Take ChargeTuesdays, by Gina Meyers

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.