Happy new year, Bellas! I hope each and every one of you enjoyed a fabulous holiday and are feeling renewed and rejuvenated for the new year ahead of us! We trust that Santa was good to the Bellas this year as I’m positive all of us made the nice list!

First of all, I truly want to thank those of you who supported our open house days in the month of December, both at our spa on December 9^th as well as those of you who took advantage of our online open house sale on the following Friday, December the 16^th. I was truly overwhelmed by the amount of support shown to me throughout the community and we hope to have aided you during the hectic last-minute holiday shopping season!

For those of you who weren’t already aware, 2016 marked my first Christmas as a grandmother and this made for a very special occasion. From my family to yours, all of us would like to wish you a very happy and successful 2017!

My mother, along with her great granddaughter, wish you all a happy new year!

Once the calendar had officially marked the beginning of the new year, myself and a few good friends got together for a fantastic evening of food, drink, and laughs by the barrel! As stressful as the holidays may get at times, I am always extremely thankful and grateful for all of the amazing people I am blessed to have in my life, both on a personal as well as on a professional level. Here’s to great memories and to making many more new ones!

Want to ensure you have a great year? Keep great company!

If there’s any downside to the Christmas holidays, it’s the fact that once the time off concludes, we have a tendency to put a ton of pressure upon ourselves to stick to our resolutions. We must always keep a positive frame of mind and set realistic expectations of ourselves so we aren’t sabotaging our attempts to hit our targets before we’ve even gotten started!

I read an interesting article recently that spoke to the reasons behind why we often fail when it comes to our ‘to-do’ lists. According to IdoneThis, a company which sells progress-tracking software, 41% of to-do items are never completed.

Here’s a huge reason why: people often fill their to-do list with far too many items. This can lead to anxiety and worry that doesn’t end up resulting in a whole lot of accomplishment. Also, a big problem is that we are often giving ourselves way too much time to complete our goals. Too much time to finish something? The more likely we’ll continue to put it off.

One of the most enlightening items from the article (at least for me) came with a simple perspective-challenging sentence: “Only 15 per cent of the things that people accomplish start as planned to-do items. That means most of what is accomplished – 85 per cent – is never even on the list.”

Wow. Think of that figure the next time you tell yourself you aren’t worthy of a bit of credit. Because we are constantly facing new events, new interruptions, and new challenges – oftentimes, things that can pop up out of nowhere which become immediate priorities – so much of what we are accomplishing never made it to our list in the first place.

As the article suggests, when creating your to-do list, write out the next step you’ll need to take to get you closer towards your goal. This makes your endgame a lot more attainable as you now have an action in place for your next step rather than looking solely at the ultimate final outcome.

On a similar note, I’d like you to take the five minutes required to watch this video entitled, “Take Responsibility for Your Life”:

Beyond the incredibly inspiring clip above, the folks at Fearless have a few fantastic recommendations on how to find the motivation to change your life and create a new YOU for the new year!

REMOVE OBSTACLES

Such as:

• Fear of change
• Not wanting to be uncomfortable
• Boredom
• Fear of insecurity
• Feeling worn-out
• Fear of failure
• Lack of time
• Too busy
• Fear of not being good enough
• Impatience
• Perfectionism
• Feeling overwhelmed

None of these are insurmountable!

TAKE SMALL STEPS

• If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the huge change ahead, take one small step at a time instead. What one small action can you take TODAY that will help you to move forward NOW?

HIRE AN ACCOUNTANT

• Not a financial accountant but a trusted individual who can hold you accountable for your actions!

And finally…

EMBRACE THE DESIRE YOU HAVE!

There is simply no good reason why 2017 can’t be the best year yet for all of us! One of my main goals for 2017 is to continue helping to keep your skin, body, and mind healthy while providing the occasional motivational boost along the way!

With last year’s launch of our new website and online shop, it’s only right that I do my best to give back as much as possible in thanks of your continued support.

Have a great year, Bellas!