A glow up checklist that’s short, accessible AND effective? Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

 

In a world of unrealistic 20 step routines I’m here to share this simple 7 step checklist that will make you feel good and look good. These steps will bring you amazing results without the excessive cost, time and effort.

 

Step #1: Get clear on what you want

 

It’s very hard to start a life transformation when you’re not clear on where it is you want to end up or what exactly isn’t working in your life now. In fact, most people fail to transform their lives because they have no clear idea of what they want, they just end up going around in circles and never actually getting to an end result they’re proud of.

 

This step is vital but don’t worry if you’re not super clear right now, just get an idea down, get a little bit clearer and as you keep transforming and learning and growing make changes as necessary. None of these things are super set in stone they’re just here to get you started.

 

First, you need to be able to take an honest look at your life and see what needs to change, where you might be falling short, where you need to be putting a bit more effort in and what needs to be given A LOT less energy from you.

 

Second, be totally honest with yourself about where you want to be. Nothing is too unrealistic, no goal is unachievable (only if you believe it is), there is no wrong answer and you can always change these later on. What do you want to accomplish from this glow up? How much time do you want to give yourself?

 

Third and last, start coming up with small, achievable goals to bridge the gap between your current life and the life that you want to be living. Map out what your days look like, where you need to focus your energy and attention and how you’re going to create the dream life you’ve always wanted. Who is the person you’re becoming? What do they do every day? How do they show up for themselves and for their friends?

 

 

Step #2: Glow up from the inside out

 

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to look better and glow up physically but truly a lot of that outer beauty comes from inside and if your inner beauty is a mess you will never be as beautiful on the outside as you can be.

 

It’s important that you work on uncovering your authentic self. It’s likely that for a long time you have been wearing a mask or even multiple and hiding who you truly are. There are a lot of reasons you may do this, maybe you’ve never felt good enough, maybe you’ve been consistently influenced by the outside world so much so that you actually don’t know who you truly are, or maybe hiding the truest, most authentic version of yourself is only a protection mechanism to make sure you don’t get hurt.

 

When you put on masks and cover up who you are and hide yourself away it’s easier to protect yourself from pain, failure, rejection, anything you may have fear around. Not allowing people to see who you truly are definitely can protect you but it can also force you further and further into a shell of uncertainty. It pushes your true self down deeper and deeper until you are so lost and you have no idea who you are, what you want, what makes you happy, you’re just living for other people.

 

Take off the masks and get in touch with yourself. Ask yourself discovery questions like “what qualities of yours do you like that you would like to see more often?”, “what do you wish people knew about you?”, “what makes you proud of yourself?”, “what brings you inner peace?”, “how can you develop your relationship with yourself and your body?”.

 

When you ask yourself these questions don’t just leave them at surface level one or two word or sentence answers. The point of these questions is to dig deep and really explore who YOU are. You cannot glow up if you’re constantly running from your true self.

 

Step #3: ELIMINATE

 

Now that you’ve taken a little bit of a life audit in step 1 and you’ve done a little bit of self exploration in step 2 it’s time to ELIMINATE. I won’t lie, this is my favorite step. I’m one of those people who protects their peace so hard and has developed such strong boundaries.

 

From the life audit, you know what’s not working in your life, you know what is no longer serving you and will certainly not be serving you in the next chapter you’re moving into so it’s time to set boundaries around those things and those people and set yourself up to take your energy back.

 

The first couple boundaries you set might make you feel like a bitch, might make you feel like you’re being rude because it’s something that’s totally new to you. You’re used to being a people pleaser, those times are OVER. I can assure you, if you set your boundaries with kindness and respect, which I always suggest, you are not being rude. The people you are setting these boundaries around may make you FEEL like you’re being rude solely because they benefited from the receiving complete access to you (all the while, mind you, you suffered).

 

You know what drains your energy, you know what makes your nervous system feel dysregulated, you know who has your back and who is only there because you never say no. Kindly, respectfully distance yourself from those people and those environments.

 

 

Step #4: Develop a self care routine

 

After you’ve cleared your life of the masks, of the energy vampires, of the confusion that comes with not having direction, it’s time to establish a routine to propel you even further into your transformational journey.

 

Every single person is going to be different and everyone is going to have different practices that work for them. There truly is no one size fits all, HOWEVER, from all the work I’ve done not only on myself but with one on one clients, this is one of the most effective, basic frameworks to follow, in my opinion.

 

Journal morning and evening: There are many different styles of journaling but I’m personally the biggest fan of stream of consciousness. We have about 3,000 thoughts an hour, granted, most of these thoughts are trivial and fleeting but some of them really grab our attention. Journaling is the best way to get those cluttered thoughts out of your head so they don’t take up too much of your precious headspace AND when they’re good, so that you don’t forget them. I like a morning journal because you can write down your dreams from the night before or your wild morning mind thoughts. I also like an evening journal so you can dump everything out that’s been racing around in your head all day.

 

To answer your question, no, you don’t have to physically write them down, you can write as you wish but I do think that the act of writing out your thoughts is much more impactful than typing, you do you though.

 

Set 3 daily missions: I first heard of this strategy from Ed Mylett. Every day he sets three daily missions which are three small, achievable goals that will move him closer to his ultimate goal. When you set large goals sometimes it can feel like they’re unattainable and far off and it can end up being more discouraging than anything. Setting three daily missions not only keeps you on track to achieving that larger goal but it will also keep you encouraged as every time you complete one of your missions you feel a sense of accomplishment and receive a little dopamine hit.

 

Practice affirmations and positive self talk: The majority of the population has limiting beliefs. The majority of the population has a negative internal working model. Their minds are overpowered by negative self talk, thoughts of doubt, of incapability and it is a battle every single day to overcome that mindset. I’m sure you have heard before that every single day you have to go into battle with yourself and I’m here to tell you, it is SO true.

 

Every single day you are going to be inundated by these thoughts that have had the reigns over you for your entire life and every single day you are going to have to face a decision whether to let those thoughts take over and ruin your day or whether you will overpower those thoughts and choose to believe in yourself, choose to tell yourself a different narrative and you do that by practicing affirmations and positive self talk.

 

Affirmations are things like “I am” statements that reaffirm that you are worthy, you are capable, you are abundant and so on. These are helpful to combat that little voice in your head that’s constantly trying to make you believe you’re not.

 

The positive self talk is where the real work comes on. Imagine the positive self talk as your highest self, as your strongest warrior who has been second in command all these years just itching to take the throne but consistently overpowered. You have to let your second in command step up to the plate and destroy your negative self talk. Anytime I’m faced with my old programming or my internal dialogue that says I can’t do something I’ll imagine a full on battle between each of my mindsets. Become self aware enough to recognize when you’re allowing that negative self talk to take over and get ready for war.

 

Step #5: Commit to yourself

 

I fear nothing I listed is a one and done so you’re going to have to commit to this lifestyle because it is an every day thing. It’s easy to fall back into old patterns, it’s easy to lose discipline, it’s easy to put on another mask, it’s easy to let anyone and everyone into your life (especially if you’re bored and seeking attention), it’s easy to be lazy and let yourself go. All of those things may provide you with temporary comfort but they WILL NOT provide you with any benefit whatsoever long term.

 

You have to realize your worth every day. If you cannot realize your worth this will not be a sustainable lifestyle for you. This lifestyle requires work and effort and discomfort and only people who respect themselves and see their value will be able to succeed and reach that highest version of themselves.

 

Make a pact with yourself that you will put in the required energy every single day to never retreat back to the person you used to be. The person you were so unhappy with, the life you were so unhappy with. You will never again disrespect yourself and your value and dishonor your dreams and your desires. You will show up for yourself every single day even when you don’t feel like it. You understand that not every day is going to be incredible and spectacularly easy, some days will be easier than others but you will continue to persevere and push through and move into the version of yourself that you’re meant to be.

 

Glowing up requires a lot more than getting your nails done, a facial, and some filler. That’s all well and good but if you don’t work from the inside out you’re always going to be chasing more and more and you will never be fulfilled and satisfied.

 

xoxoxo