How to Make 2015 Your Re(New)al Year

“I’m going to lose weight and get fit this year.”

“I am going to get a better job and become more financially responsible.”

“I am going to go back to school.”

New Year’s Resolutions. Almost everyone makes them – yet by the end of the month, many of them are abandoned as quickly as they were made. Why do we make these inevitably broken promises to ourselves? More importantly, why can’t we keep them? It’s simple. We all have things we are putting off until tomorrow because it creates a sense of promise and optimism for the next day. And what symbolizes promise and optimism more than a new year? It is as though making the resolution is meant to motivate us. However, many of us are working backward. Rather, it should be your motivation that fuels your resolution – not the other way around. The best way to maintain your New Year’s Resolution is to follow the 2 R’s of the New Year – REFLECT and REACT.

What is it exactly that you are hoping to accomplish? Do you want to lose weight? How much weight? What strategy will you employ? Be very specific and particular. Ambiguity is the cousin of procrastination. If you haven’t formed a plan then, it is much easier to fall back into the reliable comfort of old habits.

Reflecting upon the previous year should allow you to see which behaviors and activities were a “success,” and should be continued into the New Year. Did you make improvements last year or accomplish personal aspirations that you would like to bring into 2015, but make bigger and better?

Reflection is also an opportune time to determine what “failures” or goals that failed to rise to the level of successes occurred. What could you have done differently and how do you plan to reformulate your plan in a manner that is realistic for your life, yet effective? Introspection is a vital part of transforming into the person you are truly capable of.

Nonetheless, it is not enough to merely think yourself to success. “Action” is the precursor of change. Many of us talk a good game. We talk to the point that we have even convinced ourselves of the validity of our statements. But how good is a plan that no one has ever implemented? About as good as a blanket on a blazing hot day.

We must be willing to let go of the “promise of tomorrow” and embrace the “potential of today.” There is no time like the present. Rather than viewing January 1 as the marker of a new day, a new life, or a new you – how about we view January 2, February 11, April 27, and every single day of 2015 as a moment to actualize the new you. The better you. The you that strives to be the epitome of who they were meant to be. The Radiant you. There will be stumbles, but you have the power to get back up, rather than allow a stumble to be a setback. Remember, this is your year of renewal and no one can take that away from you – except you.

Happy New Year from Radiant Health Magazine to you and your loved ones. Thank you for making Radiant Health Magazine what it is today. May the New Year truly be a year of prosperity and enlightenment and may we continue to be your number one go-to source for the health of your mind, body, and soul!