Take Charge Tuesdays
New Year, New You!
By, Gina Meyers
Start your new year 2016 off right with small, manageable
changes to your lifestyle. This is your year to lose those extra pounds, get
that promotion at work and find the one! 85% of us will fail at our New Year’s
resolutions, but it’s possible to succeed if we make small manageable steps
towards change.
Step One
Write it down!
A new year often
evokes the desire to work out more, lose weight, eat right. While those are
great goals, sometimes we are too hard on ourselves. Allow yourself a cheat
day. A day where you can have the See’s candy or that extra helping of mashed
potatoes and gravy. Keep a food journal as well as an exercise journal. In your
exercise journal write down your goals for the week, the month and the year.
Write down encouraging statements and paste pictures of people that you want to
look like in your exercise journal. In your food journal, print recipes found
off the internet that appeal to you, make a list of foods that are healthy to
keep on hand when you get really hungry, even a pantry list of food(s) that you
know are good for you. Create your own good for you recipes and try something
new, like Brussel sprouts.
Step Two
Be Kind To Yourself
Each year brings about new hopes, and dreams, but it also
brings about unexpected changes and even disappointments. Don’t beat yourself
up over the setbacks and disappointments. Often times unexpected changes can
really be blessings in disguise. Keep your chin up and roll with the punches.
Step Three
Make a Dreamboard
A Dreamboard is a visualization tool
of pictures and inspirational phrases on a board to focus on your dreams and
hopes for your future. The board activates the subconscious mind and the
universal law of attraction to begin manifesting your dreams into reality.
Dreamboards are effective because they are constant reminders of what you want
and keep your mind focused on your goals for the future.
Gather Materials:
You can either use magazines or
images found on websites. If you choose to use magazines, gather different
types of magazines, so you can cover all the topics that you are interested in.
For instance, if you are interested in traveling, visiting a local travel
agency and requesting brochures on the countries you would like to visit. If
you are interested in Yoga for instance, purchasing a magazine devoted to Yoga,
health and wellness would be appropriate.
You can also use documents you collect or bulletins, found at your local
church or university. You want to find images that remind you of your goals and
ambitions, hopes, dreams for your future. These images are meant to motivate.
Cut out images:
Go through each magazine and cut out
any pictures, inspirational words that appeal to you. Allow your mind to wander
and follow your instinct. Find bright, colorful images that make you feel
ambitious, motivated, exhilarated, fantastic. Ideas are: nice houses, cars,
flowers, landmarks, fitness goals, pictures of families, and powerful words
such as (love, hope, joy).
Purchase a board:
A large blank poster board,
inexpensive and available at a local art store or dollar store, discount drug
store/pharmacy. You can also invest in a canvas or a magnet board.
Cut and paste pictures:
Cut and paste pictures on your
dreamboard. You can use glue sticks, or Elmer’s glue.
Place the dream board:
Put it beside your bed, or in your
office, or in your workspace. If you don’t have a lot of room, take a picture
of your dreamboard and look at it on your phone or print out a photograph of
your dreamboard. It will be a smaller version, so good for handy reference to
keep in your glove box of your car.
Over the course of a year, you will
notice that you will start to achieve some of your dreams that you have placed
on your board.
These three steps will increase your odds of sticking to your resolutions, have a great year!
About the Author
Author, Publisher, Gina Meyers
Gina Meyers is best known for her popular culture
television trivia and cooking expertise books related to the Twilight
Saga and the iconic television show Bewitched and is the proud winner of the prestigious Gourmand International
Cookbook Award for Best Charity Cookbook, Hope For Haiti. Gina is
also the author of The Dorm Room Essentials Cookbook, Cook Like a Native
Italian, and has co-authored Manifesting Magnificence: A Personal Growth
Workbook.
