It’s the beginning of the New Year and this is the time when everyone is setting goals and resolutions to improve their minds, bodies, souls...and their pockets. Sometimes these “New Year New Me” intentions can be well-meaning and helpful towards making our lives better but they sometimes cause us to put way too much pressure on ourselves.
So how can we improve our health and keep realistic expectations for ourselves? Let’s start off by defining the word “healthy.” For most of society, healthy means being physically fit, meditating on a daily basis, and eating nothing but nuts and berries. Health is more than just being a size “0” or having huge muscles. Health goes beyond just the physical presentation of our body. Health is defined as the integration of our physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing in order to live a full life.
Taking care of our overall wellbeing can take many forms. Listening to our bodies and trusting our intuition when it comes to making healthy decisions is the key to building our most healthy selves. When your body is telling you to rest or dance or eat or hang out with friends, DON’T IGNORE IT. And of course we’re not saying to overindulge in a way that is harmful to yourself or others, but pay attention to the cues your body gives you to let you know when your body has had too much or not enough as it relates to your physical, emotional, social, and mental needs.
In 2019, we challenge you to try out different strategies that helps to maintain all aspects of your health. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all formula to getting healthy. But here are a few questions to to ask yourself in order to figure out what works best for you:
What does healthy mean to you?- Think about the times in your life when your body felt the most energized and alive and the least amount of dis-ease; when you were able to effectively manage your emotions; when your relationships with friends and family were supportive and loving, and; when you were able to think clearly without the constant intrusion of negative thoughts.
What needs to be in your life to help you get healthy?- Using your above answer, what were the specific things in your life that got you to that state of being healthy? Were you resting more? Going to therapy? Intuitively eating? or Spending more time with loved ones?
What brings you pleasure?- And of those specific things that helped improve your overall wellbeing, which do you enjoy doing the most? How can you incorporate those things into your daily/weekly schedule?