I have always found the holiday season to be a stressful time of year. And I don’t know about you, but being stressed and creating goals for the year ahead don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. It’s not that you can’t create goals when you are stressed—I have simply found that when I am stressed and I create goals, my goals tend to be a reflection of my stress state instead of what I truly want to shift in my life. 

So, I decided to do it differently this year. Instead of focusing on what I want to change or how I need to improve, I am going to focus on how I can better support myself this year. How can I take better care of myself? 

If you feel inspired by typical new year resolutions, I support you! If you feel stressed, burnt out or overwhelmed with life in general now that we’re a week into 2022, I invite you to take a new approach with me. Here are some ways I am going to explore taking better care of myself this year: 

Get outside daily. Being outside in nature is so nourishing for the body. In fact, studies show that spending time outside in nature can reduce stress levels and lower elevated blood pressure. However, I can’t begin to tell you how many times in the winter months I don’t make time for being outside, even for a few minutes. So, this year I am going to focus on being outside, every day, if only for a few minutes. 

Prioritize sleep. Honestly, I am pretty good at this one, but I’m including it since I know a lot of people struggle with it. Sleep is so important for our health. I’d say it’s even more important than diet (and that says a lot coming from a dietitian). If you aren’t sleeping well, it’s hard to do anything well, including eating, exercising, working and maintaining relationships. Prioritizing sleep is a powerful (and free) way to take better care of yourself. 

Get in touch with what lights you up. What fills you up? What nourishes you? Being an adult can be very serious and very hard. It is easy to get caught up in the daily grind and forget to include time for what you actually enjoy doing. Filling your day up with only things you need to do leaves very little room for things in your day that you like to do. Unless, of course, the things you need to do and like to do are the same—in that case, hats off to you 😉

I sat down and made a list of everything that lights me up. I thought hard and took tips from my childhood. What things did I like to do for fun as a kid? I have found that most of what made young Renee happy still apply to adult Renee. My list includes:

• walking in the woods
• coloring
• dancing
• playing hide and seek
• journaling
• spending quality time with people I care about
• reading
• cooking
• kundalini yoga.

I am going to make sure that every day, I intentionally include time for several of the things that light me up. 

On the flip side, be aware of what drains your energy. What depletes you? You may not be able to avoid these things altogether—but, being aware of them will help you create healthier boundaries around them. 

Do less, not more. This one is really hard for me, which means it’s really important for me to work on it. I need a lot of downtime and if I don’t get it, I feel irritated, on edge and grumpy. So, I am striving to do less, not more by including more downtime into my daily life. And that means that maybe 2022 isn’t the year I double my revenue. Maybe 2022 is the year I learn how to not be entirely burnt out at the end of each day. Maybe 2022 is the year I learn to be more present with myself and others. 

Ask for help. Maybe you want to eat healthier but don’t know where to start. Maybe you are struggling with anxiety or depression and don’t know how to start healing. Maybe you have been dealing with gut issues for years and are finally ready to fix your gut but aren’t sure what to do first. Instead of trying to sort it out on your own, ask for help from someone you can trust. Being able to receive support from another individual is one of the most powerful ways you can take better care of yourself. 

And with that, I wish you a very happy and healthy 2022!