New Year’s Resolutions with Kirk – Certified Life Coach
Last year, I took a week off from my Bay Area-based job to enjoy a week at Mountain Trek. I won’t deny the first few days were difficult—sugar is my vice—but mid-way through the program I noticed a fundamental change within—a change so monumental I decided to leave my job and start creating written content for the retreat. To kick off my role as Mountain Trek’s Content Creator here is my first interview with Kirkland Shave, Program Director.
Related Article: 3 Steps to 10X Your Goal Success Rate
From cutting out ketchup to reading a book monthly, I’ve made my fair share of New Year’s resolutions. And with that, I’ve had my fair share of non-successes. Mid-way through my year of no ketchup, I convinced myself I could have a little dollop every Sunday, then weekends-only, and, soon enough, the sweet, salty, tomatoey sauce made its way into every. single. meal. The year I vowed to read more, read more I did—of Instagram and Facebook.
Concerned for what the onset of 2019 brings–what should I resolve to do differently this year, tangibly, spiritually, you name it, and how can I actually, finally triumph?–I reached out to Kirk to learn the ins and outs of successful goal-making.
Setting Goals With a Certified Life Coach
How do you set New Year’s Resolutions?
K: Here’s the twist: I don’t make them. Over the years, I’ve learned the changes that stick for me come from allowing enough time for daily introspection—for noticing imbalances and truly feeling, in my deeper self, where I need to create harmony.
What do you suggest to create harmony?
K: Pick something manageable. For me, I choose an action I can routinely integrate in a very real way, be it with friends and family or at work. If I don’t find a way to meld my goals with my routine, I end up self-sabotaging, giving up, and feeling defeated. Or like a failure. Neither of which are productive.
What are you currently working on?
K: Not allowing for 12 hours of non-ingestion between my last intake at night and my first meal the following day. Today’s intermittent fasting fad isn’t my motivation; doing a natural, daily fast is.
What sparked your desire to fast for 12 hours during the night?
K: I’m currently traveling through rice farming villages in South East Asia, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how everything follows the sun. Research shows that digestion while we sleep interrupts autophagy, the body’s opportunity to not utilize energy (from food), instead of going into a recycle—repair period. Ideally done for 12ish hours, this time of non-digestion naturally boosts cell health and longevity.
How do you combat the urge to eat right before turning in for the night?
K: I set my alarm to remind me to brush and floss at 7 PM. Once my teeth are clean, I think twice about looking for a snack. Am I always successful? No; I’m human. That said, by brushing my teeth right after dinner three times per week, I’m slowly but surely forming a habit. After a few months, I’ll add a day. As they say, “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch; yard by yard, life is hard.”
What 3 things does it take to help fulfill health and vitality in the wake of curveballs?
- Patience
- Curiosity
- Incremental change—make actionable micro-resolutions you can subtly develop into habits
Using Mountain Trek’s 5 pillars of health—destress, detox, sleep, fitness, nutrition—how can I help myself feel revitalized?
K: I recommend not trying to tackle them all at once; pick one pillar and make one micro-resolution. For example, if you’d like to work on sleep, you could make a micro-resolution to be in bed (and asleep!) by 10 PM three times per week, and not wake until 6 AM at the earliest. If you’d like to work on fitness, you could resolve to take the stairs whenever you have the option of using an elevator or escalator at least twice per week. Start small and the results will be bigger.
Thanks, Kirk, for the insight. I was going to go cold turkey on sugar again this year, after only making it a couple of weeks last year, but now I’ll rethink my intention. I need to find a way to make eating less sugar something I can bake into my routine more successfully. Going cold turkey on it doesn’t work in the long run.
To set yourself up for some serious mental, physical and emotional success, read more about why your resolutions are doomed, and how it is all about the micro-resolution. For brownie points, log your micro-resolution for this year in our Micro-Resolution Tracker. Hold yourself accountable, and get after it.
What is Mountain Trek?
Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:
