Change Your Life In 2019

Everyone wants to get the new year off to the right start, but not everyone takes the necessary actions to make lasting change happen. Some say they don’t want to make resolutions, but they do want to make improvements. Every year I make resolutions, some I'm successful with, while others get reviewed mid-year and changed or dropped depending on my ambitions and desires.  My resolutions connect to wellness. It isn’t all about diet, but some of it is. It isn’t all about losing weight, but that would be a nice consequence, too. My resolution plan connects to the philosophy of A House With Four Rooms, so I'm working toward "airing" out my rooms daily.

Where do you go when you want to make lots of different little changes, but don’t want to make one mighty resolution? You’re in the right place. So, how can you ensure that you are changing your life in positive ways this 2019? Well, I have five steps for you to follow to help put you on a terrific PATH and get you on your way.

1. Swap Out Soda
My doctors have adviced me to give up soda. Soda has been linked to a wide variety of health issues, including acid reflux, obesity, liver damage, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and more (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/soft-drinks-and-disease/). As popular as soft drinks are, these days over half of Americans are actively trying to avoid drinking it. If you aren’t one of those people yet, maybe it’s time you should be. Whether you drink the original recipe or the diet option, cutting it out will lead to a major difference in your weight, mood, and health. When you’d normally reach for a soda, instead pick up water.

2. Healthy Fats & Fiber
Healthy fats are an important part of your diet, those fats include nuts and avocados. Don’t stop at increasing your healthy fat intake, you’ll also need to increase your fiber intake. Not only does a diet rich in fiber boost your overall health, but it can also reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. You can get that extra fiber from nuts, vegetables, and seeds.

3. Fermented Foods
My family eats a lot of fermented foods: kimchi, fermented veggies, and home-made yogurts. This isn’t just a trendy thing, it really is beneficial to your gut. Not only will fermented vegetables help your body eliminate toxins from your body, but they also help your body absorb minerals. Moreover, they can reduce the risk of cancer, boost your mood, help you maintain your weight, stave off diabetes, and even prevent acne. Gut imbalances are so widespread in the US these days, due to our processed food diet. So, cutting back on processed foods and consuming more fermented vegetables will help you get things back to working order.

4. More Walking, Less Sitting
Do you sit at a desk for work all day? To be honest, if you stand (in one place), your body needs more. We spend so much time sitting, then we get home and we sit some more. Making time for a thirty-minute exercise each day is more than enough to help counteract those effects. Let’s face it, you’re used to sitting down now – but, our bodies were made to be active. Get a step tracker or use an app on your phone and set yourself a goal, ideally of 10,000 steps each day. You can start at 7,000 and work up to it if it helps. I try to start my day with a quick walk, about a half hour or so...this lets me start my day with 5000 steps. 

5. Community Engagement
There is no better way to better yourself than through volunteering. Not only will it give your mood a boost, but it also helps you develop meaningful relationships and new connections with the people in your community. Being engaged with your community doesn’t just benefit you, it benefits the community. There are plenty of ways for you to give back – you can help feed the homeless, volunteer at a nursing home or make up care packages for those in need. Ultimately, however you choose to give back, it will increase your oxytocin levels, which helps fight cortisol, the stress hormone.

A lot of people fail in their bid to succeed with their New Year’s resolutions. So, ask yourself whether you really want to commit to one resolution or if starting small and making small changes like the above examples will help you push toward setting bigger goals. Changing your life and improving it for the better is all about living better, even if it’s just a little bit at a time. Ultimately, you will be healthier and happier for it.

If you'd like company on your journey, join my 2019 New Year, New YOU with A Pilgrimage to Self. You'll Discover your passions, Design your goals and life plan, and Develop the action steps necessary for your dreams to become your Intentional Life.

The membership is available a few times a year because it's important for me to have the greatest impact possible. I spend a great deal of time before the membership launches on social media, answering questions, and reviewing materials. But, once the start date begins for the membership, my attention and focus pivots to welcoming in new members...referred to as Pilgrims. I've got so much information to offer: workbooks, ebooks, assessments, checklists, and reports. There are also video lessons and mp3 audio to help Pilgrims on the PATHS. The PATHS guide Pilgrims to Discover, Design, and Develop a life plan. There's so much, and I don't want new Pilgrims to be overwhelmed, so the information is dripped out each month, and some information is broken down and offered weekly. 

You do not need to walk into 2019 alone. You do not want to be in the same place next year, with the same New Year's Resolutions, and the same hopes and dreams. You want to move forward and accomplish your dreams. You want to live your Intentional Life with your rules, your boundaries, and your expectations. 

Don't wait. Make the decision to start now by enrolling in  A Pilgrimage to Self. Once you are signed up, you'll have your login information and password, and you'll be able to download your first materials: an article with 50 New Year's Resolutions to get you thinking about what you want in your life and the 107 page workbook, Design an Intentional Life to begin the process of self-awareness, reflection, and discovery. You'll prepare for our month of goal setting and practicing strategies to "air" out your four rooms: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Enrollment closes in a couple of days...December 31st. For less than a dollar a day, you can have your own personal coach to guide you on your journey to change your life...2019 New Year, New YOU with A Pilgrimage to Self.

I hope you'll join me on this sacred journey!

Here's a link: https://www.ahousewithfourrooms.com/store/LLZivatg

Cheers!

Lisa