Another year is nearly over, and you are thinking about your new year resolutions and accomplishing your dreams. How will the new year be different; do you want to lose weight, start an exercise routine, start a new career? It is always the same new year’s resolutions and for so many people these new year’s resolutions never seem to work and are forgotten by end of January!
The reason is that NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS DON’T WORK! Perhaps it’s time to try a new way of living our life and thinking about our future? We are living in difficult times and people need simple solutions to feel inspired and keep the faith throughout the next 12 months.
The world has been through a lot of ups and downs the last 3 years and we realise that our health is something that we should not take for granted. I don’t set new year resolutions as what works best for me is creating goals; they help me to stay focussed on developing a healthy lifestyle. I remain committed to improving my knowledge, looking after my mind, body and spiritual health. I use these 3 ideas to create my lifestyle and I have found that if you look after your own mind, body and spirit then everything else will naturally flow into your life. You will be building a healthy lifestyle and this can be easier to maintain over the coming 12 months.
If you start with nourishing your mind, body and spirit, these three elements aligned can help you create a happy and healthy life.
These are some ideas to help you create your new year goals starting with taking care of your mind, body and spirit:
MIND
It all starts with your mind and the power that you give your thoughts, negative thinking can attract negative people and situations in your world. Learn to control your thoughts and think positive thoughts, you cannot create your new lifestyle with negative thinking. Setting new goals requires a growth mindset to constantly learn new skills and develop yourself. If you are in a negative space and criticising yourself, your life will be out of balance.
Here are a few simple tips you can try to quiet your mind and develop a growth mindset:
- Learn to meditate: You are more than just your thoughts. Meditation is a great tool to help raise your vibration and calm the mind. You don’t need a lot of time to meditate, you can start with just a few minutes every day to feel the benefits of the practice. Close your eyes and focus on your breath. When thoughts arise, don’t challenge them or try to control them, just observe them and let them leave. It’s like watching a movie, you are in front of the screen but you don’t need to do anything, let the movie play and it will end. Meditation can help you become conscious of your thoughts, increase your awareness, but there is no FEAR as you navigate through any challenges you encounter during the day.
- Read for personal development: If you want to change your life, you will need to continue learning about yourself and what makes YOU happy. Reading for 30 minutes a day can expand your mind and you can learn a new topic. It’s time well spent as it can improve your knowledge and skills. No one can do this for you as each person has been created to realise their own potential, purpose on their journey in life. Find out what makes YOU happy, what hobbies you like, are you doing things just to make someone else happy? These are some questions to ask yourself. For example, if you have a new computer, and you don’t know how to use the system, programme, it won’t work. Keep reading and learning new skills for your development and happiness. You are not made to simply exist, go to work every day, go home and count the days for the weekend so you can relax for two days and start all over again the following week. Develop a growth mindset, you have gifts and talents that you have not discovered yet. Find out what you want to do with your life, why are you here? When you find out who you are and what you want to do, that is the starting place for changing your life.
“Once you stop learning, you start dying.”
albert einstein
BODY
Take care of your body, it is the temple you will live in for the rest of your life.
Here are a few simple tips to take care of your body:
- Learn about healthy meals: A plant based diet doesn’t have to be boring as you can learn new ways to include lots of fruit and vegetables in your meals. Eating healthy snacks during the day to help keep your blood sugar levels stable. For example, I like to reach for my dried fruit, cashews or walnuts that help maintain my energy level throughout the day. Drink as much water as you need and if you don’t like water, try adding some lemon for a refreshing taste and take regular sips throughout the day. Drinking enough water can prevent dehydration and help improve your mood and energy.
- Create an exercise routine: If you don’t have much time during the day, go for a 10 minute walk at lunch time to get out of the office and stretch your legs. Get your body moving and smile at people on your way, you will be amazed how good this feels. Don’t worry, it’s not strange to smile at people and anyway most people won’t be looking at you as everyone is too busy checking their phones to notice. Get plenty of fresh air to increase the oxygen in your body and help relieve stress. If you have more time during the week, try a gentle yoga class as not only does yoga improve muscle strength and flexibility but it also helps to reduce stress and promotes self-healing. Find an exercise you enjoy and do regularly during the week to maintain a flexible and healthy body.
“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.”
B.K.S. Iyengar
SPIRIT
There is no doubt in my mind that human beings are spiritual beings, we are created to love, be loved and accepted, we cannot exist in isolation. Spirituality brings everything together as the mind and body is an empty vessel without the spirit. The mind, body and spirit combined makes a person whole – YOU! We are energy and we attract good or bad into our lives, it is a difficult concept to accept and I struggled to accept this myself in the beginning, but we really are responsible for everything we are creating in our lives. However, the great thing in life is that we always have a choice to believe in whatever feels right for our situation and the stage where we are in our life and ONLY YOU know what is best for you.
We have the ability to create our joy and abundance in life and fulfil our divine purpose on this planet. Our human spirit includes our emotions, fears and creativity, we need to maintain the balance and develop a healthy spiritual connection to the divine, universe to thrive in the difficult seasons of our life.
Here are a few simple ways to reconnect in renewed faith, healing and energise your life:
- Practice your faith, attend a regular service or daily devotion: Be encouraged, the more you practice, the more resilient you will become in dealing with your inner critic. Remind yourself that you are more powerful than you realise, stay calm and tap into what you already know!
- Start a gratitude journal: Start writing 3 things that you are grateful for every day, you only need 5 minutes, this will help you raise your vibration as feeling grateful is one of the most powerful tools you can use to reconnect to yourself and improve your mood during the day.
- Start and end your day with a calming ritual: You can build self-care into your day and it can be as simple as spending 5 or 10 minutes of quiet time in the morning drinking your tea or listening to your breath and being grateful. You can do the same at night before going to bed, enjoy 10 minutes of reminding yourself of all your blessings and being able to achieve your goals for the day.
- Start a self-care practice: Give yourself the gift of time and don’t ignore your body’s need for rest, take a break and replenish your energy. Do whatever makes you happy, there are no rules for your happiness. For example, you might read a book half an hour or have a massage or you might want to go for a long walk in nature. I’ve learned to stop and take care of myself as when my energy is low, I no longer feel connected on my path. For me, it is my connection with God that brings me peace and light to help guide others in my work.
Realise that you are more than your thoughts and take a moment to tune into what’s happening inside your body. Listen to the sounds and to your breath as you inhale, exhale and feel the sensations of simply being alive. This moment can only be experienced through the heart, not the mind. If you want to know yourself, turn inwards as THIS MOMENT is all we have, all we are. IN THIS MOMENT, your heart holds all the answers, the body remembers who you were and where you need to be, from this moment you create your life. We need to reconnect to our energy, renew our faith, heal our life and remember that we are a spiritual being on a human journey.
I wish you a happy and healthy NEW YEAR and may all your dreams come true.
“I am a spiritual person living in a human body, not a human body with a spirit”
BOB PROCTOR