A head start on 2024?

December is a somewhat crazy month…a month of highs and lows, stress and relaxation, endings and beginnings.

But…we could also use it to get a headstart on 2024!

Here’s an idea that we can wrap up as a gift certificate to give ourselves as an early Christmas present…

“You have hereby received from yourself, the gift of an hour a week in December to prepare for one life-changing new habit in 2024.”

When December comes to a close and the year is ending and winter is truly descending, we often hope…

• that the year to come will be better,
• that we will be better,
• that life will be better.

All we need is ONE…one new habit, one positive life change to provide us with a blessing of self-esteem, fulfillment, and happiness. AND since we know that change takes work, we need to prepare for it.

Here are some suggestions for us:

Let’s CHOOSE just one habit to create. Something small and easy that will take only a few minutes a day for the first couple of weeks. (just adding an extra serving of veggies to our daily meals?)

We can PLAN the time that will be easiest to do it, setting it up immediately following a ‘trigger.’ (an already-established habit, like a simple weight exercise right after brushing our teeth?)

And we need to set up a REWARD system, giving ourselves 5 minutes of rocking out to our favorite music or a piece of dark chocolate or putting gold stars on a calendar. YES!

To ENSURE that we follow through, we can set up a system of accountability beforehand. (a friend, an online support group, posting on our Facebook page?)

As for me … I”m hoping to make a shift by starting small.

I’m thinking to start some uncluttering (I’ve got waay too much stuff)…choosing a book or CD or DVD or a piece of clothing to rehome each week. It would only be a small dent…but I guess that’s the point! I will put a P.S. at the end of each of December’s Sunday morning’s blog post for my accountability practice.

What new habit would YOU be interested in starting?

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