New Year’s Resolutions
- Tala Brinderson
- January 11, 2019
- 8:46 pm
2019 is here. “How?” you ask. I HAVE NO IDEA! It somehow arrived faster than I’d expected. My family and I took a time-out from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and rung in the New Year camping in the desert. It was such a great way to connect with nature and to spend quality time together. I thought long and hard about my New Year’s resolution, knowing I’d likely not keep it up and feel badly when I let it go by the wayside. Instead, I decided to hold myself accountable to staying mentally strong. I felt that this is something that can easily be done without much change to my daily routine. It wouldn’t take any extra time, allow me time with my family, and the benefits would only be positive.
The first step was finding a simple journal to re-frame my mind.
It takes me less than five minutes each day (about two minutes in the morning and one minute at night). It starts my day filling my mind with gratitude and frames my mind to think more positively. At the end of the day, it allows me to reflect on my successes (instead of thinking about my failures), and think about taking on the next day with more ambition than the present.
My favorite part of the journal is when I write down three things I’m grateful for that day. Simply reflecting on these three things helps my mood instantly lighten.
As a mom of two young children and a business owner trying to balance it all, I struggle to find time to be my best self. But with this new New Year’s resolution in tow, I’ve come up with a few of my own tips to encourage myself to keep on going:
Write down three things I’m thankful for each day
Take a deep breath before engaging in negative banter
Celebrate my successes
Stop comparing myself to others and focus on myself
Declutter by donating goods we haven’t used in a long time to Goodwill or Salvation Army
Use more positive words
Allow myself to cry it out when I’m sad
Put my phone away when I play with my kids
Spend quality time with loved ones
Feel the sunshine on my skin for 15 minutes each day
Everyone has different perspectives on mental health success, but I’ve already found myself feeling much more positive, happier, and healthier this New Year. I hope we can all encourage and lift each other up. Life is hard, unexpected, and filled with surprises. But I know that when I feel good about myself, I’m a better mom, wife, friend, co-worker, and all around person.
Cheers to the New Year!
Amanda Fink, MOT, OTR/L,