Posted: by Jo Wednesday, 21 December 2016 @ 15:18
Pledge today that you will start the year with a healthy, active and positive mindset.
January is a great time to live more cleanly - most of us have partied, over-indulged and over-eaten during the festive season. But even more importantly, our friends and family all feel the same way. So, you will be pushing against an open door - going with the prevailing mood, the zeitgeist. It's so much easier when all around you are eating clean, committing to a dryathon or joining a gym for you to do the same.
Our willpower is also statistically proven to be highest at the start of a new year, as it is at the start of a day, or the start of a week – so it’s a great time to start a new habit, when your resilience is at its height.
There is much evidence that willpower is a finite resource, that becomes worn down as the day, week or year go on. However, on the upside, it is also a quality that can be worked on and improved, with practice. And there is even more evidence to support the fact that most people who supposedly ‘resist’ temptation are actually simply much better at avoiding situations where they might be tempted – so use some of our strategies to help you avoid the risks of failure.
We're doing these 4 things in January, and we'd love you to join us:
- Drinking less alcohol and more water
Simple! However, we know we each have our own habitual ‘fails’.
For me, it's comfort-eating pasta for dinner when I'm tired and in a hurry; pouring a glass of wine as an automatic wind-down and reward after work; using long hours working as an excuse for not having time to fit in exercise; and staying up late reading my Kindle when I should be sleeping. Yours will be different, but you know what they are.
So, use our January Planner to create solutions to your most predictable fails. Rhian, one of the Mantra team, shares her personal fail-avoiders in her blog, and some useful tips on avoiding temptation.
And use the Planner to create 3 or 4 new habits you will start in January. Let me share mine:
- I've found someone to teach me yoga one-to-one at 7am once a week, to fit around my working day
- I've set a weekly mileage goal to run and walk, including always going out for a walk around town at lunchtime when I'm in the office
- I'm giving all the 'unhealthy' food in my kitchen cupboards that I don't want to be tempted to eat - but that I love - to a food bank
- I'm going to bed at 10pm three nights a week
- I'm committing to having bottles of water everywhere - car, desk, office fridge, home fridge - to make sure I drink more
- And I'm wearing my 'Strong, Wild, Free' Mantra necklace as often as possible, to keep me inspired, and to remind me that I want my body to be strong, and the above actions are the best way to get there.
Read Rhian's blog here on how to make and keep good habits, and download the monthly planner here.