You may remember Maddy from an interview a few months ago, where she shared her journey as a life coach, and what her work is all about. I have decided to bring Maddy back on the blog, this time we discuss all things healthy habits for the new year, and her thoughts on the 'new year, new me' phrase entering 2022. I hope you enjoy this read, and find some insightful and helpful information for becoming the best version of you through your healthy habits.
1. What are your views on the 'new year, new me' trope? Do you think this idea is more helpful or detrimental?
I personally think “new year, new me” can be interpreted in so many different ways. I find that at the start of each year, I love to set new habits to more so better myself, and habits that support my true values, therefore I think the phrase “new year, new me” in my eyes is more like “new year, better me” because we can only grow ourselves even more, whether we intend to or not. I don’t want to change myself and be someone who isn’t true to my core values and beliefs, and I think many people could agree. It’s really difficult to be someone you’re not, I could not fake who I am or completely change myself, which is basically what I get from “new year new me”, I’d much prefer to go into my new year with intentions, goals, habits and showing up as who I truly want to be.
2. Entering the New Year, it can be so easy to fall into the trap of 'quick fixes' and fad diets that are targeted to people looking to lead a healthier lifestyle for the year ahead. How can we make sure we steer clear of these? One of the most important things that comes into play with having a “healthy lifestyle” isn’t just about the physical side of things. A major part of it is our mindset and how we process things and interpret things. It’s so important to have good, healthy relationships with food and your mindset around food. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is to eat with intuition, eat to feel good, and remind yourself daily food is fuel and we need it to survive. “Diets” are not a sustainable way to live in the long term scheme of things, as we need carbs, protein and fats in our meals, to give us energy, growth and everything our body needs. No food is bad food, and food is not the enemy. (I’m in no way a professional in the eating disorder/anxiety etc. area so please seek some professional help if you find yourself triggered around foods etc.) 3. Is 'new year, new me' a good foundation to build good habits and lifestyle changes? What is a good place to come from when looking to build these new habits? I think the most important foundation to bring with us into the new year is to really think about who you want to show up as every single day. What does that person do for work, what does their morning and night routine look like, who is in their circle, get into every single detail about who you want to show up as, including smells, visuals, taste, what you can feel and hear. Once you’ve really gotten a clear vision of who you want to show up as everyday, write down the goals you want to achieve in 1/3/5 years time (or whatever period of time you would like, it could be 6 months). And the most important part of this, is identifying the systems of these goals; what do you have to do to achieve them? and make those your habits in your everyday life. Don’t set unrealistic habits that don’t serve you or who you want to be. Our habits reflect who we are as a person and who we identify as. “The goal isn’t to read a book, it’s to become a reader.” 4 . What exactly is a 'healthy habit' in your opinion? A healthy habit in my eyes is a habit that truly serves me in the best way possible and makes me feel good internally and externally. Healthy habits should reflect who we want to show up as everyday, and our long term goals. You want to make sure your habits and goals align with you and they’re sustainable and ethical for you and your identity. If your new years habit is to eat healthier because you want to lose weight because you’re unhappy, I want you to really think about whether this habit is actually ethical for you. Remember, happiness is a feeling. It’s not an end result. If you lose X amount of weight, that end result will make you happy, but we still have bad days where we feel sad or angry or any emotion, due to our everyday stressors in life. So really dive into your goals and habits and evaluate whether it’s truly ethical for you and supports who you want to be. If your “healthy habit” is to meditate for 30 minutes everyday, this probably isn’t ethical for someone who has never meditated before. Maybe start with 1-3 minutes of meditation a day instead. A healthy habit for me is to move for at least 15 minutes a day, as movement in any form makes me feel good and keeps my mental health in line. 5. What are some examples of healthy habits that we could work on this year? Healthy habits really come down to what core values you have and who you are as a person. Some common healthy habits people like to incorporate into their lifestyle include: - move for 10 minutes a day - write down 1 thing you’re grateful for each day - drink more water - do one thing a day that will help you gain knowledge; podcast, book, ted talk, documentary etc. - eat intuitively - hire a coach to improve mindset and personal growth *winky face* (i’m a mindset coach, and id love to work with you) - walk for 10 minutes a day 6. How can we maintain motivation and consistency to keep pursuing these habits throughout the year? I’ve recently started using a habit tracker on my phone, which is helping me to keep track of my habits! It’s so helpful because it sends me notifications to remind me to drink more water, move my body etc. Also it’s super helpful if you tell someone about your habits and what you want to achieve to keep you accountable, again a coach is perfect for this , or even a friend or partner etc. P.S. join my facebook group because I’m releasing a healthy habit and healthy lifestyle program sometime this year for free on my FB page!! Top secret, you guys are first to know! Stay tuned
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