BROADCASTS.com

b'Well, we\\u2019ve nearly made it to the end of another January.\\n\\n\\n\\nAs of today, I\\u2019m 24 days into my first Whole30. I\\u2019m 4 weeks into a new training program. I\\u2019m 14 posts into committing to writing and sharing more often on Instagram and LinkedIn. I\\u2019m 4 weeks into bullet journaling.\\n\\n\\n\\nAs you might guess, I love January. I love the potential, the possibility, and the opportunity of the new year. I love setting new intentions and goals.\\n\\n\\n\\nOf course, not everyone feels this way. \\u201cFebruary is the new January\\u201d memes are popping up everywhere. There\\u2019s a January backlash that\\u2019s been gaining steam over the last few years.\\n\\n\\n\\nIf you don\\u2019t mind, I\\u2019d like to share my take on why this is\\u2026 but I need to do it, as per usual, with a fitness metaphor.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen I was a young athlete, I loved the fast burn. I was always itching to steal second base, to sprint across the finish line, or to take a fast break for a lay-up.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen I started training as an adult, I approached things the same way. Even if it hurt or ruined me for the rest of the day, I\\u2019d hit the high intensity intervals hard. Endurance was like a dirty word.\\n\\n\\n\\nI figured if I kept training at that high intensity, I would eventually be able to endure. \\n\\n\\n\\nBut I was wrong.\\n\\n\\n\\nLuckily, I learned a lot more about pacing and the benefits of low-intensity exercise. Instead of asking myself how fast I could run for 15 seconds, I started asking myself if I could hold this pace for a mile, 3 miles, or even 10 miles. Instead of always working myself into a sweaty mess, I learned to take plenty of rest and enjoy a workout that was hard work\\u2013but felt easy.\\n\\n\\n\\nI started to embrace the slow burn.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe results spoke for themselves. Yes, I could run for miles upon miles without stopping. I could move heavy weights. I could climb for hours. And the crazy thing is: when I did decide to up the intensity, I could go faster and harder.\\n\\n\\n\\nI toed the line at which working hard turned into overworking. I trained myself to stay on just this side of comfortable so that when I did really want to push myself, I was ready.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe way we\\u2019ve been trained to approach January\\u2013whether in life, fitness, or business\\u2013is the fast burn. Set all the resolutions. Change all the things. \\n\\n\\n\\nIt\\u2019s exhausting. And no wonder people are ready to move away from that all or nothing approach to the new year!\\n\\n\\n\\nBut that\\u2019s not how I\\u2019ve approached the last few Januarys. \\n\\n\\n\\nJanuary is, instead, an opportunity to set the pace that I can keep for the next 52 weeks. It\\u2019s a chance to ignite my slow burn and reclaim my routine.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe way I do that is by identifying the habits I want to nurture throughout the month. \\n\\n\\n\\nMy habits are the things that either stoke my fire or slow my flow. They\\u2019re either propelling me forward with grace or making a mess of my best intentions.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhether it\\u2019s in life or business, the health of my habits is the biggest contributing factor to the success of my goals.\\n\\n\\n\\nThat\\u2019s why I choose to use January as a time to reexamine my habits, choose 1 or 2 things that I want to actively cultivate as habits, and eliminate something that\\u2019s not serving me. It\\u2019s not a frenetic race to some external goal. It\\u2019s a refinement of what\\u2019s working and an elimination of what\\u2019s not.\\n\\n\\n\\nI want to celebrate the most effective habits of small business owners in our network. So, we\\u2019ve asked 4 members to share what\\u2019s working for them as they reexamine and refine their own rou...'