Lose 10 pounds, be more present, date night once a week. I've made lots of New Year's resolutions over the course of my life, but a few years ago, I made the decision to live resolution-free. 

Through repeated failed “resolution lists,” I learned that I never stuck to the resolutions I set, and I now know I'm not alone! 80% of people fail to keep their New Year's resolutions. My motto has always been to strive to be my best self, and I’ve found that by maintaining consistency and working toward balance—however that looks in the moment - I’m more successful in achieving my desired goals. Read on for more ways I keep the idea of growing and learning positively framed throughout the year.

Seek Consistent Improvement

The beginning of the year isn’t the only time to make plans or discover new passions—it can happen any time! The idea that everything has to kick off at the start of the New Year can potentially cause us to prolong bad habits and create restrictions—instead, let’s keep it positive! Every day is an opportunity to work toward improvement. It’s okay to set a plan in March or discover a new passion in August. When you focus on steady growth, your aspirations will naturally adapt and evolve with you.

I always have a few things I’m working to better for myself and my family—just make a declaration that you're going to improve on something, break it down into actionable items, and take it a step at a time! Simple and actionable with measurable results is best. 

My current family goals revolve around the two most important people in my life— my daughter, Vivienne, and my husband, Jeremy. 

• With Vivi, I’m constantly reminding myself to be a more present parent, and an action I take to accomplish this is setting my phone to Do Not Disturb from 6-8pm so we can spend uninterrupted and fully present time together. 
• With Jeremy, we’re trying to have a weekly date night, so to make sure they actually happen, I schedule them in advance, arrange a sitter, make a reservation, and put it on our calendars. 

I try not to overload myself with more than I can accomplish. It’s okay to keep focus on just a few things at once. Right now, my personal goals are to: 

• Practice meditation daily: Give myself a moment to heal and replenish for the day ahead.
• Be a strong leader: Support our growing team and empower them to achieve their best work.
• Run a half marathon: Stay active and revive my love for running. 

Create a Vision Board

For me, visualizing my dreams allows them to manifest A vision board allows me to organize and focus on what’s truly important, inspires both excitement and focus, and serves as a consistent reminder to work hard to turn my dreams into reality.

The past few years, my priorities have remained the same: family, health, and Partake. However, I’m always working to improve on each. This year my vision board is comprised of:

• My favorite home cooked meals to inspire me to meal prep + continue to prioritize health.
• Logos of charities I want to support as a reminder give back more and teach Vivi the importance of giving to others.
• Photos from our last family vacation because I want to travel more and also make a mother-daughter trip happen this year!
• Partake on store shelves - We want to continue growing, so that we can share our cookies with more people. 

When I see these visuals, it makes me excited and motivated to work hard because they truly represent my passions. I hang this in my office as a daily reminder to not lose sight of what’s most important to me.

Don’t Be Afraid to Cheer Yourself On

I continuously express gratitude, not just to those around me, but to myself as well! It’s so important to stay positive and be proud every step of the way. It’s easy to pick out failures and point out the negative things, but focusing on the positive helps me stay motivated, grateful, and to keep pressing forward. I try to remember to recognize and take credit for the things I’m  doing really well. I regularly check in with trusted advisors and friends to ensure I’m seeing things clearly.

Managing food allergies can be tough—it’s a constant worry and I’m never sure when an accident can happen. But no matter how worrisome it is, I try 100% to make Vivi feel like her food allergies aren't a burden and make sure she can participate in her favorite activities. It takes vigilance and hard work to always prepare ahead for the what-ifs— and I give myself kudos for that. If you’re in the same boat, give yourself some kudos, too!

There have been bumps along the way in growing Partake, and in general, growing a company is never a smooth ride. While some things don’t perform as expected, other opportunities result in unexpected success. It’s become really important to me that we emphasize when things are successful so we can build off that momentum to drive the business forward. As for the bad, we acknowledge what went wrong, take it as a lesson learned, and move focus to maximizing the good!

As we settle into the new year, allow yourself the flexibility and space to sustainably build upon what you want to achieve this year. I hope a peek into what works for me gives you inspiration and insight to what will work best for you. Make the most out of 2020 and the decade ahead, but most importantly, enjoy the journey!

With love,

Denise

Want more news, inspiration, and favorite things from Denise in your inbox? Subscribe to Partake’s newsletter below! (Guaranteed spam-free.)