Thinking about making some changes in the new year? Most people make specific resolutions, but tragically, most of those resolutions fizzle out in just a few months. In contrast, deciding to go for bigger-picture lifestyle tweaks is a more sustainable idea, one that’s much more likely to stick—pretty soon, your “changes” will just be your lifestyle. Here are some simple step-it-up strategies to implement:
Ways to Improve Your Mental Health
- Stop negative self-talk. The next time you catch yourself thinking, “I’m not sure if I can do [whatever it is],” stop! Instead, think, “I wonder how I can do [whatever it is]?” Think of where you could go to find answers. Maybe you know someone who could help, or maybe you could google what you’re trying to figure out. Or check your library—with about 300,000 new and revised books published every year in the US alone, someone has probably written a book about whatever you’re trying to do.
- Be more flexible. Unless it’s something you’re utterly, utterly opposed to doing, rather than automatically saying “no,” consider saying “maybe.” You might discover that you would enjoy trying a new food or tagging along when a friend suggests going antiquing or joining a bowling league.
- Drop all-or-nothing thinking. Too often, it’s too easy to retreat to a “my way or the highway” stance. Compromise is key! When you decide to meet in the middle rather than staying on the opposite side of the room, you often find that the journey to the middle is an interesting one.
Ways to Improve Your Physical Health
- Feel like calling a friend? Great! Go for a walk while you do it. In many ways, cell phones are intruding distractions, but being able to do the walk-and-talk is one of their advantages.
- Shop in person, not online. Therefore you’ll get a lot more exercise and will be supporting local businesses and jobs.
- Want to see a movie? Walk to the library and rent a new movie for $1 or get an older one for free. (Some libraries don’t change for either.) You’ll get in a lot more steps than if you turned on Netflix, and you’ll be supporting your community. And considering that your tax money funds your library, you might as well enjoy the benefits!
Ways to Improve What’s on Your Plate
- Get rid of (some) grains. Even whole grains still carry a heavy starch load, so instead of cereal for breakfast, enjoy eggs or plain whole-milk yogurt with fresh fruit; instead of sandwiches, toss what would have been the filling with some crisp lettuce and make it into a salad instead for instance.
- Make sure your nut butters are 100% nuts (with maybe some salt added). Most nut butters unfortunately have added sugars and added low-quality oils—sunflower oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, vegetable oil, etc. are in general highly refined.
- Check your sauces! From ketchup to sriracha, sauces almost always contain high amounts of sugar. Fortunately, sauces are a snap to make yourself and can generally be refrigerated for later use or even frozen for much later use.
- Above all, focus on healthy digestion! You can pre-order my Bye-Bye Belly Bloat book for just 19.97 to help you overcome your digestive disorders naturally –
WANT TO START 2019 OFF RIGHT?
CHECK OUT WHAT MY COLLEAGUE and FRIEND IS HOSTING THIS SUNDAY, January 13th!!
Do you know what a Vision Board is? It’s a way to manifest your dream life. When you make a Vision Board, you get clear on what you want to create in your life.
Once you get clarity, you select images and words from magazines, and paste them on a big board. Seeing this board each day aligns your brain with the outcomes you most want to attract. (Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, and Katy Perry all swear by Vision Boards!) It sounds pretty simple. (And yes, there is a process to make your Vision Board more powerful.)
So why doesn’t everyone create Vision Boards? Well, in our experience as a life coach and yoga teacher most of us never make the time. We let our busy, distracted lives keep us, well, busy and distracted. 🙂 It’s time to change that.
On Sunday, January 13th, we are hosting a VISION-BOARD and YOGA WORKSHOP to start the new year with goals for living your best life! You will first experience a fully led, all levels, slow flow yoga class which will help you go inward so you can gain clarity and focus so you can set goals for living your authentic life. Then you will be guided through the specific process of creating your own vision board.
Would you like to join us? SIGN UP HERE
We’re so excited to share this with you!
Michelle Mintz, OTR/L, CTACC and Cindy Levine, MSW, E-RYT
p.s. If you know a friend who has been confiding in you that she is ready to get clarity and change her life – then you have my full permission to
forward this email to her. We will take great care of her!
