While I’m in New York City, I’m sharing a four-part series on going from Halloween to New Year’s with balance, grace, and fulfillment.

In yesterday’s blog, you looked at the things you are going to do to help you create the holidays you want, and developed a plan for how to achieve your goals.

Today we’re going to look at how to keep yourself motivated to follow your play from Halloween to New Year’s.

The number 1 thing you can do to help meet your healthy holiday goals is to seek support.

Study after study shows that having at least one person support you in meeting your wellness goals will dramatically increase your chances of success.

Having a wellness partner or joining a support group helps:

• Normalize what you’re going through—You realize that everyone has cravings, gets frustrated by the numbers on the scale, and has moments of weakness. You are not a failure or a freak.
• Cheer you on—Noticing and celebrating every sign of progress builds momentum towards successfully meeting your goals. Having someone to share these with helps keep you motivated.
• Problem solve—When you are focused on the problem, it can be almost impossible to see even obvious solutions. Having someone on your side who can see the situation more objectively can help you brainstorm ways around any obstacles.
• Make the journey more fun—going it alone makes it easier to get caught in the negative thought spiral going on in your head. Having a partner helps break the inner patterns so that achieving your wellness goals is more enjoyable.

But where can you find help?

• Ask a friend or family member—Choose someone who is consistently positive, good at problem solving, and will be uplifting and inspiring.
• Join a group—There are a number of on-line and in-person support groups. A few places to look include: transformation.com, beachbody.com, Weight Watchers, your local hospital, or a community group. Pick a group that does more than just air problems. Look for a focus on celebrating successes, problem solving, and offering encouragement.
• Hire a coach—Consider working one-on-one with a certified professional health or wellness coach who is goal and success focused, and that will come up with an individualized plan to help you break through any thoughts, beliefs, or patterns that are literally weighing you down.

A second tip for maintaining your motivation is to celebrate each tiny thing that you do that moves you towards your goals.

Do this by asking yourself what, how, and when you’ll celebrate—and then do it! Suggestions include:

• Acknowledge and praise yourself each time you meditate and workout. Even if you only get in 5 to 10 minutes, consider it a win.
• Give yourself praise each time you face a temptation and choose to stick to your food plan.
• Honor down time. When you schedule time for rest and relaxation, honor it! Make a point to do something that is truly relaxing.
• Pat yourself on the back for releasing expectations. Each time you successfully release an expectation or respond in a more positive way than you would have in the past, acknowledge and celebrate it!
• Write kudos to yourself in your journal. You deserve them!

And if you don’t respond as you planned, what do you need to do to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and still move forward towards the person you want to be come January 2nd?

In tomorrow’s blog, I’ll share my answers to the questions I’ve posed to you over the past three days.

I would love to hear your goals for creating the holidays you want and your plans for achieving them. Also, keep me posted on your progress. I’d love to help cheer you on to success!

Together we can do it!