Its New Years Day and around the country people are sharing their new years resolutions.

Are you one of them?

There is no law that says you need to make new years resolutions, yet there is something about a new year brings that makes it  natural to think about the year ahead and what you want it to be like, or should that be how you want it to be different for the year just past. Fresh starts, new opportunities and all that.

Its probably no surprise that the number one resolution is to lose weight particular after the recent period of festive indulgence over Christmas.  Its probably also not too much of a surprise that around 92% of new year resolutions fail within the the first 6 weeks.    When you look at statistics like that it makes you wonder why you would bother with resolutions …. I mean why deliberately set yourself up for failure.  That’s not an optimistic start to a new year.

What is it about resolutions that makes them so hard to stick to?  Well, most resolutions that are about what people feel they SHOULD DO and not so much about what they WANT TO DO.  They always seem to be around something you want to give up, smoking, drinking, eating chocolate, snacking, … the list goes on.  And of course the other reason they are difficult to achieve is that people go cold turkey, they go all out to and try to do too much too soon.  Then they quickly feel overwhelmed and soon the cracks begin to appear.

If you feel that a New Year deserves some new resolutions then can we suggest our Alternative Resolutions For 2015.  Choose those that feel right for you right now, those are the ones you will be most likely to enjoy and so it will feel natural and easy to incorporate into your life.

The Body Retreat’s Alternative Resolutions For 2015

1. Fall in Love with Yourself.  Start by beginning to Like Yourself.  Pick just one thing that you do like about yourself and begin your love affair from this single attribute.

2. Respect & Protect Your Body.  No dieting, no deprivation but equally no binging, no relying on convenience foods but rather when you choose to eat make sure that your choice is something that respects and protects your body…and yes that does mean having the odd treat too.

3. Be Kind to Yourself.  You know the old saying “treat others as you would like to be treated”  well make this the year you turn it on its head and start to treat yourself as you do others.  Be kind to yourself when you make a mistake, be gentle with yourself when learning something new and speak kindly to yourself when you slip up.

4. Make Time for Yourself Every Day. There are 24 hours in every day, so even if its only 5 minutes.  Make time for yourself to do something that is just for you.  Often we women put ourselves at the bottom of the “To do” list.  This year begin to reclaim You Time.

5. Read More, More Often.  Studies show that those who read more have a wider perspective on life and are generally less stressed.  It’s thought that loosing yourself in a good book helps you to relax.

6. Be Mindful.  Practising Mindfulness improves both you mental and physical health.  Don’t be put off by the idea that you need to find hours to begin your practice on our Stress Reset Retreat we begin by teaching a very simple 3 minute Mindfulness practice that can be done many times in the day and so build up your Mindful Muscles. When it comes to Mindfulness, small steps do begin big gains.

7. Trust Your Inner Voice.  Woman have amazing intuition, often sensing how others are feeling and thinking but some women begin to lose confidence in their own inner voice when it comes to their own needs and wants.  Often their gut feel is pitted against the logical brian thought and comes off the loser…sometimes it is the correct outcome but not always.  So begin listening to your inner voice, sensing how you feel about things not only what you think about them.

8. Be Grateful Daily.  Research has found that those who practice gratitude daily report less aches and pains and feel healthier in addition it has be linked to improvements in stress levels and sleep.  Its a good practice to write down three things you are grateful for every day..everyone can name a couple of things off the top of their heads but the third often requires more thought and so therefore is more meaningful.

9. Let Go off The Past.  Constantly looking on the rear view mirror is distracting and stops you from seeing the road ahead or appreciating the view around you.  So while its good to remember the past do not dwell on things that may have happened.

10. Let Yourself be You. Are you trying to be someone else, or live up to someone else’s ideal of what you should or should not be?  Nothing is more destructive of your confidence or self esteem.  Make this the year that you define yourself and do not allow yourself to be dictated to, whether that be your size, shape, weight, the job your do, the hobbies you have or even the clothes you wear.  Let Yourself be You …but you can take pride in being the best version of You.

So there you have it… an alternate view on new years resolutions.  No deprivation, no “Shouda, Woulda, Coulda”,  simple practices that will improve the quality of your health and well-being right from the get go.

We would love to hear what resolutions you have chosen …did any of our list make the cut for you? If there is anything on the list that you feel nervous about or feel you would like more help to explore and make right for you then why not join us at The Body Retreat.  We have helped hundred of women decide for themselves what health and wellbeing looks and feels like.

Whether you resolve or not resolve may the New Year bring you health and happiness, peace and prosperity. You will find the comments section right at the bottom of the page and if you feel that anyone you know would benefit from our Alternative New Year Resolutions then please feel free to share … the buttons are all along the side.

Happy New Year from all of us at The Body Retreat.