With the holidays and new years approaching there are plenty of people already starting with their new years resolutions to hit the gym, lose 5kgs or drop a dress size.

This can be great! I’m all for self improvement and physical fitness, but often we set goals like this based more on fear and external influence rather than in alignment with what our body and soul really need.

Here is my rule of thumb when it comes to goal chasing especially when it comes to physical fitness.
If what it takes to get there doesn’t feel good, neither will the end goal.

As Danielle Laporte says best in her book/program The Desire Map ‘You’re not chasing the goal itself — you’re chasing how you think you’re gonna feel when you get there’.

So the question you need to ask yourself is; How do you want to feel in your body and what can you do to start feeling that way right now?

Figuring out how you want to feel is a game changing exercise that can simplify your life, but the process itself is not so simple. Why? Because you have to go digging around inside your heart and gut and past, to break through a lot of our programmed and influenced desires to our actual true hearts desire (which can take some time and even some support).

But let’s just try this practice on for size and start to explore how you want to feel when it comes to your body.

Here’s what we’re going to do:

• Get a piece of paper (or go big and do a whole vision board)
• Write down or add images of your goal (i.e. the 5kgs, the new training class)
• Write down 3 things that you can or plan to do to achieve that goal.
• Now close your eyes and see yourself there, really step into that finish line, that new bikini, whatever it is that you see as achievement, and then ask yourself? How does it feel?
• Spend some time exploring here, do a full body scan while thinking of achieving your goal, allow all kinds of sensations and write down any and all the words that come up.
• Then I want you to close your eyes and think about the 3 actions you wrote down. How do you feel when you think of doing them? Are they in alignment with how you want to feel when you achieve your goal?

Maybe like me, when you think about your goal words like Light, Strong, Energised come up.

Originally, you might have set your self a strict diet, and harsh fitness regime to get there and when you solely focus on the goal rather than the feeling, if you mess up, get sick or skip a day you end up feeling defeated and it’s often the reason why we pull out, give up or end up undoing all our hard work once we’ve achieved our goal.

This doesn’t mean you never do things that are hard or challenging (just be gentle with yourself) and you can still use action points as guideposts, but make sure that they are ones that align with your desired feelings! Also instead of setting those action points in stone, start tapping into your inner wisdom and try simply asking yourself: What can I do today to feel Light, Strong, Energised (insert your own feelings)?

Some days it can mean you go for a light stroll, others you might do a full body workout class, and maybe it can even mean spending a night in with your girlfriends sharing laughter over a bottle of wine (yes please!).

Make 2017 your best year yet by letting your desire guide the way!

Veronica is a on a mission of spreading Love, Light and Gratitude around the world. 

What started as a physical wellness journey after a health scare in 2012 has lead to a passionate and in-depth adventure into spirituality, holistic health and the mind body connections. 

A preacher and teacher of self love, she strives to empower others on their own paths to mind and body wellness. 

She has a drive for guiding others through their own exploration to finding their core desired feelings and creating a life they love through her Desire Map Workshops as well helping to reduce their physical toxic load by teaching and sharing her love for essential oils and DIY natural solutions for your home and body. 

You can connect with Veronica via her website, Instagram and Facebook.