A gift for ourselves?
December is always a somewhat crazy month, and this year is even more so! A month of highs and lows, of stress and relaxation, of endings and beginnings.
And as we face the end of the holiday season, and as the year is ending, we may face a bit of melancholy sparked with a dab of hope:
- that the year to come will be better,
- that we will be better, and
- that life will be better.
So I’m suggesting we give ourselves a gift of some time to move us every-so-gently into a better year for us personally.
One new habit, one positive life change can provide us with a cornucopia of self-esteem, fulfillment, pride and happiness. But, since we all know real change takes work, we need to prepare for it now in order to experience it in January!
Here are some suggestions for us:
- Choose just one habit to create. Something small and easy that will take only 5 minutes a day for the first couple of weeks. (Rather than committing to a full overhaul of our diet, picking something small like adding an extra servings of vegetables to our daily meals.)
2. Plan the time when it will be easy to do it. We can set it up to immediately follow a “trigger.” (A trigger is an already established habit we do regularly, like doing a simple weight lifting exercise right after brushing our teeth.)
3. Ensure that we will follow through. Set up a system of accountability before hand. (a friend, on online support group, comments on your Facebook page.) And we know that it is smart to set up a reward system as well: giving ourselves a piece of dark chocolate perhaps?!
As for me…
I asked myself what I want and I’ve chosen my one new habit: started in December, and hoping to continue in January, I will add a 5 minute meditation just before going to bed. That’s really small!
What new habit would YOU be interested in starting?
1 Comment
Very interesting as I was reading your post and thinking what I would choose and I thought meditation. I was surprised to see that is what you choose. What is that quotation about all great minds? I will do mine in the AM however; seems like a good start to the day. Especially lately.