Holidays And Healthy Habits
With the holidays coming up, this time of year can pose some challenges. You start reflecting on how quickly the year flew by and what you'd wanted to accomplish and maybe haven't. Perhaps you start thinking about things you want to work on in the new year because clearly there's not enough time before that ball drops.
This constant cycle we get sucked into causes us to get down on ourselves for not meeting the goals we'd set out to achieve. Oftentimes, many of these goals hover around taking care of ourselves. We're rocking it at work or other parts of our lives but feeling rocked in the meantime because of it.
We get into the "new year, new me" mentality, but what's wrong with the old me? Absolutely nothing. Year after year, don't we all just want to feel better mentally and physically, not worse? There's nothing wrong with wanting that and taking steps to achieve it.
One of the keys to starting the new year successfully is to begin setting your intentions and building your new habit(s) now, not on January 1. The upcoming holidays don't have to detract you from taking that first step, even if it's tiny. The key is not pressuring yourself to immediately achieve some 'perfect' ideal but rather see a vision of how you want to feel in the future and do little things daily to get there. It could be as simple as striving to drink more water or aiming to move for ten minutes each day.
Creating intentionality around the holidays and habit shifts now will prepare you for success in the year ahead so you don't feel like the new kid at the gym who joined January 1 and then doesn't return after February 1, or feel so uncomfortable after holiday indulging that you just throw your hands up and say "F it"...again.
Lifestyle changes don't happen overnight - it takes time to see change and that's completely normal and ok. We need to stop judging ourselves and give ourselves some grace instead, celebrating the small wins we gain along the way.
This time of year is meant for celebration, connection and gratitude, and enjoying those things with people we care about. Indulging in tasty food almost always happens in conjunction with it, and that's part of what makes it fun.
Consider balancing out the next six weeks by taking on some healthier habits that will leave you feeling a bit energized—mentally and physically—so 2023 can start off on the right foot.
