When I woke this morning I began to think about what the new year would hold. As I thought about 2015, I also thought about what I would write for today's post. I know many people make New Years resolutions only to find themselves forgetting about them come mid-April. So what should we do? Is making a determination to do better wrong? Or are we going about obtaining it in the wrong way?
I believe it is a good think to reflect on past behaviors. In fact, past behaviors are a good way of determining what potential future behaviors will be. If for example, you look back at 2014 and realize that when you were stressed you ate, it is a good chance you will do that in 2015 unless you make some modifications to your behavior. I believe however you can't simply change your behavior, it has to first start with a change within your heart. This means you must be willing to look at yourself to understand the reasons why you do the things you do. Is there some emotional things that have yet to be dealt with?
So how do we start 2015 with the goal of getting off the present road that has been leading to unhealthy choices (both in eating as well as emotionally and/or spiritually)? Let me give a few suggestions for that you may want to think about.
1. Self-Reflection ~ I suggest the first thing you should begin to do before you make any healthy decisions for 2015, is to really examine yourself. How would you rate your emotional health? Are you a emotional eater? Are you an emotional runner? I know I was! When I had to face difficulties, I would hide myself emotionally. I would not deal with those things that upset me. I felt as if running would keep me safe, but in reality it was only adding to my unhealthy choices. So take the time to look at your choices. The way you can tell if you value yourself is how well you take care of you. Do you make sure you get the proper rest? Do you eat what's right for your body? Do you exercise? Do you take time to talk to people that will receive the gift of you and help you to stretch yourself to become the best you? If any of your observations show some lack, then 2015 is the year for you to begin to place value on yourself.
2. Clean my house ~ Can I say this, you will never begin to make healthy choices if your house is unhealthy. What I mean is this, I was never able to stop eating all the Oreo's with several packages of Oreo's in the house. I had to begin to gradually change my house. And I had to be honest about what I was doing. See I was a "vegetable purchaser" but I realized I wasn't a vegetable eater. Be honest and patient with yourself. You don't have to come into your house and throw everything away, but little by little you can began to shift the things you purchase. In this last year, I stopped purchasing white sugar. I shifted mostly to organic products. I eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains. We have stopped purchasing pre-made items, cutting down on sodium and things my body doesn't know what to do with. In doing these things for myself, I was also doing them for my family. We stopped eating out as much. As we enter 2015, I will look at other ways to make changes for my family to continue to help us on this road to a healthy lifestyle (physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially).
3. REST, REST, REST ~ I have to admit, I am still working on this part of the plan. I know I don't get enough sleep, but I am truly taking steps now to make that better. My plan in 2015 is to really make sure I am getting enough rest. This doesn't only mean sleep, but rest and refreshing. There are many reasons we don't get enough rest. Some times its our lack of money so we don't think we can get away. I even suggest if you can't get away to a resort or hotel to still make some time for yourself. Take a reading holiday, a stay in my pj day. Whatever you do, make it about you. Sometimes when we do take a vacation day, it ends up being you spending time cleaning, or answering e-mails for work, or some other work that has you still tired at the end of the day. So for 2015, be mindful about how to get the true rest your body needs.
4. Family time ~ Part of having a healthy life is making sure you have healthy connections with your spouse or children. Yes, as a mother I know sometimes that I want to pull the covers over my head and wish away all my conflicts and problems. However, I look at my children now (they aren't perfect, but neither am I) and am grateful that I haven't given up. We have our battles (who doesn't with teens), but overall we are working on a healthy relationship. I look at my youngest daughter especially. We had some battles when she was in lower school. Yet, as things progressed we realized there were some things we needed to face and I was willing to admit my part in her personal frustrations. One thing we have to be willing to do is be active in making sure our families are healthy. This is part of having a healthy life, because it's more than just eating right, it's us living right.
What I am trying to say in this post is to make sure you set yourself up for success for the new year. We often think about losing weight or getting into a specific size as our goal. So what generally happens? We end up going on a diet and we do all the things we think we need to do to get that. Sometimes we do reach that weight or that size, then what do we do? We get "off" our diets. Or we stop the procedures we were doing to get there. So what happens is we end up finding ourselves back where we started. I know the temptation. I have to remind myself daily this is a life journey. When I don't want to go to the store, or cook dinner, or eat healthy, I remind myself Jewel this journey is for your life, this isn't a diet you get to quit. I also allow myself a few "cheats". Sometimes I may want some french fries. So I allow myself to have that (in my own way), without guilt but also without this becoming a normal thing in my life. So I pray that as you embark on 2015 that you began to examine your life to see what things you can do in this new year to help you draw closer to the healthy life you want. Until next time, remember we can W.I.N. in health.
I believe it is a good think to reflect on past behaviors. In fact, past behaviors are a good way of determining what potential future behaviors will be. If for example, you look back at 2014 and realize that when you were stressed you ate, it is a good chance you will do that in 2015 unless you make some modifications to your behavior. I believe however you can't simply change your behavior, it has to first start with a change within your heart. This means you must be willing to look at yourself to understand the reasons why you do the things you do. Is there some emotional things that have yet to be dealt with?
So how do we start 2015 with the goal of getting off the present road that has been leading to unhealthy choices (both in eating as well as emotionally and/or spiritually)? Let me give a few suggestions for that you may want to think about.
1. Self-Reflection ~ I suggest the first thing you should begin to do before you make any healthy decisions for 2015, is to really examine yourself. How would you rate your emotional health? Are you a emotional eater? Are you an emotional runner? I know I was! When I had to face difficulties, I would hide myself emotionally. I would not deal with those things that upset me. I felt as if running would keep me safe, but in reality it was only adding to my unhealthy choices. So take the time to look at your choices. The way you can tell if you value yourself is how well you take care of you. Do you make sure you get the proper rest? Do you eat what's right for your body? Do you exercise? Do you take time to talk to people that will receive the gift of you and help you to stretch yourself to become the best you? If any of your observations show some lack, then 2015 is the year for you to begin to place value on yourself.
2. Clean my house ~ Can I say this, you will never begin to make healthy choices if your house is unhealthy. What I mean is this, I was never able to stop eating all the Oreo's with several packages of Oreo's in the house. I had to begin to gradually change my house. And I had to be honest about what I was doing. See I was a "vegetable purchaser" but I realized I wasn't a vegetable eater. Be honest and patient with yourself. You don't have to come into your house and throw everything away, but little by little you can began to shift the things you purchase. In this last year, I stopped purchasing white sugar. I shifted mostly to organic products. I eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains. We have stopped purchasing pre-made items, cutting down on sodium and things my body doesn't know what to do with. In doing these things for myself, I was also doing them for my family. We stopped eating out as much. As we enter 2015, I will look at other ways to make changes for my family to continue to help us on this road to a healthy lifestyle (physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially).
3. REST, REST, REST ~ I have to admit, I am still working on this part of the plan. I know I don't get enough sleep, but I am truly taking steps now to make that better. My plan in 2015 is to really make sure I am getting enough rest. This doesn't only mean sleep, but rest and refreshing. There are many reasons we don't get enough rest. Some times its our lack of money so we don't think we can get away. I even suggest if you can't get away to a resort or hotel to still make some time for yourself. Take a reading holiday, a stay in my pj day. Whatever you do, make it about you. Sometimes when we do take a vacation day, it ends up being you spending time cleaning, or answering e-mails for work, or some other work that has you still tired at the end of the day. So for 2015, be mindful about how to get the true rest your body needs.
4. Family time ~ Part of having a healthy life is making sure you have healthy connections with your spouse or children. Yes, as a mother I know sometimes that I want to pull the covers over my head and wish away all my conflicts and problems. However, I look at my children now (they aren't perfect, but neither am I) and am grateful that I haven't given up. We have our battles (who doesn't with teens), but overall we are working on a healthy relationship. I look at my youngest daughter especially. We had some battles when she was in lower school. Yet, as things progressed we realized there were some things we needed to face and I was willing to admit my part in her personal frustrations. One thing we have to be willing to do is be active in making sure our families are healthy. This is part of having a healthy life, because it's more than just eating right, it's us living right.
What I am trying to say in this post is to make sure you set yourself up for success for the new year. We often think about losing weight or getting into a specific size as our goal. So what generally happens? We end up going on a diet and we do all the things we think we need to do to get that. Sometimes we do reach that weight or that size, then what do we do? We get "off" our diets. Or we stop the procedures we were doing to get there. So what happens is we end up finding ourselves back where we started. I know the temptation. I have to remind myself daily this is a life journey. When I don't want to go to the store, or cook dinner, or eat healthy, I remind myself Jewel this journey is for your life, this isn't a diet you get to quit. I also allow myself a few "cheats". Sometimes I may want some french fries. So I allow myself to have that (in my own way), without guilt but also without this becoming a normal thing in my life. So I pray that as you embark on 2015 that you began to examine your life to see what things you can do in this new year to help you draw closer to the healthy life you want. Until next time, remember we can W.I.N. in health.
