The New Year is upon us! As a result, resolutions have been set in place all over the world. We know that there can be some stress that is centered around resolutions and that is why our team at EHS wanted to provide you with some ideas to help you set and maintain your resolutions in a healthy and beneficial way. Below are 3 new ways to think about your resolutions for 2018.
1) Small, Not Big!
Think about the New Year as a time where we are not expected to make huge character changes, but instead introduce small changes that can carry out for the rest of the year. For instance, what is one trait about yourself that you can change? One habit? One goal? What would it be like to just focus on one of each of those, versus trying to change 10 things all at once? If we go too big all at once, it can lead to being overwhelmed. If your plate is already full in life, then take time to introduce something small and hopefully that will lead to excitement when you see results in that area of your life.
2) The Process – Not The End Result.
So, for the next year we are going to focus on “x”. With this, remember that how much change occurs isn’t as important as recognizing that we are changing our behaviors, attitude, etc. in order to promote positivity and well-being in our lives. Imagine focusing on the feeling and the process of exercising more than the end result; how would that affect your mindset on what it is you are changing? Too often, people have the tendency to make huge To Do lists and turn everything into a job. When that happens, the excitement of going through the process is lost! Think about being a kid. We were not trying to grow, we just did and a lot was accomplished in the first 10-15 years of life. That brings us to our next point.
3) “Nature does not rush, yet everything is accomplished.”
Another great way to ensure that we make continual progress is to be easy on ourselves! We do not have to accomplish everything in this next year. Another way to think about it is everything in your life up to this point is a prequel and your story begins now. Now that you have made a conscious decision to better yourself, let this be the new chapter. And no matter what happens this year, think “Rome was not built in a day.” Let the introduction of a change into your life be a rewarding process versus another task on your to do list.
In conclusion, resolutions can be daunting but we hope that the above ideas can you reframe the next year in a different way. Thank you for tuning into EHS and let us know about your resolutions if you get a chance, we would love to hear!
Warmly,
Trace Loptien, blog host for EHS