It Starts With You

Easing your way to positive lifestyle changes.

It’s that time again, the festive season is behind you and January presents the ideal opportunity to say goodbye to 2024 and mentally refresh for the year ahead. However, feeling under pressure to reinvent yourself is never a good place to start so this year, we encourage you to drop the usual mantras in favour of self-care. Begin the year focusing on self-acceptance rather than self-improvement.

Our resident health and fitness expert, Dean Hodgkin, provides tips on taking a gentler approach to the new you.

The Subconscious Mind

The subconscious mind retains patterns of behaviour that are formed by suggestion and repetition. You cover your mouth with your hand when you cough, not because it’s polite, rather it’s because you were regularly reminded to do it when you were young. If you accept that some of your thoughts and behaviours are simply suggestions made by others, it gives you more awareness of your own power to control them.

The Solution

When you have a problem, often, you can’t stop thinking about it, maybe even talking about it to family and friends, but all this does is make it seem bigger. Instead, try to focus on the solution by asking yourself questions such as – How can I solve this? How can I achieve this? What can I do differently? However, you must give your subconscious mind time to tell you the solution, as your mind is probably full of idle chatter from your conscious mind. This is why you need to slow down, be still and then the solution is more likely to present itself.

Visualisation

Once you’re clear on your desired outcome, you can create a picture of this. For example, if weight loss is your goal, imagine you are 1-stone lighter – what is life like now? What do you see in the mirror? What do you wear? Where do you go?  This is a powerful way of making impressions on the subconscious mind and is particularly useful if visualised for just a couple of minutes every day.

Beliefs

It is important to understand that some of what you believe to be true, came from external voices that were not always correct. This exercise helps to identify the patterns that govern your thoughts. Firstly, simply write down any thoughts or beliefs you have around your ability to reach your goals. Now, take each disempowering belief, and then write the opposite, e.g. ‘I don’t have time to do yoga’, becomes, ‘I do have time to do yoga’. Also write down three reasons why the opposite is truer than the original belief, e.g. ‘If I got up an hour earlier to do yoga, I’d have more focus and put more energy into the day so would sleep better’.

Association

There is a very basic theory of motivation that states that everything we do is to avoid pain and gain pleasure. Ideas and experiences can be linked to reinforce each other. At this time, then, it’s useful to create a set of personal rewards for small goals achieved on your journey, as this will act as a powerful motivator to keep you moving forward.

New year’s resolutions can create false pressure to change when, in fact, anytime is a good time to make a change. So, if it doesn’t feel right for you just now, then simply let yourself relax into the new year. The journey to wellbeing is as individual as you are, so take your time in finding solace and tranquillity in different activities and practices, knowing that each step takes you closer to a healthier, happier, more fulfilled version of you.