Resolutions and predictions—that’s what caught my attention last week (besides the brutal weather, of course). Here’s how I am doing with mine so far.
My favourite resolution articles this year were prescriptive—they told you how to make changes rather than telling you what you should change. Apparently only about 8 percent of people actually stick to their resolutions and most drop them after the first week. Have you dropped yours yet?
I liked this article by Theresa Albert. It only asks for a six week commitment and it suggests you make three rules for yourself. They are small and simple and you get to choose. I chose no drinking during the week, exercise 3 times a week and have one ‘fruits and veggies only day’ once a week. I’m not looking at it as a diet, but rather a six week recovery plan from the holidays. My goal is to feel energized and healthy after the six weeks and hopefully the rules will become habits.
One of my resolutions is to become more mindful. To start, I need to become mindful of being mindful. Then I will become more aware of what I am eating (see above), what I am saying and who I am listening to. Then I will remember things (like where I parked the car). I am going to be the most amazing person in 2014 but I might not be as busy. You see, busy isn’t respectful anymore, according to this post that I loved by Tyler Ward (and you will too if you want to get off the ‘busy train’). Busy hinders self-reflection which is important to the creative process. So busy is out, mindfulness (dare I say idleness) is in. I’m giving it a try.
I’m going to get more sleep and I am going to insist the rest of my household gets more sleep. I thought this article from the Globe and Mail did a great job at identifying three simple family rules to a happier home. Eat together, play together and sleep more. We’re doing the top two but we need to work on the last one. If you eat together as a family, you might want to pay attention to the suggestion that you don’t talk about grades (or anything too personally controversial) at the dinner table.
I’m going to read more and find books my teenagers will enjoy reading as well. I’m starting with The Power of More, by 3 time Olympic gold medalist, Marnie McBean. She writes about how to achieve goals and how to break them down into chunks so they are more attainable. It’s prescriptive, and that’s what I like. It’s also inspirational and it’s an Olympic year so it’s on topic. If we’re making all these new rules, we need some inspiration, right?
Finally, I am going to get rid of my dry dead skin with a new product from one of my favourite all natural skin care companies, Consonant. Their new Skin Perfecting Body Scrub is just perfect for my post holiday epidermis and a good slough is recommended before waxing or applying any kind of tanning lotion. It’s different from other scrubs because it’s glycerin based rather than oil based and combines both sugar and salt. Get some especially if you’re planning to escape the deep freeze this winter and need to freshen up your limbs.
Wish me well on my road to perfection. Have a good week.
Tagged under: family,winter,skiing,health,Skin,sleep,Olympics,consonant skincare,scrub,Marnie Mcbean,the power of more,thersea albert,busy,tyler ward,mindful,new years resoutions
Category: entertainment
