Let’s talk about 5 healthy habits for the new year. I am in the middle of reading the book Atomic Habits by James Clear (highly recommend). Reading this book, coupled with the new year upon us, has me evaluating how I spend my time and if there are things I could be doing better in my life.
James Clear talks about how improving our lives by small margins, making a 1% improvement in our existing habits, can compound into big results in our life over time. He puts forth the idea that those small changes are the difference between who we are and who we could have been.
I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more I realize I don’t want to look back on my life and regret the small things I could have done to have been a better, healthier, happier person. Thus I put forth these 5 healthy habits for the new year.
1. Have a green smoothie or juice every day
Okay, I’ll admit it. I struggle with this one. It’s a work in progress in my life. But it is a goal worth striving for. We all know that we don’t get enough greens in our diet. We probably also all know that they are the most nutrient-dense category of food in the world.
Throwing a couple of cups of spinach in a blender with a banana and water is a lot easier than making and eating a salad. Although I really like salad. The point is that it’s a very easy way to get extra vitamins and nutrients in our diet. With the added bonus of helping our skin and hair look better. Now that’s a win win.
Most of us own either a blender or a juicer. A lot of us probably own both. So look up some recipes and find ones that you like. Drink your greens.
2. Perform Yoga, stretches, or weight training every day
Our bodies need movement. The older I have gotten the less inclined I am to get out and move as often as I should. I find a lot of reasons why driving to the gym after a day of work is too hard. The thing is that we are losing muscle as we age, and that leads to things like osteoporosis. If we want to live long healthy lives and see our grandchildren be born and grow up then we have to take care of the bodies we are in.
If you can’t make it to the gym to weight train or can’t afford a gym, there are so many free exercise classes on youtube for you to choose from. I love finding free Yoga classes to do on YouTube. If you cannot fit that into your schedule, try doing some slow stretches. Stretching is incredible for your body.
The point is just to try to be consistent with it every day until it becomes a habit and part of your normal daily routine.
3. Set your intentions every morning
Tim Ferriss said “if you win the morning, you win the day.” Make your first minutes of the day useful. That feeling of productiveness will follow you throughout the rest of your day. Get up, make the bed, have some quiet time to read, pray, or meditate, and set your intentions for the rest of the day.
This time of prayer, meditation, or reflection can help you center yourself and find peace before your day begins.
Then as you go through your day focus on following through on those intentions. Every time you accomplish a task you wanted to get done, no matter how small, you will feel a sense of satisfaction which will motivate you to complete the next one.
4. Spend time outside in nature
Being in nature is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. It improves both our physical and mental health by simply being in nature. It has even been proven to lower stress levels and increase serotonin levels.
Getting outside first thing in the morning is even better as it exposes your eyes to natural light which helps set our circadian rhythms. Sunlight also provides a dose of Vitamin D that is so incredibly important to our bodies in so many ways.
A nice walk in the fresh air is truly therapeutic. So bundle up (if you live somewhere cold like me) and head outside first thing in the morning if you can, but anytime if you can’t. Just spend some time enjoying nature and reap the benefits to body and soul.
5. Practice positive thinking
No, I don’t mean this in a woo woo way. The fact is that we can influence our own mental health by what we allow our minds to think and dwell on. When we get stuck in a loop of negative talk, whether about ourselves or the world around us, it influences everything else in our lives.
Try this–go through your day today and every time you think a negative thought immediately rewrite it in your brain. Turn it into a positive thought. For example, “I look fat in these jeans” can turn into “I love how comfortable these jeans are.” Or, “I’m not surprised, nothing ever goes right for me…instead try “This is a bummer but I know that good things are yet to come.” You will be surprised by how many negative thoughts you were actually thinking in a day and how different you feel when you are aware of them and are able to rewrite them into something positive.
The saying goes that we don’t have anything if we don’t have our health. Which is absolutely a true statement. But it is also true that if we don’t have our mental health we don’t have anything. So let’s all practice some positive thinking.
Summing up the 5 healthy habits for the new year
There are of course a thousand healthy habits we could adopt, but our time is limited and we have to focus on attainable goals that are truly beneficial. These are the 5 healthy habits for the new year I am adopting. I hope that you find these ideas inspirational.
If you have healthy habits that you have adopted for 2023, or if you decide to try any of the above, I would love to hear about them. Be well friends.
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