Every year, I notice an increase in the number of people out for morning runs right after the new year. And I always think to myself, “January is a lousy month to start running. It’s so cold!”
Over the next few weeks, the numbers start to dwindle until it’s back to just me…..and a few regulars I wave at every time I’m out.
So many people who set New Year’s resolutions make them about things they don’t actually care about. They say they want to “lose ten pounds” or “spend less time playing online games.” These are nice ideas, but they aren’t very meaningful and definitely not mindful!
Instead, think of your goals in terms of how you want to think about yourself and how you want others to think of you. Look a year or more down the road. Who do you want to be?
So, it’s time to take control of our wellbeing! A healthy mind helps us have a healthy body, which in turn gives us a healthy mind…..and repeat. This relationship goes hand in hand with a more positive outlook on life, being able to cope so much better with things and not allowing the little frustrations and annoyances to bother us at all. In other words, we all need to be mindful rather than having our mind-full.
Mindfulness helps us in so many ways. From refocussing and recharging to improving our sleep patterns, promoting relaxation and being genuinely nicer, happier people.
As we start 2023 it’s important to embrace alternative ways to ease the stresses of living in our new sliding-scale-of-interventions world! As we take on more and more, we can sometimes find that we struggle to cope, and so, stress becomes that unseen burden that can lead us to become anxious, sleepless and prone to anger or even overeating.
Whatever you enjoy, do it! Whether it’s taking up that new hobby, reconnecting with friends, reading or even writing a book, planning your next adventure, anything, just make time for you. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you’ll achieve.
It’s important to remember that we can start a new way of thinking and a positive way of living at any time of the year…….