New Year, New You
As 2015 gets under way, what can you do to really make it work for you?
Taking stock of your life at the start of the year can make the difference between being happy, wealthy and healthy, or desperately trying to juggle the endless problems and frustrations you have to handle daily.
Here are seven smart ways to get organised and gain perspective before 2015 gets well underway, plus you’ll even have a little me-time left over.
Exercise
A University of Bristol study, published in the **International Journal of Workplace Health Management**, found that people who exercise on work days are more productive, happier, and suffer less stress than on non-gym days.
Jo Coulson, research associate in the university’s Department of Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, says that our moods improve significantly after exercising. And importantly, over 70 % of study participants reported improvements in time management and better mental and interpersonal performance on exercise days.
A Tidy Home and Desk
Practising tidiness at work and at home will improve your efficiency and give you more energy during the day. Your mental discipline will grow and result in clearer thinking and improved creativity. Set aside one week to test this theory; the results will surprise you. But don’t let it slip! Make order and structure a daily habit.
As You Think, So Shall You Be
This statement by renowned Victorian psychologist William James contains a timeless truth: “The greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. As you think, so shall you be.”
Life coaches and motivational speakers have been saying it for years: What you put in, you’ll get out. So, be watchful of what goes on in your mind, as the mental process has a lot more power than you realise. Choose positive statements over negative statements as often as possible. It becomes easier with practice.
Bridge the Gap in Relationships
Love makes the world go round. Relationships are about learning to love, tolerate and understand one another – as difficult as that may sometimes be.
Try this exercise: Bite your lip before criticising or gossiping, and make an extraordinary effort to find something good about someone you don’t like. Chances are, if you dig deep enough, you’ll discover that everybody has a silver lining.
When we consciously think about and look for what is good in someone, we create two valuable assets for ourselves: respect and a friend.
Someone once said: “I have never encountered a human being who did not surpass me in some way.” In other words, there’s something to be learned from every person we meet.
Get Up Early
Leaping out of bed sooner, rather than later, sets the tone for a productive, positive day. Mornings are a clean slate, they’re full of promise.
Consciously set your body clock to enjoy an earlier start time. The trick is to get up as soon as you wake up and do a little light exercise (stretching and jogging on the spot are good options).
Develop a Healthy Body Through Correct Eating
Value the role of wholefood nutrition in your overall plan. The body is a living, intelligent organ that’s frequently abused and over-stretched. Being properly fed is a mission in our fast-food, panic-paced modern society, but it can be done.
- · Choose whole foods over processed foods wherever possible. An apple is far better than apple juice; stone-ground, sugar-free bread is superior to mass-produced, chemical-laden commercial loaves.
- · Aim for your five-a-day and keep a lot of it raw – although veggies cooked into dishes also count.
- · Have at least two portions of fish (fresh, frozen or canned) a week. It’s a great source of protein and valuable omega-3 fats.
- · Cut down on sugar. You’ll soon learn to live without two teaspoons of sugar in coffee – taste buds are flexible that way.
- · Keep hydrated.
- · Drink about 1.2 litres of fluid every day.
- · Don’t skip breakfast – even if you’re only able to eat something at 09h30 once you’ve hit the office. Choose a good quality protein and carb mix with either fruit or vegetables (a wholewheat roll with salad and chicken, egg or bacon, or a lettuce, tomato and chicken wrap, going easy on the mayo and sweet chilli sauce).
Live in the Moment
The concept of “living in the now” is often misunderstood and difficult to put into action. How often are we really focusing on the present? Instead, we spend much of our valuable time worrying about the past and planning for the future.
Try this exercise: Concentrate your attention only on what you’re doing, no matter how mundane it is. Chop carrots and think only about the action of chopping, ignore any other thoughts and pull yourself back to the moment. Doing this often will significantly reduce stress.
Sometimes, we complicate our lives far too much. Often, the road to contentment lies in the simplest things, like chopping carrots.
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