Amidst all the shopping, wrapping, baking and holiday hustle and bustle, you may also be thinking about what you resolve to change or enhance next year. January 1st tends to start out with a fresh approach to eating healthy foods, working out, saving money, and so on. Come spring, many of those best intentions have gone by the wayside. You can avoid the guilt in 2017 says Coach Colene Elridge, who wants to change your perspective. 

Kentucky-based Coach Colene is a results-oriented success coach with nearly 15 years of experience in human resources, training, government and entrepreneurship. Coach
Colene’s impressive background includes serving as the Executive Staff Advisor with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, as well as an HR Business Partner with Sterling Yoga Inc.

Coach Colene’s personal philosophy, as well as her opinion after years of working with clients, is
that resolutions are overrated. “Resolutions are often accompanied by feelings of failure, being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start,” says Coach Colene, M.B.A. “Instead, I started making monthly themes. This practice has made such a difference because I spend an entire month focusing on one thing instead of going in several different directions.”

Coach Colene gives great examples of monthly themes:
•    January theme: Joy - “What can you do to feel more joy? Set the intention to find and experience joy by saying an affirmation about joy every morning this month,” suggests Coach Colene.  
•    February theme: Learning - Is there a skill or hobby you really want to learn? Do it. For Coach Colene, February will bring signing up for a hip-hop dance class!
•    March theme: Family - How can you be more intentional in the time spent with family? “This is the time to put away the iPhone and really talk with your family. Play board games, go bowling, or make dinner together. Make March the month for real, lasting connections,” urges Coach Colene.

More great theme advice from Coach Colene: 
•    There’s no time like the present! Coach Colene suggests setting 12 months of themes at the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017 in order to have a road-map for the year.
•    Put it in writing. “To remind me of my theme, I'll write it on the top of my planner each week. Sometimes, I’ll set an alarm to go off in my phone that says, ‘What are you doing to experience joy today?’ These are easy ways to remind yourself that don’t overwhelm,” adds Coach Colene. 
I love this idea for 2017. Who’s with me? 

If you’d like more inspiration from Coach Colene, she e-mails Monday Morning Pep Talks. The advice is free and may be accessed by signing up here: http://bit.ly/1UggnY2.  Visit Coach Colene on the web at www.coachcolene.com.