Success!

My 30 challenge has nearly come and gone and I can say it has been a great SUCCESS! Dedicating myself to an alcohol free lifestyle for the past 30 days has been a refreshing and interesting challenge.

Here were the keys to my success:

1) Staying committed: It is essential to identify the key motivators and inspirations for you goal before you begin. If you feel this might be a particularly difficult challenge for you, please display these motivations and inspirations somewhere amongst your house for support. Some of my motivators and inspirations on this challenge were: "having a healthier mind and body, having a cleaner soul, experiencing the satisfaction of following something through successfully, being able to break through a negative family pattern, etc."
2) Keep it Small and Measurable: For me, a 30 day challenge is somewhat small and it is certainly measurable. I set this goal for this time period as I was fairly certain I could be successful with its completion. Some people make the grave mistake of pushing their limits too far. It is better to accomplish small achievable goals where you set yourself up for success! When you do this, you automatically instill newfound confidence and you are able to assess the strengths you used to get you through this small goal, which you can then use to accomplish future goals.
3) Accountability: You must be ready and willing to get real! Accountability is centered around your honesty with yourself and others. You must be willing to admit if you take an action which is not congruent with your goal and you must be able to take pride in your successes every day. You must ask yourself how you will monitor and check in with this honesty meter along the way. During my challenge, I used my blog, my partner and myself to remain accountable and successful.
4) Supports: Having supports in place when you are about to challenge yourself with a new goal is always essential. If it were not for the support of my partner's little reminders of why I started the goal in the first place, I'm sure I would have been more likely to get off track. So, reach out to friends, family, co-workers, a life coach :-), counselor, a motivational book, etc for support!
5) Focus on Action not Reaction: Setting and accomplishing goals takes consistent planning and action. When you are faced with a new challenge, it takes time and effort to practice new habits and set boundaries. You will inevitably be faced with support from friends and family as well as opposition from them. Some people like to have consistency in their life and they may balk at your thoughts to make change. People like to count on you as a friend just as you are, however when you are focusing on making a change for a brighter, better, authentic you, then you must be able to stand up to others who may not be willing to accept these changes. Again, some may react positively to your change and others will express negativity and indifference. It is vital you are able to set boundaries with yourself and with others during these times in order to accomplish goals. If others are not willing to support you are your new journey to a lighter, brighter authentically shining you, then you must be prepared to set boundaries with them and move on. During my journey, I had many opportunities to join in with friends for a drink. However, my ability to set boundaries and let them know about my personal challenge helped me to stay on track. And when you tell others about your goal, say it with confidence and an unwavering conviction so they know you mean business!
6) Reward: Don't forget to reward yourself for your accomplishments! All of those gold stars you earned in class when you were in elementary school were simply part of a psychological reinforcer to keep you happy and on track! As we get older, that need to receive gifts for our accomplishments does not disappear. For me, the money I saved from not drinking will allow me to get the beautiful purple shirt from Levis I've been eyeing.....ahhhhhh rewards :-)

Good luck with your challenges.........YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Coach Liz