As we start to settle in to February, you start to notice people falling behind on their New Year's Resolutions. The intense fire that burned within their hearts and minds throughout January starts to cool, and they start to create excuses for things they were so committed to just a few weeks ago. You know how it goes - it's too cold to go to the gym... I am only taking this day/ week/ month off... I will get around to reading that book/ article/ blog next time. It's human nature to lose your momentum in the face of adversity, so it can only be expected for that to happen in the face of, well... life!
However, there is still plenty of time to dedicate yourself to any and all goals you've set for this year. As you do that (and for those of you that are consistently staying on track with any resolutions, kudos!), try to approach your goals as objectives that can only be reached through one thing - consistency.
Make a habit out of being consistently working towards your goals/ dreams/ objectives, both on the large and small scales of your life.
Resolutions are fun and exciting, but within you lies something that will go far beyond January each year - your resolve to succeed. Embrace it and take things to a new level this year... and beyond.
Week of 02.08.2011: Exercises for All Inclusive Health this week:
Mind: Building on last week's challenge of learning something new (please see previous post for details), I challenge you this week to SHARE some knowledge. You may be wondering how you sharing something you know with someone else will strengthen your mind, but what I hope will happen is that you will open a dialogue or conversation with someone about a topic that will stimulate your mind. Perhaps you can discuss something you are passionate about, or are very well-versed on the background information. Or, if you are more of a thrill-seeker type, open a conversation with someone about something that you haven't studied to a high degree. Either way, I hope that you will initiate a conversation that offers you a perspective on a topic that you have never seen before.
Body: This week, I challenge you to replace two of your meals with healthier alternatives. Now, you may already eat a very healthy diet/ lifestyle/ menu. That is fine. But, there is always room for improvement. And that is what I want you to do this week - find a way to IMPROVE on your eating habits. And two meals out of (potentially) 21 shouldn't be too painstaking. For some good ideas on delicious, healthy meals, try the following sites:
http://www.foodfit.com/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/index.html
You can find the links for those sites under the links section of the blog as well. And, if anyone out there has some creative, healthy recipes, please share in the comments section!
Soul: My challenge for this week isn't terribly complicated, but I must warn you, if you have never attempted this before, it can be quite difficult. This week, I challenge you to perform a random act of kindness that you will NOT be recognized for. For a starting point, check out this amazing site:
http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/Style-Item/Kindness-Ideas.html
I live in the Midwest, and for the last week we've been getting slammed with 2-3 inches of snow every couple of days. Both of my adjacent neighbors are elderly couples, well in to their 70's. After shamefully seeing my elderly neighbor struggle to clear his sidewalk earlier this week, I decided that I was not going to let that happen again. Sure enough, I woke up at 7 AM this morning to 2-3 inches of snow covering my neighborhood. I threw on my layers of clothes and headed out to shovel the sidewalks of my neighbors and then I took care of my own.
However, I'm sure my neighbors know, or at the very least SUSPECT that I did the shoveling. So for this week, I am going to attempt to be a little more stealth-like with my kindness. I may hold the door at the grocery store just a little bit longer than normal for an extra person or two (or three...) ... I might leave my morning newspaper on the table at my favorite coffee shop for someone else to enjoy... Maybe I'll make an anonymous donation to a charity I saw recently that is supplying care-packages from home to our soldiers abroad.
I'm not sure yet, for what my act of kindness will be... perhaps I'll be able to do several of them. I would love to hear what you come up with or do.
But whatever we do, let's do it in the spirit of sharing some positivity with strangers. The world could use some of that these days.
Have a great week.
AIH
