How has 2025 commenced for you? Are you someone who relishes the thought of a fresh start to a new year, throwing yourself with gusto into new plans and regimens or are you more likely to be seen trudging through the chilly bleak days of January just hoping to get the first month over as painlessly as possible? January has a bit of a reputation in this part of the world, with the third Monday of the month, now commonly referred to as ‘Blue Monday’, being regarded as the most depressing day of the year; but I find January to be a month that can really set us up for the year ahead if we approach it right.
January provides an opportunity to look within and make an inventory. It tends to be a quiet time after the social Christmas season where we can take stock and look at how to be more fulfilled in our lives.
Traditionally, early January always sees an uptick in gym memberships, fitness classes and healthy diets largely in response to festive overindulgence. This knee-jerk response however inevitably leads to failure by the end of the month. It is one thing to make a resolution but quite another to keep it. So how do we do this?
Realistic goals…start where you are: It is really worth taking your time in January to think about what changes you might like to make in your life and aligning yourself to these goals. The most important consideration for most of us is time.
If your goal is to become fitter, stronger or more flexible, how much time can you give over to that on a weekly basis? Be really pragmatic here because you want to set yourself up for success. Failing to stick to your resolutions is not a failure of willpower, it is more likely a failure of expectations both in terms what you wish to achieve and how much time you can allocate to attaining that goal. We tend to think we need to spend X number of hours in the gym , but what’s more important than that actual amount of time is the consistency of our practice. Thirty minutes daily walking and five to 15 minutes strength work, which can be as simple as a five-minute practice of squats and press-ups, or a few repetitions with dumbbells or kettlebells, can make a vast change to our wellbeing. The wonderful thing about this ‘little and often approach’ is that it becomes a foundation for health, something that can be built upon and it is far more likely to be sustainable in the longterm.
As you get stronger and fitter you will feel a natural desire to expand your goals as your fitness regime becomes enjoyable rather than a chore.
Daily commitment: A health goal is not something we ‘set and forget’. In order for it to become a habit we need a daily adherence to the goal whether it be making healthy food choices or keeping our body active. As we all know, life can get in the way and routines and habits can easily be disrupted – illness, job commitments, childrens’ and parents’ needs and so on; wherever you are on life’s journey there are inevitable obstacles and disruptions. But what if you can maintain your commitment to yourself throughout the vicissitudes? Doing so generates in us a confidence in and connection with our bodies, which helps ground us through trying times.
Sticking to your daily practice is important, imparting a sense of purpose and enhancing our self-esteem. What matters is that we can build our goals into habits, which become a healthy foundation in our lives.
Essential healthy habits: Our body needs to move. If there was only one change you could make, ensuring you move your body daily should be top of the list. I am such a fan of walking for health. Just ten minutes a day lowers the risk of depression and getting outdoors at the darker days of winter is essential for our well- being. But aside from the mental health benefits, our organs need to move, our lymph needs to move, our gut needs to move. Walking is such as simple way to meet this need.
Without movement we stagnate physically and mentally. And if the weather is too bad, dance or wiggle indoors but ensure you move. Remember that movement stimulates myokine production which off-sets inflammation and pain. Movement is the body’s medicine.
Connection
It’s not something we consider usually when making our resolutions but making a habit out of healthy connection with others is an important factor to consider. Whether it be going on those night walks with friends or joining an exercise class, moving together is important. Being together is important, a recent study has shown that loneliness is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, connection is the soul’s medicine. Join a local Pilates/Yoga/Zumba/Cross-fit/Dance class, it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you enjoy it and you do it with others. Being in a group with a common aim down-regulates our nervous systems, taking us from the sympathetic (stress and activation) to the parasympathetic (rest and digest) mode.
And too much stress leads to unhealthy lifestyle choices which inevitably undermine our health goals.
Gratitude: Again, maybe not the first thing we consider when we are considering how to set and fulfil our resolutions but incorporating daily gratitude into our lives increases our success greatly. When we boil it down, making resolutions is really about enhancing our happiness in some way. But if we come from a place of self-rejection, with a feeling that we are in some way deficient, resolutions can take on punitive quality and in some way we victimise ourselves. The trouble with that is that it creates reactivity and we can thwart our best intentions simply because we are experiencing deprivation on some level which makes it easier to throw our resolutions to the side. If we cultivate an attitude of kindness and gratitude however it relaxes us and we can align with our healthy choices and experience more happiness. Start with the simple stuff, like being grateful you have a bed to sleep in, and see how that might extend across your life and into the moments you have in your life. And each time you feel the gratitude take a deep breath and acknowledge it. It helps us come to see that happiness is an inside job and that your resolutions are there to support you.
Remember this throughout the year…a life is changed day by day and see where your journey takes you.
Wishing you all health and wellbeing in 2025.
