22 Things To Possibly Do, This January, To kick-start your 2022!

   1: Organize/De-clutter/Minimize your home and items.

It is easier to start new habits and routines in a new environment.
And it is amazing the amount of "things" that find their way into our homes
over the course of a year. An organized home is reflective of an organized mind. Chaos and disorganization in your home creates stress in your day by over-stimulating your senses and having to run around trying to attempt to find what you need each day. Your home should be organized in such a way to support your "new" lifestyle choices and where everything you own has a "home" so that items do not "collect" on surfaces or in piles. This will also make your life simpler by reducing your cleaning and maintenance time overall. You can also make a donation box, or several depending how much "stuff" you've acquired, and start your year on an uplifting positive note of giving and altruism.


2: REASSESS OR BEGIN A MORNING ROUTINE

If you aren't already doing a morning routine now would be a good time to start one. It can serve as it's own goal/resolution or be in addition to or a step towards your goals/resolutions.
Or if you have slipped in some of the practices you know serve you well or you just feel that your current morning routine is no longer serving you as best as it could take the time this month to establish or reestablish a morning routine. As I have mentioned on YouTube there is no magical hour, no specific time, that your morning routine has to start. It is not about when you begin it is about what you do during this time. Morning routines are so effective because you are essentially giving yourself an extra slice of time in your day and life before the rest of the world comes knocking on your door and demanding your attention. Night routines are also useful but by then you are stressed and energetically drained from the day that was so you are not capable of obtaining as many of the healthy habits that you can with a morning routine. The night routine is more about winding down your over stimulated mind and nervous system to prepare yourself for a quality nights restorative sleep.
Sleep is essential and that is why there is no "magic hour" when you must wake to start your morning routine. It is imperative for many aspects of physical, emotional, and cognitive health and longevity that you obtain an adequate, 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Wake to begin your morning routine at the time that best fits the flow of your own sleep and life cycle. All you need is time enough to insert some healthy habits into your day that would otherwise not get accomplished regardless of your willpower and intent. Too many other things come up over a day and we never seem to find the time.
You don't find the time you MAKE the time by creating a morning routine. But this time must not come at the cost of your sleep. You may need to start going to bed a little earlier each night. Doing so in 15minute increments daily is the easiest way to transition your sleep wake cycle to be earlier in the day.
Whatever you hoped to gain more of this coming year, physical well-being, education, skill building etc, the morning routine is YOUR time to begin implementing those things such as: exercise, drinking water, reading, writing, practicing advancing your skill-set, or enjoying your hobbies etc; into your life. There is no "cookie cutter perfect morning routine", the perfect morning routine for you depends on what it is that you wish to enhance, improve or add into your life. Freshly out of bed is when we are in the closest proximity between consciousness and our unconscious minds, making any habit you establish easier to establish and become enforced into your subconscious to become an autopilot habit, than it would be later in the day. Developing a healthy mind body spirit enhancing morning routine can itself be your resolution or you can choose to add in practices during this time that you have allotted yourself to take steps towards your goals/resolution.
Also as morning mood has momentum the more positive, productive, proud, and calm you feel at the start of your day through practicing a morning routine tends to set you up for having a better day and a better trajectory throughout the remainder of the day. It is more important what you put into your routine than what time it starts or how long it lasts. Create a routine that furthers your own personal needs and desires in your own life and leaves you in a better mood state at the ending of your practices than you were when you began.


3: Get New Calendars (ie 2 min)

This is a common sense and practical tip. But often times an easily overlooked one. If you are using paper wall calendars you might wait until sometime in the middle of the month to get your calendar when it would serve you far better to have your calendar not only up but the first week or two prefilled for the start of your year. Also plotting in your goals/resolutions (STEPS) and (GOALS DEADLINES MILE MARKERS) towards reaching these will keep you on track towards actually accomplishing your intentions. You should also plot out a (GYST day), which will be discussed more in-depth later, your personal schedule such as : morning routines, sleep times,  reading, meditation/relaxation, hobby time, etc; and your majorly overdue "big" projects that you've been putting off.

If you are using electronic calendars it is all too easy to preset essentially "for life" on your calendars. To project ahead blocking out your work and home time for years to come. And just continue to follow the preset schedule as is only modifying in the moment as time goes on and shifts change at work, appointments reschedule or come up, to follow through this year as you did last year only making changes reactionary in the moment as they arise. I highly suggest cleaning up and cleaning out your digital calendars and starting with a fresh perspective. Similarly to what was suggested for paper calendars rather than "copy & pasting" last year onto this year clear the calendar completely and set it up again from scratch more in alignment with where you are right now in life.

Also I suggest that you get two calendars . One for "adulting" and one for "personal" as it can become overly full complicated and seem overwhelming or intimidating, let alone sloppy, to try to maintain your adult duties and obligations and your personal pursuits for the year on the same calendar be it paper or electronic.

4: TRY A NEW (OR RENEW A FORGOTTEN): (PLACE/SKILL/HOBBY ACTIVITY/ETC) ONCE A WEEK

Variety is the spice of life  Our minds and lives need novelty to remain engaged and capture our awe and spur our imagination. We also require continued learning , new exposure to people places and things, and change, for continued learning especially as we age : purely for brain health and cognitive maintence ; as well as to keep us inspired and interested in our lives, and growing. As adults it does not take long for us to find ourselves in a rut. To find ourselves bored , stuck, living our obligations lives, lacking in imagination, creativity, and clueless how to change it. This is simply an aspect of keeping up the daily grind, the responsibilities, of "adulating."
Approximately 80% of what we do each day is purely unconscious habit. This has a purpose because if we had to make the conscious choice to eat food brush our teeth or figure out how to shower everyday it would severely tax our cognitive energy and severely limit our ability to make conscious choices that matter throughout the rest of the day. This is another reason why it is important, to take note of your habits and how you spend your days, because this essential autopilot functioning of your daily habits and routines orients the vast majority of your daily life and overall life outcomes. That is why the new year is a perfect time to reflect and readdress your daily routine with your daily scheduled, reorganizing your environment, starting new habits/goals, and the rest of the items in this list. You ensure you are attempting to shape your autopilot habits, in a life supportive rather than detrimental un-supportive way, at-least once a year.
We all too easily get stuck in such a static routine, that we and our lives, begin to feel very small and very dull. The mind loves novelty and new experiences. It will add more life into your life. More fun into your life. Expose you to new options and ideas you may not have known even existed. Expand your exposure to new places, people, and things that you otherwise would not have known in your life; because the more you see the more you learn, grow, and can be. And experiencing as much as you can is part of what this life is all about.
If you find it hard to come up with something entirely new to do see etc every week you can revisit something or someone you haven't in a very long time. Reconnect with a dear old friend, mentor, loved one you haven't spoken with or seen in years. Go back to a place that inspires or uplifts you that you haven't been to in so long you've nearly forgotten it exists. Or pick back up an excellent book worth rereading, a childhood favorite movie, or a hobby or skill you started and gave up on or had and let slip away or never got around to beginning but has been brewing around in your mind off and on for a long time.
We can't be what we don't see. We can't learn and come to know what or who we don't know exists. We can't grow if we stick to the same routines day in and day out . Without adding some variety and newness to our days our world and our emotional and mental health begins to become fixed, static, and eventually dull and potentially depressing. In order to continue to grow and enjoy your life please take note of this suggestion and try new and novel or long forgotten at-least once a week starting in January and continuing throughout life. This habit will add life to your life and after a few weeks re-spark your imagination towards other possibilities to go and try the weeks that follow. Follow this tip to infuse some life back into your life.


5: DO A PRIORITY RECHECK

Our priorities change overtime, as our lives and selves grow and change. The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to check back in with yourself and see where you are spending the most of your time money and energy as this is what you prioritize. Compare that to what you "think" you prioritize and see if you may need to redirect some of your time ,energy, attention, focus, and money to reflect and align more of these things to that which you hold to be your highest priorities. Are there things that have been unintentionally lost or placed on the back burner that you hold most dear? Do you need to rearrange your day a little to attend better to your true priorities to live in alignment or have your priorities changed? It could be do to internal growth and change in ones self or external situations that have arisen or you may simply realize that where your dedicating your resources is actually more true to what you prioritize than what you "thought" you did. You are allowed to determine and change your priorities over the course of your own life. However the closer you can align your time, focus, energy, and money with what you truly and currently prioritize the happier you will be with your life. We don't often take the time to check in with ourselves and see if we are living in accordance with our own priorities or not and/or if our priorities have shifted. Doing so at least once a year, preferably at the years start, will enable you to better align your life with what you hold most dear and important moving forward into the coming year.


6: Get A Journal

The reason why I suggest journaling is two fold, we cant work on ourselves or track our progress in our moods and life, without actually keeping track of these and what is potentially triggering these outcomes: further "brain dumping", "morning pages" or "bullet journaling"  especially first thing in the morning; allows you to reduce stress by dumping out all the thoughts in and "to dos" in your head while gaining insight overtime to recurring concepts within the journal, and set up intentions, direction, or priorities for the coming day. This little book will help calm and guide you through the year as well as provide you ample insight into yourself , your life, and your own thoughts and feelings you don't currently posses. It will also be a vital tool to take with you upon reflection from 2022 into 2023 helping you identify what brings you joy and sorrow what helps and what hinders.

There are so many kinds of journals and forms of journaling. If you are unsure where to start, consider what your priorities and/or stressors are, and get the journal that best suits your needs. If you want to begin a gratitude practice and/or have trouble maintaining a positive attitude a gratitude journal may be your answer. If you have anxiety or trouble staying out of your mind and in your life a mindfulness journal may be your answer. If you have medical or mental health difficulties a mood or symptom tracking journal may be your answer. If you set a goal or resolution or have difficulties setting goals a symptom tracking or mood tracking journal may be for you. Or you may also feel free to use the classic ordinary notebook or if you are more comfortable doing so computer document. These are just a small selection of the types of journals you can find.There are also numerous kinds of journals out there, some blank, some with prompts to start your journal entries and some with pages of exercises and practices. within the journal. Don't make this harder on yourself than it has to be. Though there are so many options out there for journaling, just write/type something anything, it could be a line such as "an intention or priority for the day or your mood" or 3 undirected pages"morning pages". There's no wrong way to journal except not doing it.


7: STOCK YOUR KITCHEN

Most all of us could stand to eat more nutritiously. The truth is that our body and brain and mood is affected by and made from the foods that we consume. We really are what we eat. And another truth is that we can't eat what's not there. Before getting ready to set off on another year make this small change, dump the junk food, and stock your cabinets pantries and refrigerator, with healthy whole foods fruits and vegetables. Take the time to set up your environment for success. Similarly to rearranging your space, making better food choices becomes a lot easier on a daily basis, when those are the only options you have to select. Cravings tend to disparate in 15minutes. So you may crave something that you don't have but that feeling will pass. And if fit doesn't you can always make a special trip out to obtain the occasional treat. When you have to take the time and energy to go retrieve the unhealthy options your often likely to just say forget it and eat something already in your home. You can't eat it if you don't buy it. So be conscious of the foods you bring into your home. Stock your kitchen with healthy options and nothing else in advance of the year to come. You will naturally and easily begin to transition to a healthier more nutritious way of eating. It typically takes about 3 weeks of consistently avoiding over sugar over salt processed foods before your pallet (tastes) will begin to adjust and you will start to crave the healthy option hence forth rather than eat it because it's all that's there.
Make it easy on yourself. Every-time you step out your front door or turn on your TV you are bombarded with advertisements for terrible foods that are chemically modified to be addictive as drugs and use your will power to try abstaining from their temptations. Your home should be your place of safety and sanctuary. Your facing down the willpower temptation battle all day long spare yourself the battle at home by eliminating the junk.

8: Assess Your Finances

While this is something we should be attending to all year around it can be all to easy to let things slip here and there over the course of the year, to nickle and dime ourselves into a debt, or holiday ourselves into a financial hole. That is why January is an ideal time to take some time to evaluate our financial standing. As it ensures that we are at a bare minimum doing so at-least once a year, that the holidays or any other reasons that may have occurred the prior 365days, hasn't taken you too far off course

This annual financial self-auditing is most effective if you are already in the practice of keeping good financial hygiene and practices like knowing approximately where you stand, in the moment, and in the overall season of your life

Our financial needs change over the span of our lives. As we move along further in life we need to begin simultaneously thinking about the present situation as well as formulating and/or implementing a plan for our future selves. When we are young it is entirely acceptable to get by day to day without much thought about our later years we are more focused on getting the basics of adult lives established. As we move into the middle years of our lives we need to begin to start setting aside a portion of our income, not only a nest egg for emergency rainy day funds, but a feasible plan for our later years, as well as having enough income and financial responsibility to make ends meet in the current season

It is suggested that you have tucked away at-least 6months of your current cost of living in a savings/safety net/rainy day fund in-case of emergencies. However most Americans only have about a month worth of savings and are living under a looming cloud of debt some without any plan for the golden years of their lives.

If you are most Americans step one is to asses exactly where all of your accounts and debts stand at the current time in your life and to calculate your current cost of living to maintain your basic life necessities, be sure to include things such as groceries childcare or other expenses that are essential recurring and you may overlook. and come to a total of the money you currently spend each month.
The next step is to actually track your spending for a month or two and see where your money is really going versus where you "think" it is going. Begin to eliminate completely unnecessary expenditures such as going out to eat by small lifestyle modifications like cooking at home. Cut out as many "necessary" expenses as possible such as child care for instance is there a friend or family member willing to take on that responsibility for you so that you may eliminate this bill altogether?
Once you have an accurate picture of your current financial situation, an accurate calculation of your monthly income, and  have "trimmed the fat" begin redirecting those savings into one of two options or both; eliminating your debts or your rainy-day emergency fund. 
Paying off your debts can be made easier by contacting debt collectors and making payment arrangements with them before they begin to do things like garnish your wages. (TIP) If you send a check to a debt collector for even 5$a month with a note that I agree to repay this debt at a rate of 5$/mo by accepting this check you agree to this arrangement, and they cash it, it is now a legally binding agreement that you may pay down that debt at a rate of only 5$ per/mo hence forth. You want to pay down and/or eliminate debts as soon as possible and build your rainy day emergency fund to 6months worth of basic living expenses to be start a safe and secure financial foundation
(TIP) Pay your bills FIRST before you do anything else with your income as soon as you receive it pay your bills, if possible auto-pay your newly allotted savings from "trimming the fat" (that added nothing to your monthly expenses) first and then you know without "guessing" how much money you have to spare for "other things" and living expenses. (TIP) Try not to spend money you don't have. We live in a society that depends heavily on your credit score so having a credit card is not necessarily a bad thing if you use it responsibly. Consider your credit cards as a "cash advance" rather than imaginary extra money. Don't charge what you won't have the money to pay back with your next influx of income. Leaving a low balance on your card for a period of time and paying monthly payments helps boost your credit score if you pay on-time each month. Never go to CASH ADVANCE stores! Use your credit card instead reasonably and responsibly and as soon as you get your check pay down the majority of the balance paying off the small remainder on time over a period of time.
When you know your true financial position using these and other good financial hygiene practices will help you layout a plan to get to the basic solid financial foundation of 6mo living experiences emergency fund, bills paid on time, living to not above your means, eliminating debts, and slowly raising your credit score.
This is the way that I approach my finances(I MUST DISCLAIM I AM NO FINANCIAL ADVISOR) but I am at a good foundation with an good credit score despite having three credit cards and a very limited income at present.
If you have been avoiding tackling or even tracking and managing your finances let this be the year you formulate a strategy that you can follow month after month to begin to climb that mountain so that you are in one to two years in a good foundational place to begin assessing ways to start planning a financial strategy for later in life so that your golden years are actually golden.


9: RE-ASSES OR CREATE A ROUGH SCHEDULE FOR YOUR DAYS

Setting a schedule for yourself may seem like the last thing you would want to do. Given all the duties and obligations of adult life. that you already feel consumes your days. Or if you're more of a free-spirit type that prefers to let the day unfold before you and go where the wind blows you and the muses inspire you laying out a rough foundation for you to follow on the face of it sounds restrictive and limiting. You may already have the feeling that "free time" is a very valuable resource, and you would be correct in that assumption it is the most valuable resource as time is life, that placing your own constrictions on your time by creating a loose daily schedule for yourself sounds like the last thing you would want to institute into your life.
However creating a LOOSE schedule for your days actually results in the contrary, MORE TIME, but how could this be?

If we actually track what we get up to in a day for a brief period of time we would come to understand and appreciate how many minutes and moments are spent aimless and wasted each and every day. It feels as though we never have enough time in a day to fit in all the things we have to and want to do. Often times however this is not a matter of not having enough time or having too much on your plate (although sometimes it is an indication you need to let go of a few things and downsize your over-extended lifestyle) it is usually a matter of time-management.

After you have determined what your current priorities and aims are for the year break it down into reasonable actionable steps that you can implement on a daily basis. Your daily schedule should include the basics to overall health and wellness such as appropriate sleep and wake times, any medications or medical health management that is an aspect of your life, meals, stress reduction, meals and water, exercise, etc: as well as blocking in your non-negotiable obligations such as getting the kids off to school or day care, your career/job; this will leave you with a realistic understanding of how many hours you have "to spare" in a day. These "spare hours" can be allocated to anything you value or want in your life that you never seem to have the time for. More quality time in your relationships, progressing towards goals, engaging in hobbies, reading, expanding your learning, etc. A realistic daily schedule is not a complete life overhaul. It is complimentary to the flow of your days as they already stand naturally, but provides you a realistic understanding of where and how you are going to fit in those things you want and need in your life.
A healthy daily schedule helps us fit all of our priorities and needs into our-lives by being conscious of where and how it can all fit in, and includes down time free time fun time as part of the day, as having life in your life is also a key element of enjoying your life. Don't pencil yourself into a minute by minute list of to-dos and obligations. This is meant to allow you to be more conscious of time and utilizing your time more effectively to fill your days with that which truly matters to you , eliminating wasted hours and being more effective with your time enables you to progress toward a life you want to live each day and those days add up over a year. The more conscious you are of your time the more efficiently you use the time you have the more time you will find that you do have that is free.
Also REMEMBER that this schedule is for you and you alone. It is a LOOSE guide that you may modify, adjust, or toss out entirely anytime you see fit. It is meant to help add some structure, progress, time for values, and pursuits, and fun as you move along this year and beyond, it is not a prison. You wrote it you can change it any day any time in any way you see fit. It's a suggestion not a prison. It is to help you keep chipping away in the right direction not to be one more thing to lock you down and trap you. You made it you can change it, rearrange it, and break it any time you see fit. 

10: TAKE TIME TO IMAGINE AN ATTAINABLE  FUTURE

Even if you didn't set a goal/resolution progress and the act of working toward something produces dopamine in our brains and a pleasant emotional state. We feel useful and productive when we are working on/towards something. It needn't be a massive goal or a resolution to achieve this pleasurable emotional state and positive neuro-chemical state. I used the word "attainable" with intention. Dopamine is not simply the "reward chemical" in fact we get far less release of dopamine upon achievement of the goal as we do the process of moving towards/after the goal. You can heighten the release of dopamine and sense of pride and progress by setting smaller landmark goals on the way to the larger final goal. Such as a person who is running a marathon gets a boost every time they cross a new mile marker in the race your mini-wins will produce a release of endorphins and dopamine and a sense of self-confidence and self esteem on the way to the finish line.
Don't set your expectations high or your sights on the goal itself but fall in love with the journey. This is simply a matter of mastering your brain chemistry as if you set too high expectations for how the goal will feel when reached and it doesn't meet that dopamine can also release a depressant like response. If however you fall in love with the process of making progress the positive emotional mental and neuro-chemical state lasts much longer than the momentary win and you learn skills and tools to self motivate yourself towards other positive things you want in your life. Pick anything you want to. It could be something in this list of 22 things or anything regardless how arbitrary others may thing it is if it lights you up to think about it try for that thing. It could be reading every book from a particular author, reading every comic from a series in sequence, learning to master a difficult recipe/food like back-lava, or anything else that excites you just to contemplate it.
Practicing attempting and achieving attainable goals will instill in you all manner of useful life skills and may ignite or reignite a passion in you as well as give you useful practice self motivating self disciplining and actively manipulating your dopamine for your own good. As you grow more comfortable and confident in the process and in love with the process of progress you can move on to larger more complicated goal setting and attainment.

11: Contact A Friend/Family and Schedual into your Month AT-LEAST One Day of Inperson Socializing

This may seem like it goes without saying. However already in the era where churches and other community organizations and club membership was on a steep decline, nearly everyone is entirely comfortable "keeping up" with their friends and loved ones entirely via the internet and social networks, add in Covid and it is not at all that uncommon for people to be more physically isolated than ever before. Not everyone even has someone outside of their spouse or partner they can call a good friend. A real life flesh and blood person they know they could call upon should times get hard. Obviously use common sense when gathering together in the age of Covid: do so safely with those who have been vaccinated preferably also boosted; that you know well, otherwise continue social distance efforts. But do make an effort to meet someone dear to you in person face to face in the real world. Physical human in-person contact has numerous health and mood benefits that we just can't get otherwise. With our busy lives and multiple priorities and changing society it was not uncommon, even pre-covid, for people to go for long periods of time without seeing their closest human connections in person, only coworkers, their partner or spouse, and people in passing out and about through their day for months at a time. We have only lived in civilization for a short time we were created and lived as tribe animals for years prior to the current construction to the point where our central nervous system, oxytocin, and other imperative aspects of our bodies are actually meant to function best in good company. As stated in the suggestion to write a love/gratitude letter once a month, having a friend, outside your relationship partner is hugely beneficial for your overall health and longevity as well as being good for your romantic relationship . Also that it is not quantity but quality and depth of the relationship that bares all the benefits. We simply can not get all the positive benefits from virtual meeting as in-person ones however live video visiting is a second best option. 

12: SET DEADLINES AND END DATES FOR YOUR GOAL/RESOLUTION

Resolution or not growth is always good and their is always areas in our lives we can make realistic minor changes and modifications to that will improve our happiness, fulfillment, and overall quality of life But it is hard to follow through with anything that is outside our predictable unconscious autopilot routine, anything that is new takes conscious effort to remember and repeat long enough for it to become new unconscious autopilot habits, and will power will only take you so far. That is why resolutions often fail, when the willpower runs dry, we fall easily back to the standard autopilot modes-operandum. And we typically set entire life overhauls rather than small attainable changes this time of year, this ends up getting us no where as it is too much, and we end up crumbling under the pressure of trying to make too big or too many changes all at once.
Use the S.M.A.R.T goal method. SMALL MEASURABLE ATTAINABLE REALISTIC AND TRACKABLE.
Trackable being key, as you are establishing your "plan" for 2022 in your weekly calendar and daily schedual, pencil in small steps to get from where you are to where you want to be. This gives you a road map to follow and enables you to know if you are on or off track toward your goal. You can hasten or ease up the pace of your dates and deadlines once you begin the process and see in real time in your real life how implementing your strategy actually plays out.
The "Dates" section means little mile markers of progress along your way toward the final goal where you can self-validate and celebrate yourself for the progress and process thus far like the marathon runner each time they cross another mile marker in the race to the finish line. Celebrating the little wins along the way and self-validating your progress gives you a boost of psychological energy and motivation to continue onward towards your goal attainment as well as helps begin or reinforces the practice of validating yourself emotionally and being a positive asset to yourself on your journey in this life rather than your own worst critic.

13: Pick At least One Aspect of Your Physical Health to Realistically Improve Upon

Since most of us walk around dehydrated this lifestyle health-span improvement attempt could be something as simple as drinking more water everyday. Remember que, trigger, response: make things easier on yourself by leaving a glass of water visible and accessible such as by you bed at night, on your desk during work, beside your tea or coffee kettle in the morning; so that this visual accessible que will remind you that you are attempting to drink more water and by tacking it onto preexisting rabbits and routines you make yourself more likely to follow through by removing the extra steps of going to go get the water. Seeing the water bottle is the que, it triggers your memory that this is something were doing now, and you respond by taking a few sips throughout your day. You can fit your ques in anyway that is going to be the most effective with your lifestyle. If you took the suggestion to restock your kitchen you can begin to learn about how to handle, store, prepare, cook, and preserve this new nutritional eating style your attempting. It needn't be as boring as raw carrots and hummus. There are a zillion fun recipes for healthy food and tips for storage etc on youtube and other online sources completely free. You will be more likely to stick to this new way of eating if you learn how to make some of your favorite foods out of healthier ingredients rather than just forage in your fridge every day like a starving bunny rabbit. Perhaps exercising is in the future prospective for you. Maybe your new to exercise or you have let your exercise go or have had health complications restrict your capacity to exercise as you once did, such as in my own case, where there's a will threes a way. You needn't go big or fast or fancy right out of the gate. Something as simple as a 20 minute walk 3 to 4 times a week can be enough to hit the basic government guidelines. If you have balance problems such as with MS a stationary recumbent bike may meet your needs best so that you don't have to worry about stumbling or gait disturbances. You can break up exercise into 10 to 15 minute chunks throughout your day to make it more manageable for those of us with energy deficiency disorders and exercise resistant disorders. It is as effective in pieces as it is done in one impossible session. Also consider other forms of exercise that you have not tried in the past and shake up the routine not doing the same thing day after day. Try lighter workouts like yoga or simple stretching, balance practices such as Tai Chi, and consider some type of weight training periodically especially as we age, if it is medically acceptable for you to do so. After the age of 30 we begin producing less human growth hormone and losing muscle mass. Overall muscle mass is one of the largest predictors of all cause mortality as we age. So though it may seem counter intuitive taking up some form of weight training, even body weight weight training, is more essential as we age. Always consult your doctor before you make a major change in your physical activities.
And if you are a hard pushing productivity monster go go going all the time never miss a workout kind of individual I suggest you embrace the importance of rest and recovery days. Too much exercise causes systemic inflammation in the body lowers the immune system raises stress hormones and doesn't allow you to reep the rewards of all your hard work to its fullest capacity because the body rebuilds newer stronger matrices of the micro-damage we incur during exercise on our off recovery days. If you never take rest and relaxation your inducing inflammation physically stress psychologically an jipping yourself of the total gains in health and aesthetics you are making with all your hard work. RELAX may be your health care solution.
Make sleep a priority. I have spoken of the importance of sleep for numerous things in other blog posts so I wont go deep just tell you that if sleep is a major issue for you or a low priority you should consider rethinking that as a nonnegotiable main health priority and that should become your health investment this year. T
These are just a few suggestions of possible realistic improvements you could consider making this year towards the good of your physical body. But again it is your life you select these or something else entirely that best promotes your current physical needs and limitations.

14: TRY A 30 DAY NO SPEND

Now that the holidays are over and were trying to get our finances  right, once you have stocked your kitchen and home with the essentials, it would be the ideal time to kick start your financial reorientation by attempting a 30day no spend.
A 30 day no spend is essentially exactly as it sounds. Attempt to go an entire 30 days without spending any money, outside of your bills, on anything. Get creative with your activities, your recipes, the things your wardrobe. We already posses plenty of things to keep ourselves entertained without spending money, books we haven't read movies we haven't watched, get together with your friends for a meal or coffee or a movie or games at your place rather than going out. Make your supplies last be frugal with your foods it will prevent waste and save money be frugal with your supplies it too will prevent waste and save money. The habits you acquire from: forgoing spending money, coming up with free fun ways to spend your time, new ways to wear what you already own, and making your supplies last; will make you more grateful for what you already posses, it will make you more aware of just how much you posses, offer you opportunities to learn new fun free ways to spend time alone and with friends so that you don't have to go out all the time and spend money to feel like your having a good time as well as stretchering your items preventing you from eliminating waste is good for the environment and your budget.
By the end of your 30 day challenge you will feel accomplished, have all that money you otherwise would have spent, a break in bad spending habits, and plenty of new ideas for how to live cheaper and set aside more cash in the future.
You can repeat this challenge anytime throughout the year that the mood strikes you.

15: TRY A (DAY/ WEEK) OFF FROM TECH: DEVICE DETOX

We rely heavily on our technologies, especially our phones and internet. Not many years ago if you were waiting in line at your favorite coffee house you may be chatting with the barista or a fellow customer, gazing around at your surroundings, lost in thoughts, etc now if your in any line or waiting room anywhere nearly everyone is on their phones. Or constant attachment to devices interferes with our ability to be present, our interactions and socialization with others, and time for the mind to relax problem solve or self reflect. Our minds require down-times throughout the day to decompress as well as resolve problems for us unconsciously while we are not busy inserting new information into it as we always are now anytime we are bored we fill with tech. We have our phones and/or other devices out while we are socializing with others distracting from the interactions while simultaneously giving the other person the message that they don't deserve your undivided attention and presence. The lights emitted from devices also disrupt our circadian rhythms and ability to sleep at night. As well as constantly bombarding our minds with stimuli so that it is always on "go" mode draining our energy, ability to be introspective, and creative. We have gotten so accustom to filling every little moment of minor boredom or stillness with technology that it can legitimately be an addictions it releases dopamine every time we pop on. 
Going for a week tech free: fear not you can still watch tv; allows you to begin to embrace moments of stillness introspection, get lost in your own thoughts so that you may gain insight into yourself, new ideas, creativity and problem solving increases, and sleeping improves, as well be present within your relationships when you put the tech away for a while.
All of these benefits and more enables your mind and yourself to decompress, slowdown, embrace moments of stillness, and de-stress. Give it a try and see if you can manage to last  a week without your devices. If you can't last the full week that's ok go as long as you can manage and try againi later until it is manageable to go through your days with or without your tech.

16: TRY A 30 DAY BOOZE BAN: ALCOHOL DETOX
piles. This will...WRITE

17: TRY A WEEK FREE OF SUGAR: SUGAR DETOX

The typical American eats 3 to 4 times the recommended amount of sugar in a day. Even if you are conciencious of your sugar intake, avoiding sweets and treats and sugary drinks, you are still likely far surpasing the daily recomendations of sugar in your diet. How is this possible? Because the standard American diet ironically often abbrieviated to the (SAD) diet is comprised by 60 to 70% processed food products. Sugars are lerking everywhere under all mannerr of different names within processed food products, even products where you would not expect to find them, such as soups and gravy. The more processed the food the more sugar and related compunds you will find resideds within it. This is because companies employ scientists to make a careful balance of sugar, salt, and fat, within the products they produce that they honestly refer to as "the bliss point". The bliss point is the exact ratios of sugar fat and salt that targets our natural biological needs for glucose, sodium, and calorically dense foods such as fats. The processed foods most of us make the majority of our diets from have many issues beyond the bliss point but it is this litterral chemical engineering that makes processed foods so pallatable and addictive. So even if you are doing a good job not having added sugars in your diet, the vast majority of our overconsumption of sugars comes from our processed food diet.

The reason why it would be benificial to try a week of sugar detoxing is three fold. First processed unhealthy options have been chemically engineered to be so highly pallatable that we crave these intense flavors and the healthier options tase bland and unappealing. After aproximately a week of conciously choosing to eat healthier whole foods your flavor pallate actually begins to change and you start to appreciate and crave healthy foods. If you go a long time avoiding adding salts and sugars you can also begin to taste the extreme levels of sodium and sugar in processed foods that you never noticed before. They become far less appealing than the more nutrtious option given sufficient time.
Second is that aproximatly 70% of Americans are diabetic or prediabetic. Diabetees is a terrible disease. It is the disease that destroyed and eventually took my fathers life during a hypoglycemic episode. One of the main contributers to insulin resistance is overwhelming the system with sugars in the form of the obvious and the not so obvious. Eliminating sugars from your diet aside from small portions of natural sugars like berries etc for a time allows your body to  begin to heal and re-regulate it's insulin levels to a more normative range. It is healthy for diabetics as well as prevention for those who do not yet but easily could develope this life altering and life threatening condition. And your mood and energy levels will remain more stable as your blood sugars and insulin levels do not repeatedly fluctuate dramatically through the day.
Third is that sugar is an inflamitory food. If you suffer from any chronic conditions, especiallly pain and inflamatory conditions (which many conditions are such as autoimmune disorders) removing sugars from your diet for a time, potentially permanently, prevents the constant bombardment of inflamation that sugars trigger throrughout the body. Your symptoms will see some improvement from the reduction of sugars from the diet. Further even if you are healthy sugar is still an inflamatory food. And the more inflamation we have within our body over a long period of times, ie consuming the (SAD) diet day after day, you increase your risk for premature aging and numerous illnesses.
Try it for a week, look carefully at labels sugars are hidden in all manner of places you would not expect for example the majority of condiments are made up in large by sugar as a primary ingrediant. The higher on the label it is the more of it is in the food. The easiest way to approach this is to simply attempt to eat whole natural foods for a week so that you don't get duped by hidden sugars in unexpected places or by other names like fructose, dextros, and the like.
Try a week as this gives your body a chance to begin readjusting your insulin sensitivity and impacting any inflamation you may be expiriencing. If you can go as long as you can. You will eventually crave healthy whole foods but at first this can be a difficult and bland feeling challenge that is why I suggested a week to start.
Repeat as often as you wish to help your body out. And educate yourself on the negative affects of sugars on the body.
Attempt this frequently throughout the year. And if desired begin to focus on other unhealthy addatives in processed foods such as a variety of oils and chemicals and dpreservatives that you can not pronounce in the ingrediants list.
Who knows maybe after a few weeks you may decide to keep eating this way moving forward if it makes a great impact on your diabetic numbers, your aches pains, energy and mood fluctuations, and sensitivity and awareness to all the unhealthy extras in your typical/former way of eating.


18: Write A Love Letter To Your Partner, or a Gratitude letter, to anyone.

Human connection has been scientifically proven to be good for our overall health. But it is not the quantity of interactions it is the quality and depth of the bonds we have that matters. You could take this practice up monthly as a gratitude practice while also serving as a way to reestablish lost and distanced relationships and strengthen and deepen the intimacy in your closest relationships. I highly suggest going all out with this one and going old fashioned. No one writes and letter by hand these days it's typically a text, an email, or a shout out on social media platforms. It takes extra time to handwrite and mail out a genuine letter to another person. Two gifts we can not get back and so are the most precious we can offer to another is our time and our attention. A handwritten letter mailed to your spouse/partner or of gratitude/ appreciation let's those you love know how you feel about them as well as that you do so without "having to"  such as  a holiday or birthday. A surprise no reason carefully genuinely thought out and articulated hand written letter tells someone that they matter, why and how they matter (the more specific you can be the better),  and that you were willing to take time out of your life specifically to let them know how much they matter by writing your feelings in a legitimate letter and mailing it out; when you could have taken the much easier route that people often do being not saying how they truly feel what they value and appreciate in each-other, and doing so with the ease and click of signing on to the internet. There is something special about receiving a real letter in the mail as it is so rare these days especially a heart felt letter for no reason other than you care. If you do this practice once a month it only amounts to 12 letters in a year of your time and energy investment but your return in the strengthening and deepening or reclaiming relationships far exceeds the efforts in. This is one of those things that takes but a little input but produces bountiful return on the investment.

19: CHECK & CORRECT YOUR SELF TALK FREQUENTLY/DAILY

EWe have dozens upon dosens of thoughts that race through our brains all day long and we are only conciously aware of about 20% of them. And when it comes to the thoughts we have about ourselve the vast majority are negative. We have no control over the immediate thoughts that spring up in our minds but we always have control over our response to those thoughts. We are often our own worst critic, if so your brain has a lifetimes worth of conditioning to think self critically and negatively towards you that can only be undone with concious effort to recondition/rewire the brain. Try paying more attention to the thoughts you have about yourself throughout the day so that you can intercept them, question if they are really true, where the ideas came from, and dispute and disqualify them by seeking evidence to the contrary. Enough time and practice doing this ...FINISH

20:Take 5 to 15 min rest/stillness period ea. day & 1 Day OFF/Month
Self care is not optional it is essential. Chronic stress has real life implications on our overall health, emotional, mental, and physical. As well as our thoughts, behaviors, decisions, actions and interactions out in the world throughout the day. ....FINISH

21: Schedule in a "G.Y.S.T" Day once/month

(G.Y.S.T.) = Get Your Shit Together Day, is a concept I got a few years ago from Kaylin Nicholson (her YouTube link is at the bottom of this blog entry). It means exactly what it sounds like it means.

There is a lot to juggle in life on any average easy, or even good day, as an adult. Let alone during the difficult, busy, overwhelming days: or when your attempting to implement new positive changes into yourself or your lifestyle; as you may be this time of year.
A get your shit together day is one day a month that you set aside on your calendar, yes literally pencil this one in as a nonnegotiable like you would a doctors appointment or job interview, having this one day will spare you 29 other days of nagging stress. Rather than a mounting list of steadily growing "to do's" that you are not getting to, to tackle tugging at your mind and sense of well being all month long :all those little details of adulting; get to what you can and LET GO of the rest. You can let go of the rest and the stress that comes with it because you know in advance that you've got a day for this.
Perhaps the laundry has been mounting up, or you have paperwork you've been procrastinating on, the garage or gutters need cleaning, your legs or beard needs trimming, your finances need a check, your mother needs a call, whatever it is that constitutes your basic adult life: the glue of constant maintence of the mundane responsibilities that holds it all together; take this day to tackle the pressing priorities and necessities that you haven't gotten to yet. And check in with yourself how you are getting on with your chosen new routines and habits to see if anything needs a little readjusting moving forward.
 

22: TAKE TIME TO REVIEW THE MONTH THAT WAS.

Often an entire year can go by, one New Years Eve to the next, and we reflect back upon the year to find we can't recall all that much that h append in-between though we know it has been a great deal. We may find ourselves at years end slightly better, slightly worse the same or drastically better or worse off than the year before. But this knowledge does us no good if we can't track backwards to what it is that led to these results. It is important, in-order to know what you are doing and not doing when things are working well for you and when they are not, that you are able to reflect on the month you've just had and attempt to decipher how and what has gotten you to where you are at its end. Between tracking your goals, tracking your calendars and daily schedule, and your personal journals, you should be able to get a relatively coherent clear understanding of what helps and what hurts you. You will begin to be able to identify things that interfere with your intentions and attempts to improve yourself and life, externally and internally as well, which will allow you to redirect your energies more effectively as the months progress . By this time next year you wherever you end up you won't be looking backwards befuddled and confused instead you will know exactly how you got to where your at . This will allow you to make needed modifications throughout the year towards your desired ends as well as supply a tremendous amount of information on the ways in which you unconsciously get in your own way along. By the years conclusion  your left with a solid, personalized to you, format to utilize the following year chalk full of what works well for you and what doesn't; with a ready understanding of how when and where you might trip up along the way in 2023.

Kaylin Nicholson's YouTube

Happiness4 Beginners YouTube

Happiness on INSTAGRAM