We all know January has crept up on us and many of us have already set, or are thinking about setting some goals for 2022. We spoke to one of our ambassadors, Sanchia Legister about goal setting and what her top tips are for staying motivated throughout the year.

Sanchia has been a loyal Mindful Chef ambassador for years; a yoga queen and Lululemon global ambassador, we can always rely on Sanchia to share her feel-good energy with our community.

Do you see the start of the year as a time to set new goals?

In lots of ways I think it can be a great time that makes sense to people; it’s the start of a new year and there’s a sense of starting again, afresh, and a lot of the world are feeling called to join you in new goals too. But I have to be mindful and protect my energy around this time of year as I can find the New Year energy overwhelming. I don’t believe in the “New Year, New Me”, I wanna celebrate every year that got me to the next one. I like to reflect on the previous year and go from there.

You’ve achieved a lot and have a busy lifestyle, what is your process for goal setting?

I start by asking myself “what do I want more of in my life?” and “what do I want less of?”  and then I think about all the small things that make up that thing and what I’m gonna need to achieve it. This makes it a bit more real and puts into perspective what the journey could look like and how I might feel along the way. If the journey doesn’t feel good, I’m less likely to do it. 

How do you prevent an ‘all or nothing’ approach?

I’m not sure I prevent an “all or nothing” approach from happening in my life, but I understand that if I’m in that phase it’s just a stage. Like training for marathons and long distances, it was a little bit all or nothing for that period of my life, but once I achieved the goal I moved onto something else, a bit like life. I like my life mimicking life. That makes more sense to me and allows the process to have space to change along the way. Sometimes goals change because life added a little something *read challenge* and I can adapt better with this in mind.   

How important is it to you to set holistic goals (physical, emotional & mental)?

I think these aspects have become the pillars of my goals. I don’t wanna fight against my body or mental and emotional well-being to achieve a goal, it makes the goal harder, less achievable, and sustainable, and doesn’t feel aligned with my being. Earlier this year I had to stop training with Kettlebells because it was harming another area of my life, that was hard because I enjoyed it so much, but it was equally hard continuing too. I wanna enjoy my whole life, not just one aspect of it.

How do you stay motivated to train during winter?

Motivation is a funny old thing that comes and goes when it pleases – I find this really annoying. So sometimes I have to stay focused on the knowledge that I will feel so much better after training, and I also have the power to change the kind of training I’m doing too. Life is for living and experiencing joy. Long winter walks have been a surprising but big thing in my life since the pandemic and they are so simple, it’s much harder to try and blame motivation for not going out on a walk and getting some air and nature.

January can be tough, what do you find helps you to stay focussed during this period?

Being kind and compassionate to myself. I don’t have to have it all figured out by the first week of Jan. It’s incremental shifts and consistency that form a habit and create a longer-lasting impact. That sounds and feels better to me than being rigid and hard on myself. 

What are your top tips for staying in a positive frame of mind?

I think it’s important to acknowledge that sometimes it’s better to feel what you’re feeling than to force something else. It’s ok to not be in a positive state of mind all the time, as humans we get to experience a myriad of things. But again, I ask myself a question “what can I do for myself that would make me feel a bit more positive?” and I go from there. Taking small actions to feel better usually helps me make more and more and the feeling gets bigger.

Enjoyed getting to know Sanchia? Join our conversations with ambassadors Lawrence Price and Katarina Rayburn.

Yet to try healthy eating made easy? Get £10 off your first two recipe boxes by entering code BLOG20 at checkout. Mindful Chef healthy recipe boxes provide you with the tools to cook delicious nutritious meals, in under 30 minutes. Each box contains recipe instructions, pre-portioned ingredients and fresh produce sourced from award-winning British farms.

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