Healthy Resolutions for a New Year

Don’t be afraid to dream big, but manifest your wishes by breaking down your goals into manageable pieces. A book is written one page at a time, a journey begins one step at a time, and your life is lived one day at a time. Don’t put pressure on yourself to do it all now. It’s less overwhelming to take baby steps, and it’s more likely that you’ll stick with your plans for a new you.

The Whole You

As you envision the year ahead, consider all aspects of yourself— body/mind/spirit—to experience each in the healthiest, fullest way possible. Draw a large circle and then divide this pie into segments that represent the different parts of your life, e.g., friends, family, exercise, employment, diet, nature, artistic pursuits, love life, spiritual life, education, health. Add slices to your pie that match your interests and activities, but make sure to address each dimension in some fashion.

Post your pie chart where you will look at it several times a week: Thinking of yourself holistically and creating a mental picture of how to attend to the whole you are all part of the process. Your resolutions can become natural components of your weekly routine rather than burdensome chores or impossible dreams.

Healthy Ideas

Here are some doable resolution ideas for a healthy new year that you might want to consider for your own pie, but be sure to tailor a list that best suits who you are.

• Drink an extra glass of water daily.
• If you’re a meat eater, add one more vegetarian meal to your diet each week and make sure it is made up of mostly vegetables (not just pasta/cheese).
• Walk up and down an extra flight of stairs, perform 5 to 10 additional sit-ups, or do whatever would be a small increase in your present level of activity several times each week.
• Cut down on fast foods—one fewer breakfasts or lunches on-the-go each month.
• Spend more time with nature, even if that means cultivating an indoor plant or growing a kitchen-window herb.
• Each month, choose a grocery staple that you will buy organic from now on.
• A few times each day, stop what you’re doing and breathe deeply for several minutes.
• Eat three more pieces of fruit each week.
• Replace each burned-out lightbulb with a compact fluorescent throughout the year.
• Try one new recipe every couple of weeks.
• Indulge your skin with extra attention and natural skin care products once or twice each week.
• Once a month, try a vegetable or fruit that you haven’t tasted before.
• Take a multivitamin/mineral (if you don’t already).
• Eat fish more often.
• Relax with a new type of tea or coffee flavor every month.