It’s January so the trees are now bare and with the Christmas decorations put away, the house looks pretty spars as well. 2023 has flown past us, along with the leaves. Now it’s time to consider what we want to put into place for our 2024. With repeated failure, I am not a fan of New Years resolutions. So, I’ll share what has worked for me (but understand, I will always be a work in progress). Years ago, a friend and I chose a word we planned to focus on for the year, one with significant meaning for us. My word was balance. I not only had a word but I also created a hand gesture. I would flip my palm upward and downward in a gentle flow making a looping pattern. My friend even created a version of the symbol etched into stone for my birthday. Being the type of person who can overload herself and then overfocused on when something becomes my mission, these verbal, visual, and kinesthetic reminders proved helpful.
Another concept I developed for change was in response to some chronic health conditions ramping up. I started adding on another health routine to one I was already practicing. For example, I had been diligent about doing a pajama Pilates routine (yes, it is a real thing) in the morning while still in bed. Later, after going to physical therapy for a neck and shoulder problem, I “stacked” on my weights and resistance band routine onto the Pilates routine. On top of that, I stacked on a new lymphatic drainage practice I learned. I didn’t begrudge doing any of these because I stacked them with watching my favorite HGTV programs. Another benefit was getting out of bed later made intermittent fasting easier. Stacking has become a kind of game for me, so I have developed many more stacking routines throughout my day or connected them to when I do a specific activity. * I encourage you to think about your day and see if there are new behaviors you can stack onto an already established practice. Be sure to find some way to feel it has value or that there is enough enjoyment connected to keep the practice going.
