End Of Year Wellness Review

By David Lindsay, High Performance Coach, Keynote Speaker and Former professional Athlete, www.davidlindsay.com.au

Congratulations on making it to the end of another year, a year which has had more than its fair set of trials. The great thing about coming through a crazy and trying year as 2020 was is that anything that is now thrown at us will feel easy in comparison.

I believe that particularly the second half of December is a great time to sit back and see what you have accomplished throughout the year and seeing how far you have actually come. When we are within a story, we can’t see the little improvements and changes on a day by day basis. It is a time to see what goals we have reached and what we may have fallen down on. Anything that we have fallen down on, we shouldn’t be upset with not hitting the mark as if we hit all of our goals, we simply aren’t aiming high enough. This is also a great time to take some time to set out our goals for 2021. Don’t wait until a drunken night on the 31st of December to make “new year’s resolutions”, sit down and give them some time. Set out some goal for all areas of your life, don’t just stick to one, rather set goals for:

Work life: Where do you want to be at the end of 2021? What position would you like to be in at the end of the year

Your Health (Including weight loss, muscle gain, increased fitness, completing an ironman etc): Are you as healthy as you want to be? Are you happy with how you look and your energy levels? Do you have a good diet to keep you energised and strong year-round?

Home life: How are your relationships with your family members and friends? Do you want to start or extend your family?

Relationships: This includes family, in relationships and friends

Finances: Do you have enough in the bank? Do you want to get a house, a second house, a jet ski etc.

For each area of your life set lofty goals that will make you stretch to achieve them. Setting easy goals doesn’t inspire you to go above and beyond your norm, and it doesn’t help you to become the person you know is inside of you and the person that the world needs to see.

Break these goals down into 3 monthly targets, monthly, weekly and even daily targets. This is a way you can keep track of how you are progressing. Let’s be honest with each other as well. We aren’t robots and things are simply going to get in the way, Mr Murphy will raise his ugly head just as we think everything is going smoothly and on track. This is just to see how much we want our goals, or if some silly little thing will have the power knock you off line. Remember if you do get knocked slightly off track don’t be too hard on yourself as it happens to the best of us. What is most important is that you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on that horse.

As we are all too well aware this is the festive time of the year and we have office Christmas parties, catch ups with friends we haven’t seen all year, and really just about any excuse to have a night out with some friends and some drinks. We don’t want to let all the work we have been putting in go to waste just for the sake of beers and pizza. Remember that the best thing to do is to make sure you keep hydrated (this will help with those killer hangovers). If possible, every second or third drink have a glass of water, and yes you may have to go to the toilet more, but the day after you will be much better off by having more water than not.

Keep up with your training and as normal routines as possible. This means getting up at the same time, no matter how bad you feel, and getting moving. The best way to get rid of the dreaded day after is to keep super hydrated and get out and moving. If necessary, have a cold shower to shock the system then get outside in the fresh air and get moving. December is a great time to hit the beaches and show off what you have worked for the last 5 months or more and enjoy this fantastic weather we have in Australia. Just be sure to slip, slop, slap

We also have some fantastic walking tracks in all parts of the country. So, pack some snacks, plenty of water, get your family and friends together and create some memories. There is never a better time than now to create memories and stories that you can share for many years to come.

Along with keeping your morning routines and rituals going throughout December and keeping on top or your training throughout this festive time, remember to have fun with your family, friends and co-workers. This will set up 2021 as a great year to move forward as a team and blow your goals out of the water.

Enjoy the break, take the necessary time to set some massive goals for 2021, break them down into smaller targets to make sure you are on target throughout the year, and have fun creating memories and friendships to smash 2021.