The New YOU doesn’t have to wait for the New Year…
The start of the new year always seems to reignite everyone’s passion and strive for a better fitness routine, diet, and healthier living. Although it’s a great refresher, remember EVERY new month, week, day, and even minute is a chance to start fresh. Seize the day and begin anew every time you feel you’re falling off track or making decisions that aren’t congruent with getting you to your ultimate goals. It’s never too late! The challenge…looking beyond JUST setting goals related to weight loss.
Advertising online and on TV focuses on dropping those holiday pounds and making this the year you finally lose the weight. And nearly everyone seems to join a gym, sign up with Weight Watchers, or start keto—all with the intention of losing weight.
Even when goals are not focused on weight loss, so many of them focus on the penitence of lack. We focus on what not to do, slowly but surely whittling our lives down to an empty kind of virtue, instead of embracing the joy, abundance, and experimentation of trying something new, vulnerable, frightening, or exciting. So, instead of hanging our hopes on something so many of us have failed to accomplish so many times in the past, let’s aim for something gutsy and new: resolutions that measurably improve our health, that help our relationships flourish, and that bring us more fully in line with our values. Instead of punishing yourself for the behaviors you dislike, chart a path to new habits, practices, and experiments that bring more joy and growth into your life.
If you want to focus on your health:
- Set goals around activities you’d like to be able to participate in, but can’t currently. By the end of the year, I want to be able to hike with my partner on their favorite 10-mile path or I want to
ride my bike to work more easily and comfortably. - Revive your love for an old favorite sport, outdoor activity, dance, or other physical movement you truly love.
- Spend a night every couple of weeks preparing a new recipe or an old favorite from scratch.
- Try a physical activity you’ve always wanted to, but never have. Join a yoga group with friends, try a martial art, or learn a new style of dance.
- If you’ve got access to a yard or community garden, try growing your own vegetables.
- Join a CSA or start going to the farmer’s market, and buy new produce to challenge yourself to cook something new, nutritious, and interesting.
- And of course, keep up with the recommendations you have been given for keeping your nervous system clear of interference! Chiropractic care is a safe and affordable way to allow your body to heal itself more efficiently and effectively.
If you want to invest in your own growth and relationships
Take stock of your friendships and family relationships. Which ones are feeding you? What can you do to nurture those relationships? And how can you address the ones that aren’t nurturing you?
- Scratch something off your bucket list. If it’s within reach, take the trip you’ve been putting off. Otherwise, try the activity you’ve been nervous about.
- If you’re in a relationship, talk to your partner and set a vision for the year ahead. Where do you want your relationship to be at the end of the year, and what can you both do to get there?
If you want to make the world a better place:
- Learn about a struggle that’s not your own. Race, sexual orientations, mental or physical disabilities, social or economic status, to name a few…
- Bring your actions more fully into line with your values: Commit to volunteering for an organization or community group that does work you believe in.
- Read up on disability justice. What can you do to make the spaces you’re in more accessible to people with disabilities?
- Challenge your own assumptions about size, weight loss, and health. The book Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon, PhD is a great place to start!