The Joys of January

Happy 2018 Everyone!!! I love the tradition of creating New Year’s resolutions because it’s another push for us to work on ourselves in order to grow! I know that we can start fresh any day of the year, but there is something about the buzz of everyone’s enthusiasm that I can’t resist.

I just can’t help but reflect and start planning on the first day of January. Most people have the day off to relax, which is perfect for quieting the mind and beginning to visualize the coming year.

Last night (or should I say ‘last year’?), I was filled with anxiety trying to come up with the best New Year’s resolution. I wanted it to be perfect.

The perfect resolution for me is one that is inspiring in a way that gets me excited and motivated to practice on a regular basis. It needs to be something that I feel confident I can achieve; I have to believe that it is possible to reach. I came up with several common goals that I’m sure many other people would like for themselves as well, goals that would point me in the direction of increased health, wellness and overall happiness. I thought about just focusing on eating healthier foods, but I also wanted to increase my physical activity. I knew I needed to drink more water, but that’s something I have been trying to do for months and am clearly uninspired by that goal. I thought about focusing on my mental health by thinking more positively or practicing self-care. These goals are important to all of us, so how could I choose just one?

The anxiety came about when I felt the pressure of coming up with one perfect resolution before midnight when I had so many things I wanted to change in my life. As midnight crept closer, I did something that I think subconsciously began the New Year/ New Me without even realizing it. I decided that it was okay if I didn’t come up with something by midnight, that I’d have lots of time to think about it the next day or coming week. This was a revelation in itself, as I shifted my self-criticism and worry into telling myself that it was totally okay and letting it go.
I am so glad that I allowed myself to peacefully focus on it today (January 1st) because it gave me time to decide on something that really works for me. Ultimately I want to be happier. Some people describe the way they feel as vibration; with feeling good being a higher vibration than feeling down. Many people (along with myself) believe that one’s vibrational frequency attracts things and situations of equal vibration. This means that positive vibrations or thoughts attracts positive experiences while negative vibes attract negative experiences. With this understanding, the answer is simply to increase your vibration!

I became excited when I decided on my New Year’s resolution because it is truly what I want more than anything and it covers pretty much all of the goals I had thought about. I decided that my New Year’s resolution would be to Increase my Vibration. My plan is to do something each day to increase my vibes. This might seem a little broad and unstructured, but I left it open to allow flexibility and the option to practice a little bit of all of my health and wellness goals, because ultimately each goal will bring me increased happiness.

I made a list of all of the things I know will boost my mood and vibration, so that I can refer to it each day and decide what I can do.

• Drink more water. Since our bodies are made up primarily of water, it would make sense that our vibrations are highest when our bodies are replenished of this healing solution. Water cleanses out toxins and hydrates each cell in our bodies.
• Eat whole live foods. Since other living things also vibrate at certain frequencies, consuming that energy in its natural state, improves our vibrations. Eating nutrient dense foods gives us increased energy and provides our body with the building blocks to function properly, including brain function and therefore mood balancing.
• Practice therapeutic movement. For example, walking, yoga, running, climbing etc. Mindful exercise increases energy, boosts endorphins providing uplifting effects as well as enhancing lymphatic drainage which helps cleanse the body.
• Allow for good quality sleep. This means resting when you feel tired. It means ensuring a deep and restful sleep that lasts 7-9 hours. We can achieve this by reducing our exposure to electronic screens right before bed, and by creating a completely dark environment with no light or sound interruptions. Supplementing with magnesium and/or spraying lavender on your pillow can help the mind relax, allowing you to fall asleep easily.
• Organize my home/space. Decluttering and tidying our living space is important since a clean and organized room helps us feel more comfortable and relaxed.
• Meditate. This is something I know is beneficial, but have yet to practice on a regular basis. Even just meditating for one minute can bring contentment into your day. What I love about the idea of meditation is that it is also unstructured with room for personalization. We can follow a guided meditation designed to focus on a specific area in need (such as dealing with nervousness, helping with falling asleep, or even visualizing a positive experience) all of which increases our vibration.
• Laugh. For you, this may mean giggling with a funny friend or reading a joke. For me, I know that watching Ellen DeGeneres will make me laugh and with technology these days, it’s easy to access that quick laughter fix anytime I need it. Laughter boosts your immune system and (obviously) your vibration.
• Repeat positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are positive statements about yourself or your life. Even if you believe in something negative like that you are unattractive, for example, by repeating a positive statement about your appearance like “I am beautiful!” will eventually change your view overtime and thus boost your mood each time you think it or say it.
• Express gratitude. Even when you are feeling down, if you force yourself to come up with a few things that you are grateful for, you can’t help but feel a little better in that moment because you are recognizing the good things that you have going on in your life, right now! Go ahead, try it and see for yourself.
• Visualize. I am referring to the practice of picturing positive things happening to you. See in your mind what you want to come into your life and feel the emotions you know you will feel when it does happen. Visualize yourself happy, excited and at peace. Are you feeling it? Then your vibration just jumped a few notches!
• Spend the majority of my time around positive people. I’ve heard that we are each the sum of the 7 people we spend the most time with. Think about a time you visited with someone who complained through most of the conversation and kept having a negative spin on every subject. Wasn’t that draining? Your vibration likely dropped significantly, matching closely to theirs. So, of the 7 people you spend most of your time with, what if the majority of them were negative? Likely, you would develop a negative attitude as well. But what about that really uplifting friend that always encourages you and you leave that visit feeling more empowered than you did when you entered it. That empowering feeling is increased vibration. Now, imagine if you spent the majority of your time with people like that. Think about how inspired and excited you would become. Think about what you could accomplish. If you know you need to make changes within your close circle, this might mean letting go of those that often bring you down and offer more time to those who lift you up.
• Replace negative comments with positive ones. The thoughts we think and the words we speak affect how we feel and thus our vibration. A negative statement brings ourselves and those around us to a slightly lower vibration. Yet a positive comment increases our vibration. Sometimes our thoughts and speech flow out so quickly that it’s hard to change the habit of complaining. I plan on paying attention to the things I say and when I complain, I will actively follow it with a positive statement. Eventually, this will begin the habit of thinking of the positive things in my life more easily, making myself feel better and becoming a positive person for others to spend time with.

I became so excited about my New Year’s resolution that I decided to write a blog post about it every day in the month of January. Since I plan on doing something simple to increase my vibration every day, I thought that by sharing it with all of you, I would be motivated and can be accountable to someone. I hope that by sharing my ideas, I can inspire you to add an uplifting practice to your life.

I’d love to hear your ideas and inspirations. Please let me know how you plan on growing this year. I hope 2018 is your best year yet!