Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions

Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions

Rethinking the New Year’s Resolution

The New Year is a great time to start fresh with areas of your life that may need some improvement.  Whether it be at work, home, with your diet, in your relationship, starting/changing an exercise/diet routine, or improving your mental health.  It’s important to keep in mind that any time you set a goal for yourself, no matter what it is, you are most likely going to have set backs – and that’s ok! Setting realistic/tangible goals, ones that are going to bring you more overall happiness, is always a great idea no matter what time of year it is. A lot of people think the New Year is a great time to start a new diet and workout routine.  It’s a great time to do these things.  But there are also many other things that can increase your overall happiness and well-being.

Exercise & Diet
These two things are always at the top of the list when you ask people about New Year’s resolutions.  The holidays have passed, winter has set in, people have over indulged over the last few months.  Exercise and eating well shouldn’t be a January goal.  It should be a 365-day goal.  It is the biggest and best commitment you can do for yourself.  I made this commitment to myself so many years ago and it has truly made me a better and healthier version of myself.  If you need help with starting a new exercise and/or diet CHHRC is here to help!  We have many trainers here for any needs you have.

Spend More Time with Family/Friends
Our relationships with family and friends are something to be cherished.  When we spend more time with our loved ones – it has been shown to improve people’s overall happiness.  There is nothing better than sitting around laughing and enjoying time with the people that are closest to you.  This is also a great time to mend any issues you may have with people in your life.  It is difficult for most people to carry around the stress of a strained relationships on a daily basis.  If something can be fixed with you and a loved one, try to fix it.  

Travel/Spend More Time Outdoors
There are so many health benefits to traveling and being outdoors.  Traveling can help you reinvent yourself, enhances creativity, reduce stress, and it allows you to create amazing memories.  My family just got back from Disney World and seeing it through the eyes of my 6-year-old was truly magical.  Those memories will last us lifetime.  If you can’t afford to travel much or your schedule doesn’t allow it, spending time outside can also lead to significant health benefits.  Being outdoors boosts energy, boosts your immune system, can improve blood pressure, and boosts mental health.  Even if you can only get outside for 20 minutes a day, do it! If you are local to the area, I really enjoy walking Cooper River once a week.

Volunteer
Helping other people provides many benefits to your health – both physically and mentally.  Some benefits to volunteering are: it allows you to be a part of your community, meet new people, has a positive effect on you, helps reduce stress, provides a sense of accomplishment, and can improve self-esteem/self-confidence.  The biggest benefit to volunteering is that you are helping someone who needs it.  I volunteer once a month and I always leave there feeling like I did something really great for other people.  That feeling is irreplaceable.

Lastly, when I graduated from Rutgers (what seems like a century ago), I said to myself “I will never sit in another classroom again”!!  I was done!!  Several years ago, I developed a passion for fitness and nutrition.  I absolutely love talking to people about it and helping them with their goals.  A voice in the back of my head was always there, go back to school, go back to school.  I told myself I couldn’t do it and suppressed that goal for almost ten years.  Last week I finally signed up for 3 nutrition classes.  I feel so proud of myself for finally following my dream of helping people get healthier.  It’s not going to be easy being a full-time mom, working, taking care of a house and taking 3 classes.  But I can’t let those excuses stop me for one more day.  Let’s all think of something that we have wanted to do for a long time, and let’s do it together!