Yes, 2020 was rough. So let’s all change direction and begin anew in 2021!
Here are 21 suggestions to start the year off right!
- Choose your New Year’s resolutions with passion and draw pictures or symbols to represent each goal. Place each image into your calendar to timestamp when you want to achieve that goal. If you include habit breaking or habit making goals, consider it can take 66 days to fully develop a new automatic, habitual behavior. Envision your pathways to success. Will you work on each goal at the same time or sequentially? Use the 4 seasons to help place your goals in temporal order. Manifest your destiny!
- Be mindful of your thoughts, words, and actions. They impact your impressions of others and impressions others have of you.
- Construct a framework for each day upon waking. Add in as many details as you wish but make your day happen as you wish instead of letting days pass you by.
- Carve out time to clear your mind and meditate for at least 20 minutes each day.
- Love yourself. Accept and forgive yourself for any perceived missteps every morning when you rise and each night before sleep. No matter how good or bad things may be, be grateful for every day of your precious life.
- Mentally prepare meals in advance. Shop for food consciously and with purpose and incorporate plenty of fruits or vegetables into each meal.
- Wash all produce with a fruit and veggie wash before cutting, zesting, or eating. Care about what you eat!
- Choose organic food whenever possible. It’ll be healthy for you and your microbiome.
- Start your day with one ounce of apple cider vinegar mixed in a tall glass of water on an empty stomach at least once or twice a week. Add a squirt of lemon juice to improve the flavor. You may experience unexpected health benefits!
- Consider a daily regimen of antioxidants. 1000 mg Vitamin C and 5000 units of Vitamin D are great daily supplements for cellular health. Don’t overdo Vitamin D for too much can become toxic. Ideally, your Vitamin D levels should be monitored on occasion by your physician. For most adults, 10,000 units a day should be plenty. During these times and beyond, a healthy immune system is crucial.
- Stay well hydrated and drink 5-6 glasses of water daily. Avoid plastic water bottles and instead, make purified water at home and carry purified water in stainless steel or glass canisters whenever possible.
- Prepare your left overs with care. Cover food with unbleached parchment paper before applying plastic wrap or aluminum wrap and use glass storage containers. Avoid synthetic chemicals and heavy metal!
- Get into good physical condition! Aerobic exercise, weight training, stretching and flexibility exercises, balance training. It’s all good and important! Especially as we age. Balance and learn to trust the rocks!
- Buy a good quality air purifier to remove particulates and bring houseplants in your home.
- If you like the ambiance of candles. Switch to 100% Soy or 100% Beeswax candles instead of those made with paraffin.
- Decrease your daily exposure to electromagnetic fields as much as possible. Look into hardwiring your laptop, desktop, TVs. Hardwire peripherals, including the keyboard, mouse, and printer.
- Protect yourself from excessive electromagnetic radiation exposure when in transit by placing your cell phone in airplane mode before it goes in a pocket.
- Buy a pair of blue light reflecting glasses to protect your eyes from the potentially harmful effects of screen illumination.
- Allow your body to fully rest at night. Choose a bedtime and stick with it. Turn off wireless routers, printers and cellphones to help you sleep peacefully every night.
- Invest in a sleep mask and wear it every night. It will more than likely improve melatonin production.
- Be healthy and stay healthy through the year. Practice patience and caution.
Yours in good health!
Rob Brown, MD