How I'm Becoming the Best Version of Myself: The Plan

So, I've shared that I'm this journey to Becoming Brittany aka becoming the absolute best version of myself in every way, but I haven't shared how I plan to do it and how you can do it along with me!

Step One: Who is the best version of you? What are they like?

The first step is to decide what being the best version of yourself looks like to you. Sit down and journal about what that future you is like. Consider how you would describe that person physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, spiritually, and in their career. Are they someone who maintains a healthy balanced lifestyle, someone who is an athlete and competes in fitness competitions or someone who doesn't prioritize fitness? What are they like mentally and emotionally? How do they handle money and what financial position are they in? What spiritual and/or religious practices do they follow if any? What kind of career do they have? Think through every detail and be sure to describe the person YOU want to become, not who society expects you to be, not who your parents and family would like you to be, not who your boss or friends expect you to be...this is about who you want to be.

Step Two: What traits and habits does the best version of you have?

Next, read what you just wrote and take it in. Imagine that life and what it's going to be like to be that person. Categorize the things you wrote down into physical, emotional/mental (I grouped these together but you don't have to if you consider them to be separate), financial, spiritual and career. Now, look at the traits you described for your future self in each category and think about what habits a person with those traits has and write them down. Maybe you decided that the best version of yourself physically is very into health and fitness, which means they would workout x number of times per week, drink water, eat healthy, get enough sleep, etc. Be sure to take a step further. So for that example, you would determine what type of workouts that version of you would do and enjoy, how much water they'll aim to drink a day, what type of food they'll eat and how they'll make sure to consume a healthy diet (do they food prep, buy only healthy foods, cook a separate meal for themselves than they do for their family?), and maybe what time they'll go to bed and get up to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. Another example would be maybe you decide that the best version of yourself financially has an emergency fund set aside in savings. You'd want to determine how much money you'd want in your emergency fund, how you would save that money, etc. If you're unsure what habits a person with the traits the best version of yourself has, do some research for inspiration! Maybe check out your favorite fitness influencer, a popular financial expert, or a person with the career that version of you has.

Step Three: How will you get there?

Now that you've decided what the best version of yourself is like and what habits they have, set some goals for yourself in each category and write them down. Be detailed. These goals should be "SMART", which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time based. What steps do you need to take to get to that version of yourself in each category? Using the financial example from above, let's say you decided the best version of yourself has a $10k emergency fund saved up. Awesome! Now how can you get there? Start as small as you need to. Do you want to have a certain amount from each paycheck deposited into your savings account? If so, how much? It could be $20 or it could be $200. What will allow you to do that? Maybe you'll need to go out to dinner less or stick to a certain spending budget each month. Once you determine the details you can make it a "SMART" goal. For example, it could be "Save a $10k emergency fund within the next 18 months by saving $400 a month and putting all bonuses directly into savings." Depending on your personality, you may need to create little subtasks under each goal to slowly build up to it. Maybe your first step is to create a budget and stick to it which allows you to put $20 a week in savings to begin with, then once you've done that for three months and you're consistently sticking to you, you increase the amount you're saving and decrease your spending for another three months, and then finally you increase to saving $400 a month along with your bonuses.

Step Four: How will you hold yourself accountable?

You know exactly what the best version of you looks like, what habits and traits they have and how you're going to get there, now what? You need to decide how you're going to hold yourself accountable. If you're not sure what works for you, do some research and get some inspiration from Instagram, Pinterest or your favorite influencers and bloggers. I recommend a daily habit tracker, power lists, and regular check-ins with yourself. Whatever you decide, create it and keep it in a place where you'll see it constantly and keep up with it. Maybe for you that's on your laptop, in your journal or on your phone.

Step Five: Believe it.

All that's left is to believe that you are becoming that version of yourself. Keep that vision of the best version of yourself, the person you're becoming, and the life you will have at the front of your mind and stay focused! You have a plan and you are making it happen. If you struggle to stay focused or believe in yourself, practice exercises that help such as journaling about it, reading the description of your future self that you wrote down and the goals you have that are getting you there, gratitude journaling, affirmations and meditation. You've got this girl. Here's to becoming the best version of you!

In the next blog, I'll start to share what the best version of myself looks like, how I'm getting there and how I'm holding myself accountable. Here's to becoming Brittany!