Happy Motivation Monday! Can you believe it is the last Motivation Monday post of 2014?
Once Thursday rolls around, millions of people across the globe will be setting New Year’s Resolutions. True, only 8% of people achieve their resolutions by the year’s end, but the opportunity to start fresh and set an intention for the coming year is too difficult to pass up for most people (myself included!).
Exactly a year ago today, I posted my thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions. Basically, I recommend setting goals that are realistic to your situation, breaking the big goal down into bite-sized pieces that you can monitor daily or weekly, and celebrating your incremental successes. Most importantly, if you’re going to commit, then commit. You have to believe in yourself, you have to be honest in tracking your progress, and you have to follow through!
In that same post, I also suggested 7 New Year’s Resolutions that I recommend for those starting their health journeys or wanting to make a positive impact on their health. Check out the original post to see if one of these resolutions fits you!
A second kind of resolution…
I truly do believe in setting those classic health resolutions, but I want to encourage you to set a second resolution, as well. Broaden the horizons a bit and make the second resolution about your mental health, relaxation, or appreciation.
- Start a gratitude journal! I talk in this post about all the health benefits of a practice of gratitude.
- Every morning, look in the mirror and find one thing about your body that deserves to be complimented.
- Try to incorporate one (small!) random act of kindness into every day.
- Build in 5 minutes of stillness, or “me time,” every single day, and force yourself to just be still.
- Take a bath, a nap, or a walk every week – purely for relaxation.
- Try a guided meditation or a yoga class every week.
- Each Sunday evening, make a list of 3 things you are excited for in the coming week, and 3 things that went well in the previous week.
(By the way … I finally re-did my Recipes page as a New Year gift to you! Now, you can see a list of all of my recipes by clicking on the “Browse Recipes” letters at the bottom. You can also search by ingredient: if you have some cauliflower on hand, either type “cauliflower” into the search bar, or click on “Key Ingredient” and then “cauliflower” to see a list of all of my recipes that include cauliflower! Go play around – it’s so much easier!)
So tell me in the comments … Are you choosing to make a New Year’s Resolution this year? If so, what is it?
I like those new resolutions! I could use a little more self love sometimes. Happy New year to you
Here is my comment from a year ago:
“SMART is always what I comment on when the subject of resolutions comes up. It was many years ago in a project management class that the instructor brought it up, and because it was early in the year he used the example of resolutions – specifically that they generally fail, and mostly because they are not designed to succeed!
So … I will NOT make any ‘New Years Resolutions’ this year, but I will set up some goals, with metrics and milestones and so on. They will be related to running, music, reading, writing, work and family.”
I truly believe that resolutions that are not really goals are bound to fail. SO that will continue to be what I do – set out a plan for my goals.
I love these! They are small tweaks to your day but can have a huge positive impact! I’m still setting resolutions for 2015, but one of them is to develop a new morning routine that’s more peaceful and helps me set my awareness for the day – rather than going right to email or social media! Ick!
Great resolution, Ruthie! I have been keeping the first 10-15 minutes of my day email free for about 4 months … even though it’s so hard (which is ridiculous given that it’s only 10-15 minutes!) it makes a huge difference! Keep it up!