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Searching
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Green with Envy
Create a space that inspires you
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You can be happy Today
Where can you
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Woman and
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20Fun resolution
for a happier you
laughter is good for you |
20 Fun Resolutions for a Happier You
Tired of making the same old New Year’s
resolutions, knowing full well you won’t stick to them? Even
though most of us truly want to be healthier, get more exercise, and
improve our daily lives, our resolve to do so just doesn’t seem strong
enough for us to follow through.
Rather than repeating your old resolutions this year,
try some of these culled from the lists of nine experts in women’s
physical and mental health. You’re bound to find a few that not
only help you live a better life, but that you’ll actually enjoy keeping!
In 2006, I resolve to:
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Smile more. Laurie Steelsmith, N.D., L. Ac.,
author of Natural Choices for Women’s Health: How the Secretsof
Natural and Chinese Medicine Can Create A Lifetime of Wellness,
recommends looking at your reflection every day and giving
yourself the gift of a loving smile.
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Wind-up to unwind. Sometimes nothing helps
you unwind better than a few minutes of silliness. I have a collection
of wind-up toys and whenever I feel I’m wound just a little too tight, I
set them all off at the same time.
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Make small change. Changing one small thing
can change everything. Find a tiny step you’re willing to take now and
pledge to do it, no matter how minor it may seem.
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Get curiouser and curiouser. The more you
want to know about the world around you, the more passionate you become
about your life. Curiosity also helps you stay open-minded and
flexible, according to Syracuse Cultural Workers
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Make every step count. A pedometer can be the
most motivational piece of exercise equipment you can own. I got one
two years ago and every time I strap it on, I tend to walk longer and
further, just to watch the miles and calories burned click off.
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Go au natural. Nature nourishes our bodies
and souls, according to Linda Breen Pierce, author of Simplicity
Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply, but we spend most of our
days surrounded with unnatural things: cubicle walls,
wall-to-wall-carpet, technology. Keep in touch with nature by touching
the earth every day.
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Make pleasure a priority. Wendy Maltz, a
nationally recognized author suggests you write a list of things that
bring you joy and make sure to do something from that list every week.
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Add more color. Choose your fruits and
vegetables as you do your friends – the more colorful the better.
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Water it down. We all know we should drink
more water and less coffee, tea and soda, but it can be hard to make the
substitution. Dr. Jyotsna Sahni, an internist, recommends making water
more interesting by adding a drop of essential oil of peppermint,
spearmint, or orange.
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Wake up happy. It’s simple really – before
your feet hit the floor, say to yourself, “Today I choose happiness.
I will find the bright side, the good things, and the beauty in this day.”
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Schedule fewer extracurricular activities.
Linda Breen Pierce suggests deciding how many hours a week you have to
invest in activities not related to your priorities and then sticking to
that number.
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Buy power tools. Don’t let the guys in your
life have all the fun! There’s something empowering about owning your
own power tool and knowing how to use it.
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Get fishy. Not only does eating fish reduce
your risk of heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and cancer, it can also
improve your mood.
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Listen. We often think of communication
skills as being the ability to say what we mean and mean what we say,
but the art of communication is as much about closing our mouth as it is
about opening it.
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Never end the day with the news. Make it a
habit never to watch the news or anything of a violent nature
immediately before going to bed. Sleep is a time to rest and become
rejuvenated. Images of trauma can sear themselves into your brain and
keep you awake or interrupt your dreams. Instead, end your day with
something that makes you joyful.
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Become a morning person. Linda Breen Pierce
recommends going to sleep thirty minutes earlier and getting up thirty
minutes earlier for meditation, journal writing, a quiet walk in nature,
or just sitting on the porch listening to the birds sing.
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Schedule a “Fix It Day” once a month. If it
ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but if it is, put it on your schedule. If
you can’t fix it yourself, let a professional take care of it. Cindy
Glovinsky notes that much of the clutter in our lives is a result of
things that don’t work piling up around the house.
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Put it on the calendar. Instead of spending
your time and energy wondering if and when you should go in for
preventive health tests, Dr. Sahni recommends you sit down with your new
calendar, choose a date, and schedule your Pap smear, mammogram, and
bone density test.
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Have a fashion show once every six months.
Twice a year, drag all your clothes, shoes, and accessories out and
model them for yourself. If they don’t fit, don’t suit your sense of
style any more, or just never get worn, pack them off to a local
charity.
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Make a new funny friend. Friendship is one of
the healthiest things we women do in our lives. Not only does having
friends who make you laugh help you feel better in good times and bad,
it also creates all kinds of healthy changes in your body . Whenever
you meet someone who makes you laugh really hard this year, invite them
out to lunch.
Choose a few of these resolutions for your own this
year and come December 31, 2006 you’ll probably be patting yourself on the
back for keeping them all.
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