After months and months of holiday stresses, January feels like a breath a fresh air. You can turn your focus inward as you get back into your groove. Right now, you might be thinking about your needs and consider how to best improve your life in the coming year. This is where the prototypical New Years resolutions come in. The most common tend to be those centered around bettering one’s health. They’re often vague. Eat better. Exercise more. Drink less.
Here are a few unique and specific ways that you can keep that resolution to “be healthier.” Another benefit? These things are good for your soul, too.
- Take time each day to put your toes in the grass and feel the sun on your skin. Humans were meant to connect with nature intimately, but our modernized lives get in the way of this.
- Look at food and water as fuel. Give your body the nutrients that it needs to work well. Junk food is an inevitability, but it doesn’t have to rule your life. Carry a water bottle with your wherever you go.
- Give yourself a bedtime. Sleep is an incredibly important thing that we aren’t getting enough of. Sleep effects every part of your health–it is how your body recharges. Seven to eight hours will suffice. Get a sleep routine going and stick with it.
- Meditate or have a quiet time of prayer. A productive body needs rest and reflection. Rest with intention.
- Laugh and spend time with people you love AND with people that lift you up. The people you surround yourself with have a big influence on your mental health, and you influence them in the same way. Be a person others are lifted up by.
- Make small steps toward eliminating stress. It’s virtually impossible to live a stress free life, but there are always ways to lessen your load. Hire someone to help with chores around the house. Avoid stressful situations like reading the news or having a full calendar. Spend time daily, even if its just 15 minutes to declutter something. Most importantly: ask for help when you need it.