8 Habits to Ditch & Embrace in 2015

While your belly may still be happy and rotund from the seasonal merriment, 2015 is fast approaching. Inevitably, it’s resolution time. But, this year, instead of assigning yourself numerous resolutions that you will surely ditch by January 31st, why not take this chance to better yourself on a more permanent, less physical level? Embrace and ditch these particular habits, and you’ll succeed in making the 2015 version of yourself the best it can possibly be.

Stop feeling guilty. We spend a considerable amount of thought-energy on guilt — and where does it get us? It doesn’t solve problems; it ironically worsens them by building up stress which takes an incredible toll on your body and mind. Instead, take a proactive approach to life and improve the situation. Don’t just sit around feeling sorry for yourself. No matter how bad you feel today, tomorrow is always a new day, and a new chance to live better.     

Accept yourself as you are. You are imperfect. Deal with it. Everyone is flawed in myriad ways. Thinking that you’re somehow any worse than anyone else is incorrect. Everyone makes mistakes. But, by practicing confidence and self-acceptance, you will exude the illusion of ‘togetherness’ that everyone is striving to achieve. Heck, you may even start to fool yourself!      

Exercise, meditate, and eat natural foods. No one’s telling your to try and win the next Ironman competition, but these 3 pillars are pivotal to a healthy, happy lifestyle. Think about it as a trifecta: Some gentle, fun exercise every day keeps you young; 5 or 10 minutes of meditation will nix your chronic stress; wholesome, natural foods will help your body function the way it was meant to. Start incorporating these into your life, bit by bit, week by week, and notice how much better you feel. Your body will love you for it.    

Embrace your dreams. Everyone has dreams. But, for most, that’s where they stay. Make your dreams reality this year; they’re not impossible. Make a realistic, step-by-step timetable to help you achieve your wildest, most desired dreams. It may take an entire year — it may take 10 — but you’ll be pursuing your dreams and enjoying the experience instead of just letting them flit about and wither within your mind.   

Stop fearing the unknown. Take chances this year. Fear of the unknown is what squashes most dreams. Comfort is overrated; try something you’ve never done before. Get out there. You may just discover a whole new dimension to yourself! What’s the worst that can happen? 

Stop stressing about money. Again, stressing only worsens the situation. Instead, do something about it. Be proactive. Financial stress can make you miserable. Figure out a way to deal with it and trust that, with effort, it will all work out in the end. You’ll feel the load on your shoulders lighten considerably. 

Do things that make you feel strong and independent. This is especially true if you are in a long-term relationship with loved ones and friends. We can get so comfortable and dependent on our partners and comrades that we lose a bit of ourselves — that beautiful, spunky spark. This year, take chances and rediscover yourself out on your own. Take a solo trip, delve into a new class by yourself, talk to interesting new people. It will bring further dimension and excitement into your life — and your relationships.       

Let go of negativity. The counterclockwise whirlpool of your mind can suck even your most intrinsic happiness and positivity out of you if you allow it. The beautiful thing is: you’re in control. You can cut the branches of negative thought off at the source. Most of what we experience in life is heavily influenced by the mind, meaning you have the power to alter and improve your experiences through positive thinking. Kick out negativity and negative words like ‘can’t’, ‘no’, ‘won’t’, ‘too hard’, and all the rest. Negativity is simply a waste of precious, beautiful time. 

2015 is the year to make yourself into what you want to be. Carve your own path and thrive in the positivity and confidence these habits will offer your life. So, go ahead and do it — there’s no better time. It’s all within you.

By Jordyn Cormier

Jordyn is a choreographer, freelance writer, and an avid outdoors woman. Having received her B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance from the Boston Conservatory, she is passionate about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and soul through food and fitness. A lover of adventure, Jordyn can often be found hiking, canoeing, mountain biking, and making herself at home in the back country! 

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Healthy Highway is a Healthy Lifestyle Company offering Lifestyle Solutions for a Happy Healthy You!   We help people who are…

• Wanting Work Life Balance.
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Contact me today and Start today to live a healthier, happier life!  Don’t live in Atlanta?  Not a problem.  We do virtual coaching worldwide!

I look forward to helping YOU Live a Happy Healthy Life!  Remember, Excellent Health is found along your way, not just at your destination.

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Leesa A. Wheeler

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     Live Well… Lifestyle Solutions for a Happy Healthy You! ~ Available Now!

     Melodies from Within ~ Available Now! 

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15 Habits of Highly Confident People

 

No one is confident all the time but some people seem to exude confidence leaving others wondering “what’s the secret?”  Here are some of my observations about the habits of highly confident people.

1.  They have a strong sense of self. They know what they like and what they don’t like.  They’ve most likely built a strong sense of self by having a wide variety of experiences.

2.  They have a strong sense of personal boundaries. They don’t try to please others merely for the sake of making others happy. But, that doesn’t mean they are contrarian to boost their ego either.

3.  They learn from their past without dwelling on it. The past can play a role in helping us move forward in life, but not if we get stuck in it.

4.  They go after their goals and dreams. They may feel fear but they strive to reach their dreams anyway.

5.  They recognize “mistakes“ are learning opportunities. They don’t beat themselves up for their mistakes, realizing that every mistake is an opportunity to learn likes, dislikes, and ways to be more successful next time.

6.  They try new things. There is an expression that experience is the best teacher.  Trying new things allows us to evolve as people.

7.  They take risks. They make informed choices even if there is risk involved.  They know the difference between a gamble and a risk.  They prepare as much as they can and then dive in for those risks they feel are worth the effort.

8.  They refuse to be victimized. One thing I learned from being a health practitioner is that everyone has had difficulties and challenges.  The highly confident person refuses to let the difficulties make them feel victimized.  Of course, we all feel sorry for ourselves sometimes but it is important not to linger in self-pity.

9.  They celebrate their successes and the successes of others. You won’t find truly confident people who are jealous and diminishing of other people’s successes.  They celebrate them.

10.  They can be alone with their own thoughts without needing to fill every minute with conversation, technologies (cellphones, e-mail, texting, etc.), pastimes, or television.

11. They trust their instincts. Instincts help guide us on our path to make the best choices for us.  Trusting these instincts helps us make better choices.

12.  They accept change. Someone once said that “change is the only constant.”  While highly confident people may not always like the changes occurring they accept them and do their best to ride the wave of change.

13.  They take care of themselves. They know that the expression GIGO (Garbage in, Garbage out) is true of the body.  They treat their body with respect by giving it high quality nourishment in the form of healthy food, fresh air, relaxation, and activity.

14.  They boost others, not demean them. Confidence and ego-tripping aren’t the same things.  Confident people don’t feel the need to put others down to build themselves up.

15.  They don‘t beat themselves up. Of course, no one is perfect.  Even the most confident of people have weak moments.  They dust themselves off and keep going.

What do you think are the habits of highly confident people?  I’d love to hear from you.

Michelle Schoffro Cook

Michelle Schoffro Cook, MSc, RNCP, ROHP, DNM, PhD is an international best-selling and 15-time book author and doctor of traditional natural medicine, whose works include: 60 Seconds to Slim, Weekend Wonder Detox, Healing Recipes, The Vitality Diet, Allergy-Proof, Arthritis-Proof, Total Body Detox, The Life Force Diet, The Ultimate pH Solution, The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan, and The Phytozyme Cure. Subscribe to her free e-magazine World’s Healthiest News at WorldsHealthiestDiet.com to receive monthly health news, tips, recipes and more. Follow her on Twitter @mschoffrocook and Facebook.

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Know Yourself, Accept Yourself

 

If you’re very self-critical, you can often times find yourself apologizing to others about the way you are. It can be demoralizing when who you are doesn’t match up with who you want to be. But the way of getting from point A (who you are) to point B (who you want to be) isn’t through negativity or self-defeat, but rather: acceptance.

Accepting who you are now doesn’t mean that you will never change. Accepting who you are now doesn’t mean that you are dangerously overlooking your flaws or your areas of weakness. But if you do accept who you are, it means you are better able to acknowledge those aspects of yourself that are less than perfect and compensate for them if needed.

You can spend your time lamenting the fact that you weren’t born perfect or you can use that energy to work with how you are right now. So, you need an extra push to get your to-do list done? Instead of trying the same things over and over again and failing (making a to-do list then getting overwhelmed at the sight of it and procrastinating to the point that you don’t get anything done), use your resources to do things differently. A resource could be anything: a book, a website, a friend, a co-worker or even a rewards system. The key is first knowing who you are, then accepting it so that you can work with it (rather than against it) to get different results.

How can you learn more about yourself? One way is by taking inventory of your strengths. It’s been found that we often spend most of our energy focusing on our *shortcomings rather than what we do well. Maybe it doesn’t matter so much that your sock drawer is always a mess if you are the type of person who can turn someone’s frown upside down. It’s important to know what your strengths are so that you can bring the best of you to the world (rather than always focusing on the “worst” of you). A great book that can help you with this is StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. It gives an assessment of your skills and lays out strategies for utilizing your strengths in your everyday life.

The most important thing to remember is to keep some perspective on what really matters in the long run. Will you really remember that you didn’t make the best bean dip for your best friend’s party? Or will it matter more that you focused on being the best friend that you could possibly be — flaws and all?

Know yourself, accept yourself, and share your light with the world.

Erika Oglesby

Erika Oglesby is a freelance writer and wandering nomad currently located in Grand Rapids, MI. She is dedicated to helping people better their lives through self-knowledge and alternative therapies — especially women of color and women diagnosed with autoimmune diseases. Visit her website at http://www.erikaoglesby.com.

Image Credit: Ivan McClellan / Flickr