Many of us use the start of a new year to reflect on how our past year has gone and to envision how we want our next year to look. New Year’s resolutions are made. We have high aspirations. We try to make huge changes overnight. We start strong!
Then we lose our resolve. We give up and feel like failures. But… are we failures? Or did we just expect too much from ourselves too quickly?
Often, people make New Year’s resolutions that set them up for failure. This perpetuates a vicious cycle of trying to do too much too quickly, feeling overwhelmed, then using an all-or-nothing mentality to not just fall off the wagon, but roll ourselves into the ditch. We give up on our resolution and ultimately feel worse about ourselves than before, doing the exact opposite of our intentions.
This year, I decided to change how I make a New Year’s resolution. Gone are my days of trying to make a complete overhaul of my life overnight. Our resolution should be to try every day to improve ourselves. Our goal should be to learn to love ourselves as we are, and treat ourselves the way we deserve to be treated. You deserve to live a happy, healthy life and only YOU can achieve it for yourself. You can’t control everything that happens, but you can control how you react to it.
Living a healthy lifestyle is not black and white. Improving how we live our lives is a journey! Here are few new resolutions you can try this year:
- Explore new, healthy foods.
- Try a new vegetable or cooking method.
- Find activities you enjoy.
- Prioritize sleep.
- Reduce stress in your life wherever you can and find healthy ways to deal with the stress you can’t eliminate.
- Let go of negative self talk.
When we do things that go against our goals, we should reflect on why, figure out ways to avoid it in the future, and give ourselves a break. Acknowledging mistakes and coming up with a plan means we are growing and learning! Isn’t that what it’s all about?
So as the New Year begins, remember to challenge yourself without sabotaging yourself.
Decide you are going to work towards the life you want and make small changes throughout the year to get there. Make a resolution to work towards lifestyle changes and don’t sink back into the activities and mentality that keep you stuck in a place you know you don’t want to be. You will have failures and you will have successes.
Remember, obtaining the life you want is a journey, not a sprint.
Ready to get started on your journey to better health? Contact us today!