What would your life be like if you resolved to focus on feeling good for the next year? Isn’t that more compelling than resolving to losing weight, exercising more, or eating better? Feeling good allows for so many more possibilities to feed your mind, body, and soul.
So, what would make you feel good? What would help you feel less stressed? What would bring you joy? Take some time to write down your desires. Once you have a picture of what you want then you can start to make it happen. However, it is important not to let this become a big, daunting, stress-inducing goal. This time only think about what you can commit to doing in two-week intervals and only to what you realistically can do. Each step need only be a little more than what you are doing now. Here are a few ideas:
- Take a 10 min walk, 2x week. The movement will give your more energy, help clear your head and lessen anxiety.
- Go meatless 1 day a week. Consuming less animal protein will give your body a break from the hard digestive work and help shake off that sluggishness.
- Before getting in bed, take 3 deep breaths. Practice 3x week. It will lessen the effects of stress metabolism and help you sleep better.
If you’re thinking this doesn’t sound lofty enough or hard enough then here is a useful way to think about the “small step” approach to getting healthy and being happy. I read this analogy in a book called ‘Energy Now’ by Michelle Cederberg and it made perfect sense to me. Getting healthy is much like getting out of debt. Which debt strategy would make the most sense to you?
- Occasionally drop a large lump sum of money onto your credit card when you have extra cash around.
- Wait to win the lottery and while waiting for that fantasy to come true do nothing to improve the situation.
- Commit to regular small payments every week based on what your budget can handle.
When you look at it from a debt management perspective, it’s like duh, of course #3. If this isn’t a duh for you, then you may want to also read Michele Singletary, the Washington Post Financial Columnist. LOL!
So, if you have a resolution(s), figure out how can you tackle it using small steps. What can you do for the next two weeks? Remember, many small steps will lead to very big gains! You can do it! As always, I’m cheering you on
