This time of year everyone looks at the opportunity to start fresh and resolve to make changes in their lives. I tend to think this is the worst time of year to start something new. For many of us, you're exhausted from the rush of the holiday season and your mind is at it's most exhausted state. Starting something new requires a tremendous amount of effort, so is this actually the best time of year to resolve to change your life?
8 months ago, after 40 days of fasting from shopping for Lent, my husband and I decided to make a major change in our lives in April. We decided to change the way we eat. It all started for me as a desperate attempt to lose weight and combat the symptoms of Hypothyroidism. We agreed to do the Paleo diet for 30 days. We figured we could do anything for 30 days. After the month was over we were both down quite a few pounds and decided not to stop. Now after all of these months we're thinner than we've been in 25 years and feel awesome!
Spring Forward!
I've asked myself. "Why did it work this time? What was different than all of the other times?" For one thing I feel God blessed the fact that I Fasted. Fasting from something you love can be really hard and this was the first time I had done it. Secondly, I think it was the right time of year... Spring! It's a wonderful time of year! Winter makes me just want to hibernate and hide from the cold. But Spring offers us the hope of the end of a long, cold winter and the excitement of beautiful, warm days. It also offers us another hour in our day for us Southerners, which always makes me feel better mentally. Spring is the beginning of vacations, time on the beach or lake with friends and family. It launches me forward every year!
Making major changes in life is never easy. It take commitment and hard work. In the beginning all changes pretty much suck. Changing the way I think about food took some research and much prayer. It also helped to have a partner to do it with. Not eating junk food isn't very popular either, so expect push back from all of those around you. But the reward as amazing! Not only are you doing something a large majority of the population will never accomplish, but you will gain admiration from places you never expected. Is it hard when my girlfriends are sitting around eating pizza and cookies, sure. But I always make sure I have things around me to eat that l love: nuts, grapes, Paleo desserts, etc.
Now I'm asking myself what can I change about myself this year. As a graphic designer and creative person, I'm notoriously a late riser in the morning. It's been a problem my entire life. Heck, I even remember running to school in the first grade! Changing my sleep habits will be a major accomplishments. I love staying up at night! But the problem is I'm not productive at night, I just want to sit around and watch TV. If I could work at night, it would all be okay, but I just can't. So this year my new goal is to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. I'm only trying to shift one hour. It sounds like a simple thing, but to me it's HUGE. Again, I'm going to need the partnership with my husband who would definitely use more sleep. Mostly I'll rely on God to help me and hopefully by this summer I'll be a new person professionally!
What will you Spring forward and commit to do in 2016?