do have any kind of sugary drink these days my body is like – what is that. The craving is no longer there and the enforcement of the new mindset is zilch. Like I don’t even have to think about it.

And that’s what happens when you practice habits long enough. They become second nature. They become effortless and just part of who you are. You can apply the step down technique to anything whether you are giving up an old habit or trying to start a new one. Turtle steps – slow and steady wins the race.    

Statistics show that successful individuals are likely to experience 14 slip ups during a 2 year interval which is where resilience from setbacks is essential for success. In the Clarity Club we have an entire module dedicated to resilience as this is such an important part of making mind shifts and ultimately life shifts.

Getting Curious…. Mindshift #4: Support

Ok. The last Mindshift is really in how you view support. Some people are introverts, and others are extroverts. Depending on how you are naturally will be how you respond to support. Some people prefer having one or two buddies and a small inner circle. Others excel in large groups and feel like they’ve got more people in their corner, but at the end of the day social support is a big part of building your identity and experiencing lasting mindshifts that lead to the life shift you desire. A support system becomes especially important after the first six months of helping with willpower.  

Our minds are incredibly powerful and like to find the easy way. When things start getting a little challenging -the mind will start giving you alternate solutions. You start questioning if you really want whatever goal you set all that bad anymore. Is it worth the work? And, without support and clarity, it is easy to get divided.

A few years ago, I tried to change my eating. I had set the same goal before but it was always one made with myself. Do you know what I mean? This time, I verbalized it. I brought in a friend, and accountability partner. Each night we’d talk about our day. What went right. What went wrong. How to fix things. She’d remind me of my why when my mind started playing tricks. And I lost 10 pounds. That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about this fitness competition I’ve signed up for. I’m doing it with my sister; there’s a Facebook group; I’ve got William, my trainer, ready to get me to where I need to be; I’ve set myself up for success.

So, even if you’ve cemented your mind shift, you can expect some resistance at some point. Support is critical to deal with the resistance. And this is what I love about the Clarity Club membership. Other like-minded individuals on the same path towards well-being and stepping into their purpose can help hold space and provide suggestions when you hit detours on your journey.

And I’ll leave you with this. As you progress on your journey, know that sometimes it will get tough. You will feel depleted, you might feel emotional, and you might question things. There’s good news. It will pass if you did the work- the visualizing, acting as if with your new habits, and got the support. You’ve heard the saying sometimes things get worse before they get better.

Well, sometimes you are doing better than you are feeling. You are all good. Rest and hit the ground running tomorrow with the same excitement you started with. You’ve got this, and you too are unstoppable.

Here’s to you making the mind shifts you need to achieve the life shifts you desire!

This is Micah signing off!