New Year, BETTER You
Hello there sweet, sweet internet friends! Can you believe it's 2020?! We definitely envisioned flying cars when we heard "2020" as kids - did you?! But we over here at YEG Wellness Collective hope you had an absolutely lovely holiday season with your family, friends/loved ones and have had a great start to the beginning of this glorious year (AND decade!!)
We've been talking a bit on Instagram about instead of saying"New Year, New You" realizing it is actually: New Year, BETTER you! A new year doesn't mean your past disappears and you suddenly wake up exactly where you want to be - but it is definitely a NEW start and NEW beginning to focus on loving yourself harder and better - to be better.
First, whether or not you have written down goals for this year, resolutions, intentions or have decided on a word to focus on, remember this:
"I'll wake up tomorrow before work and exercise" but you don't get up and push it to the next day.
"I'll go to yoga tomorrow" but you don't go and push it to next week.
"I'll work on setting this boundary by saying no to (insert here) tomorrow" but you go against it and say yes anyway.
"I'll eat healthy tomorrow" but still hit up the McDonald's drive thru for breakfast
Have you ever said any of these things (or similar) to yourself, broken them, and then felt bad/guilty about yourself not doing what you said you would? If this promise was to your best friend, your mom, dad, best friend, sister, brother, child - would you break it? Why is it when we make promises to ourselves they are the first things to break based on whatever circumstance are going on in our life?
We understand everyone is bombarded day to day with different priorities, tasks, jobs, work, family obligations, social commitments, etc. that pull us in every direction. But in order to work on your self-love, self-care and on YOURSELF - you have to make yourself a priority. Even if it is only sometimes or certain times of the day. Working towards wellness isn't a passive journey unfortunately. The literal definition of wellness is that it's an active process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a healthy and fulfilling life.
Active. Process.
That means continuously making choices that put you one step closer. Continuously deciding if you are worth it (news flash: YOU ARE!) to keep going. You deserve to feel good. You deserve to love yourself. You deserve to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve this year, so here are a couple of our tips to help love yourself better and work towards your highest potential:
We've been talking a bit on Instagram about instead of saying"New Year, New You" realizing it is actually: New Year, BETTER you! A new year doesn't mean your past disappears and you suddenly wake up exactly where you want to be - but it is definitely a NEW start and NEW beginning to focus on loving yourself harder and better - to be better.
First, whether or not you have written down goals for this year, resolutions, intentions or have decided on a word to focus on, remember this:
YOU ARE WORTH EVERY PROMISE YOU MAKE TO YOURSELF
"I'll wake up tomorrow before work and exercise" but you don't get up and push it to the next day.
"I'll go to yoga tomorrow" but you don't go and push it to next week.
"I'll work on setting this boundary by saying no to (insert here) tomorrow" but you go against it and say yes anyway.
"I'll eat healthy tomorrow" but still hit up the McDonald's drive thru for breakfast
Have you ever said any of these things (or similar) to yourself, broken them, and then felt bad/guilty about yourself not doing what you said you would? If this promise was to your best friend, your mom, dad, best friend, sister, brother, child - would you break it? Why is it when we make promises to ourselves they are the first things to break based on whatever circumstance are going on in our life?
We understand everyone is bombarded day to day with different priorities, tasks, jobs, work, family obligations, social commitments, etc. that pull us in every direction. But in order to work on your self-love, self-care and on YOURSELF - you have to make yourself a priority. Even if it is only sometimes or certain times of the day. Working towards wellness isn't a passive journey unfortunately. The literal definition of wellness is that it's an active process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a healthy and fulfilling life.
Active. Process.
That means continuously making choices that put you one step closer. Continuously deciding if you are worth it (news flash: YOU ARE!) to keep going. You deserve to feel good. You deserve to love yourself. You deserve to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve this year, so here are a couple of our tips to help love yourself better and work towards your highest potential:
- Write down your goals, ambitions, intentions, focus word - whatever it is. WRITE IT DOWN. Research has shown vividly writing down your goals is strongly associated with goal success - those who wrote their goals were up to 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to achieve them then those who didn't. Goal setting is linked to higher self-confidence, motivation and autonomy
- Read. You might say "okay, but how is reading going to help me?" Research has increasingly found that reading a good book improves mood, reduces stress levels, calms nerves, stimulates creativity, encourages empathy and reduces tension in the muscles and heart - all great things!
- Plan for success - get a planner! There are so many cool looking physical planners or use an app on your phone! Make to-do lists, plan ahead and write. things. down. Planning ahead can help you become more organized, have better time management skills and help decrease procrastination
- Visualize and imagine your best self. Recognize and self-reflect on the areas you can grow in and recognize that growth is possible - if you don't see that growth is possible, you're not going to find it
- Let yourself have fun - having fun is a form of self-compassion. Just like we have to be nice to ourselves when we make mistakes, we also need to be kind to ourselves by enjoying life when we can
- Gratitude & Joy - when you focus on the positives, you tend to see more positives. When you focus on the negative, you will likely see and feel more negatively. Take time to practice gratitude and joy everyday. We often feel most grateful at big occasions - holidays, graduations, birthdays - but we don't have to wait for special occasions to feel and show gratitude. Take time to write down 5 things you are grateful for and 3 things that brought you Joy during the day. Did you know that research has shown writing down joyful experiences for even only 3 days can increase mood and decrease visits to health centres even 3 months later? It is powerful
- Move your body!! Whether it's a dance party, yoga, cardio or an intense work out at the gym. MOVE!! Engaging in exercise can reduce anxiety and depression, improve mood, boost self-esteem, minimize stress and enhance cognitive functioning. Movement and brain health are interconnected and research suggests that exercise is just as beneficial for the brain as it is for the body!
- Therapy - now this may not be for everyone, but really going to a therapist for mental health concerns should be just as normal as going to a doctor. If you have tried and failed several times to work towards the best version of yourself, you may have some limiting beliefs or past trauma a therapist can help you work through. Talk therapy can help you deal with pain from your past while also helping you build coping strategies for the future. Therapists can help teach an individual to understand their emotions, teach communication skills to convey those emotions and provide fresh perspective to issues. Therapy has been proven to promote self-esteem, relationships and outlook on life. An easy way to find a therapist in your area is by searching the data base here based on your location. Many professionals offer payment plans, sliding scale rates or other programs.
- Recognize what you can control. You are only able to control yourself and your actions. It's a tough pill to swallow, but trust me, once you come to terms with this thought so much weight and worry is lifted off your shoulders. Spend less time worrying about trying to change other people and instead focus on what you CAN control
Remember that if you are starting fresh on a wellness journey today, you will have days of failure - and THAT IS OKAY. It is okay to fall off the wagon. It is okay to fail at what you are trying to achieve. It is okay as long as you get yourself back up, dust yourself off, and start again giving yourself grace and avoiding the self-guilt nonsense. We all start somewhere, and if this is your starting point we are SO proud of you! You are worth feeling better. You are worth fighting for your dreams and growing into your best self.
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