*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. An affiliate link means we may earn advertising/referral fees if you make a purchase through our link at no cost to you.
New Year’s Resolutions
As January comes to end, this is around the time when New Year’s resolutions start to fall away. Two of the more popular resolutions pertaining to weddings deal with fitness and finances. This makes perfect sense. Brides and grooms want to look and feel good on their wedding day. They also have the added expenses to think about, from the ceremony to the honeymoon, and even plans for buying a home and having kids. Here are some tips to help make those wedding resolutions stick!
Physical Health
Physically, we all know what to do: eat right and exercise. But while the steps are simple, they are not easy. Try following these tips to succeed:
- Break down big goals into smaller steps.
We recommend taking these lofty goals and breaking them down into smaller steps that you can achieve. A great book that explains and how to do this and why it works is Darren Hardy’s, The Compound Effect.* - Choose an exercise you will enjoy.
After setting manageable goals and expectations, choose an activity that you would enjoying doing as exercise. This could be things like running, yoga, lifting weights, dancing and hiking. If you dread it, you probably won’t do it, so pick something you will stick with. - Get plugged into a community!
This could be a online group or an actual club, a gym class, and just a group of friends. This will help hold you accountable and make it more fun along the way.
For our physical fitness, we enjoy using Beachbody on Demand.* It is basically a Netflix of fitness programs and has something for everyone. Even though this allows you to work out at home, it already has a large community for support.
Mental Health
When we talk about our health, it is more than just a desire to improve our physical fitness. We believe there should also be a focus on mental and emotional health. This is hugely important while trying to plan a wedding as well, as it can feel stressful and overwhelming at times. Here are some methods we have found helpful:
- Develop a daily routine.
While studying some of the most successful people in the world, a common trait that many seem to share is having a morning routine. This helps to center and focus your mind, relieve any stress, and help you tackle whatever tasks are on the agenda for the rest of the day. Having a nightly routine is also beneficial, such as saying bedtime prayers or counting things you are grateful for. These practices create stability no matter what else happens. - Keep a journal.
This does not have to be a long, time-consuming project. One or two sentences might be enough for you. But this allows you to stop and think about how things make you feel and can lead to noticing certain patterns. Sometimes even writing out our struggles can help us to move on from them. - Seek silence or meditation.
We can almost feel the eyes rolling, but having a quiet time each day has been proven to elevate your level of focus, allow you to remain more present, and also cope with obstacles more easily. If you need some assistance with this, we are big fans of the app Headspace* which we just started using this year. It provides guided meditation from three to twenty minutes, and covers a wide range of topics. This has been a total game-changer!
Finances
Finances, the topic no one ever really wants to talk about. It can be uncomfortable or even thought of as inappropriate. But regardless, it is important. Some wedding resolutions surrounding money are to either get out of debt or to save more. There may even be a specific goal in mind, like saving for the wedding or buying a house. Whatever your financials goals may be, these are some steps that have worked for us:
- Track your spending.
Whenever you track something, you become more aware of where you could do better. By actually looking at each purchase, you can see where you money is going. Maybe you spent an unnecessary amount on snacks this month a 7-Eleven (this could also help that physical fitness goal – you’re welcome). The app that we use to track our purchases is called EveryDollar.* It is free and easy to use. - Set a budget.
This may sometimes have a negative stigma, but setting a budget just means you are allocating a certain amount of money for a specific purpose. This makes it easier to live within your means, and tell your money where you want it to go instead of wondering where it went. Make sure to still budget in fun things too like date nights and time with friends. The app EveryDollar* that we mentioned above is also how we keep our budget. Two-for-one special!
Whether it is a health-related of financial goal, celebrate small victories while keeping that end result in mind. Remember, start with small changes – they will compound over time. Try and turn whatever your New Year’s resolution is into a game. Get others involved and achieve something great together!
Wedding Resolution Tools
Here are the links again to the apps, books and programs that have helped us:
The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy.
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. An affiliate link means I may earn advertising/referral fees if you make a purchase through our link at no cost to you.
