First off, I just want to say this is your year! I know that sounds cliche especially after a year like 2020, but you deserve a fresh start, I really believe it.

My wife and I sold almost everything we owned and moved into a tiny home on wheels! Last year, we decided to write down a list of our likes and dislikes. Turns out that we had a lot of junk in our home and in our lives as well. Less really is more, but moving into a small, 268-square-foot tiny home really forces you to get your priorities straight. The fridge is half the size of our old one, our freezer is the size of a small igloo cooler and our kitchen can barely fit one person. Truthfully, a lot of our kitchenware and appliances didn’t make the cut. We no longer have an oven, microwave, or dishwasher. Yep, most of the items in our home are used on a daily basis and are absolutely essential to us.

But downsizing our home also made us downsize our eating and purchasing habits. When we eat out, we order smaller portions because a to-go plate doesn’t fit in the fridge. Instead of buying a large 12-pack of beer, we opt for a small 6-pack of seltzers because the cans are slimmer and generally speaking, have fewer calories. Whenever we buy groceries it’s only enough for 2-3 days. Meaning, a lot of our produce is fresh in our fridge and rarely does anything spoil. However, because we have such small real-estate, we only grab fruits and veggies that we absolutely love.

Fresher ingredients waiting for us at home in the fridge led to a positive mindset towards health and nutrition. So now instead of buying a sugar-filled smoothie after a workout, we create our own acai and smoothie bowls with fresh fruits and microgreens from my tiny garden. Instead of spending 8 dollars on almond butter (yes, it’s a crime I know), I make my own nut butter from scratch using a Vitamix blender.

For me, cooking is no longer a chore, but a fun hobby filled with little experiments using whole foods and ingredients. Workouts are now a fun way to get some sun, not a mandatory task in solitude with headphones. One day I had the grand idea to step on the scale and, to my surprise, I lost one pound. Our tiny new eating habits led to losing tiny amounts of weight. Before I realized it, I had already lost 20 pounds and 5 percent body fat.

Moving into a tiny home gave us a fresh start because it changed our mindset toward a lot of things. What is really important to us? Being in such a tiny space forces you to get creative with everything. We watch more sunsets than Netflix. We talk and laugh more about life, our goals, and the newfound nuances of living in a tiny home. We literally took a lot of the best things about life and do them way more often now.

So what about 2021? How does the above align with your New Year's resolution and achieving your goals? It’s simple, write down a list of what your likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. Remove the things you dislike from your life and find help with your weaknesses to improve your life. You’ll be happier, more motivated and exceed your goals far past the month of January.

So whatever your goals are in 2021, losing weight, cooking and exercising more...or just figuring out what makes you happy. I want you to feel like it’s okay to ask for help from others and it’s okay to have a fresh start. Now go get after it!