Guest blog post by: Victoria Ansell
Happy New Year to everyone!
Holiday festivities and New Year celebrations have ended. A new year calls for new change. Whether your holiday season was joyous and special or a little sad, remember that we are constantly moving forward, and the start of a new year is upon us. This time of the year brings new opportunity to reclaim a fresh mindset. I will share some information and personal advice that hopefully inspires you in some way this new year.
Reflect on the year that has passed. I’m sure you have made many changes and still want other things in your life to progress. Making lists of what you want to accomplish in 2018 will increase your chances of sticking to them throughout the year. Just make sure to place the list in a place that you will see every day.
Clean your space. Not only your headspace, but your home space as well. Removing clutter in your home can seem so simple, but it is the easiest thing you can do and will reduce stress for you in the beginning of the new year.
Set intentions for your life. How do you want your life to go this year? Think of something simple that can improve upon. For me, this year I am focusing on cultivating gratitude and love in my life. These feelings make me feel strong and supported. By focusing on what I want to attract, I will be more likely to recognize an opportunity to feel gratitude when I normally would not.
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude leads to greater overall well-being, higher self-esteem and more patience (Dickens 2016). Studies suggest that gratitude is cultivated more from experiential purchases (movies, dinner, vacation, etc.) than from material purchases (clothes, shoes, jewelry). Cultivating gratitude has also been shown to increase giving behavior (Walker 2016).
Be present. Mindfulness practice is like meditation, but does not require you to stop what you are doing. Simply pay attention to your surroundings, how you’re feeling and what you’re doing. Mindfulness practice can improve how you react to stress. Being present, with our new intentions in mind, can help us notice when an opportunity arises to say no to an old habit. Change comes from the choices you make every day. Being mindful of what you do in a day can also make forming new habits easier. Remember that you must put forth the work. You can form new habits and ideas in your head, but nothing will ever change until you start to be present and aware of the changes you must make.
Take some time for self-care. Make time to do what you want to do. Take care of yourself first before taking care of your work, school or friends. You cannot expect to perform at your best potential if you are not taking care of yourself. Get regular exercise, eat three meals and add more whole fruits and veggies to your diet. We are always growing, and we will be changed by our experiences. Take this opportunity to show up for yourself and make the choices that will get you where you want to be.
I firmly believe that at the end of the day, all you have is yourself. You don’t have to impress anyone but yourself. I hope you see this year as an opportunity for a whole lot of growth! If you decide to take any of my advice, remember to be present and take care of yourself. I wish you all good luck in the coming year.
Dickens, L., & DeSteno, D. (2016). The grateful are patient: Heightened daily gratitude is associated with attenuated temporal discounting. Emotion , 16 (4), 421-425.
Brennan, K., Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Duggan, D., & Williams, J. G. (2015). Memory specificity and mindfulness jointly moderate the effect of reflective pondering on depressive symptoms in individuals with a history of recurrent depression. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology , 124 (2), 246-255.
