As the end of the year approaches, many people dread the looming, age-old practice of setting New Year’s Resolutions. Most of the time, this includes attempting to lose weight by dieting. Unfortunately, most people fail their resolution before January even ends.
A healthy diet is essential, and MaxLiving has nutrition plans that can help people lose weight, prevent disease, and live a long, vibrant life. However, this year, consider these six alternative resolutions that don’t involve dieting but improve your life considerably.
Build on Your Strengths
Strive to do more than improve your weaknesses. Constantly focusing on your weaknesses can often lead to guilt and disappointment. While it is always important to make improvements where necessary, you can simultaneously work on building on the strengths you already have. Step one is to identify your strengths.
The second step is to develop a plan to cultivate those strengths. For example, maybe you are artistically inclined, but work and family have put it on the back burner. You can use those skills in your everyday life to boost that strength. You could make homemade cards and gifts, design report covers, or set aside an hour per week to be creative. The possibilities are endless. You, as a human being, are wired to make an impact, but it is crucial to identify what moves you, what excites you, and what energizes you and lean into that.
Identity Your Limiting Beliefs and Replace them With Positive Affirmation
Before you can succeed in any endeavor, you must identify what could interfere with your success. We all have limiting beliefs which are those things we say to ourselves on repeat that undermine our efforts. Our thoughts determine our actions. Henry Ford had it right when he said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” Here are some examples of limiting beliefs:
I’m too_________________ so it will never work.
I’m not ________________ enough to do _________________.
Because of _______________________, I won’t be successful.
I always _____________________, so I will fail.
Take some time for some self-reflection. Pay attention to the words you’re saying to yourself, catch the limiting beliefs, and write them down. Once you have identified them, rewrite the narrative in the form of positive affirmations and put them on your mirror or a sticky note on your computer and say them often.
An example would look like this: Limiting belief: “I’m too lazy to go to the gym, so it will never work.” Positive Affirmation: “I can move my body at least three times weekly.”
Start a Morning Routine
The importance of a morning routine cannot be understated. It is a cornerstone to success in health, business, family, and life in general. A solid morning routine can have a massive impact, but consistency is key. It will not work if it is an afterthought or sporadic. The new year is a great time to start building new habits and holding yourself accountable. If you don’t currently have a morning routine, it may feel cumbersome and awkward initially, but keep at it. You will start reaping the benefits after several weeks of consistent practice.
1: Be intentional. Your morning routine should fall in line with your goals and your values. (Note: if you don’t know what your goals and your values are, take some time to sit down with pen and paper and write them out)
2: Keep success in mind. Your morning routine should help you meet or exceed your goals each day.
3: Order over dis-order. Your morning routine should give you a sense of order and peace.
Sample morning routine:
-Start with a simple, short prayer or meditation before getting out of bed.
-Get ready for the day – shower, etc.
- Make bed, straighten the room
- Pack workout clothes
- Drink a glass of water with a drop of lemon essential oil.
- Take basic morning MaxLiving supplements
- Pack lunches/make breakfast/brew coffee
- Start load of laundry/ put away yesterday’s laundry
- Read 15-10 pages of something inspirational
- Take a walk/appreciate nature
- Eat breakfast -OR- fast (i.e., skip breakfast).
- Re-check the calendar for the day’s events.
- Make a to-do list and pack the necessary items.
- DO NOT – check emails or social media first thing in the morning.
Set Goals and Get Mentors
The two most significant predictors of success are 1) Knowing the right things and 2) Being around the right people. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously stated, “You are the sum total of the five people you spend the most time with.” You must set a course with a final destination. Take some time to write down your goals for the year. You can then develop plans to meet them. These plans should include getting a mentor or mentors and building a support network.
Serve Others
One of the best ways to fight the blues, depression, and feelings of purposelessness is to serve others. When you are focused on helping others, it shifts the focus from yourself and can give you a tremendous sense of pride and purpose. Some ideas include: looking for volunteer opportunities, visiting a retirement home frequently, mowing an elderly person’s lawn, delivering bags of personal care items to the homeless, or cooking a meal for a neighbor. The possibilities are endless, and so is the upside.
Start, Stop, Keep
Resolutions do not always mean taking things away. They can mean adding things or bolstering what you already do. “Start, Stop, Keep” is a simple exercise that can get your wheels turning to get focus for the upcoming year. Spend an hour contemplating and writing the three things you need to STOP doing the three things you need to START doing, and the three things you need to CONTINUE doing. This practice puts verbs in the sentences which elicit action. Action is what gets you the results you want. “When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.” Colleen C. Barrett. Give these unconventional ideas a try this year. You may find a new outlook and newfound successes you haven’t seen before.
About the Author
Kimberly Roberto is a wife, mother of three, author, and business owner. She and her husband Fred have owned and operated a chiropractic and wellness clinic for the last 25 years. Kimberly and Fred have been a part of MaxLiving for since it’s onset. She co-authored the Maximized Living Nutrition Plans book in 2009 which sold over 10,000 copies and recently authored the MaxLiving’s Maximizing Your Pregnancy, Birth and Newbornbook. She’s a holistic nutritionist and maintains a healthy cooking/recipe blog. She is passionate about natural health and helping people reach their potential for health and wellness. She resides in Marietta, GA and their three children are now grown and attending college.
