How to easily improve everything in your life this year…in ONE step!
The New Year arrives in a flash of optimism and a renewed commitment to my best health. Suddenly it’s February, I’m clicking “Play Next Episode” and having ice cream for dinner. Hmm.
What happened? Why is it so fun to break our own rules? Why is it so tricky to make Resolutions that stick?
If we combine intentions with habit, we can transform our lives beyond recognition. Resolutions usually come from a soul-desire to improve our lives, but we express them with thoughts and judgments that come from the mind. Resolving to lose weight or work out more because we ‘should’ doesn’t bring success.
A weight-loss study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine is very revealing: Of a group of women ages 30-50, half were asked to focus on the affirmation “I am making these changes for better health.” The others used the affirmation “I wish I had the body I did when I was 20”, which is really a negative self-judgment, and the women in this group lost 10-20 lbs less than the women affirming a message of self-care.
We also LOVE to break our own rules, and will often make a Resolution based on unrealistic expectations simply to sabotage ourselves. Drastic changes to lifestyle are hard on the system in many ways, from something as basic as being sore after working out a lot after a period of inactivity, all the way to deepening depression when we set ourselves up to fail. In a study at the University of California at Davis, people who made small, evolutionary changes to their lifestyles experienced 75% greater success than those who made dramatic changes, like completely removing sugar from their diets. When we deny ourselves comforts (even if those comforts are not great for us), we feel deprived, and this can lead to a feast-or-famine way of thinking and feeling.
What are the top Resolutions? Weight-loss, better fitness, greater happiness, being ‘greener’, increased productivity, release from addictions, being kinder to others…these are all worthy goals, so let’s make it simple, and do them all at once with one easy step. Ready?
100% natural products based on true, medical-grade Essential Oils will effortlessly support healthy changes. You don’t have to do ANYTHING extra, just switch your synthetic antiperspirant, soap, skin care and lotions to truly 100% natural products.
Weight-loss: Aromatherapy can be used to reduce cravings, break up stubborn fat, and speed metabolism. Using Essential Oils also helps us to feel more emotionally balanced so we don’t need as much ‘comfort’ food.
Better fitness: Using safe, effective natural pain-relievers for sports injuries and workout strain improves the body’s ability to heal and can stimulate production of new muscle tissue.
Happiness: Many Essential Oil’s have antidepressant actions, and can gently relieve anxiety, grief and low self-esteem while naturally balancing stress levels. It’s a lot easier to make good choices when we’re feeling good!
Being ‘greener’: Natural products are better for us and better for the environment! Using Essential Oil’s in home and body care means we are choosing ethical, sustainable products that smell great and work wonderfully.
Release from addictions: Aromatherapy is unique in its ability to stimulate the mind and body simultaneously to produce feelings of wellness. While there are specific products connected to individual addictions, use of natural body care and Aromatherapy is generally detoxifying and rebalancing.
Being kinder to others? It’s so much easier to keep that Resolution when we’re being kind to ourselves. Take a look at the products under your kitchen sink and on your bathroom shelves. Read some ingredients. Look them up. Gasp in horror. Those synthetic chemicals are actively undermining your well-being! Some of them are xenoestrogens and harm our endocrine balances, causing anxiety and hormonal problems. Some of them are ‘natural’ parabens derived from petroleum manufacture, linked to many kind s of cancers!
When you choose to go natural, as much as possible, you are saying NO to harmful ingredients found in all aspects of home and body care products. You’re saying YES to health and happiness this year, and many more to come.
Thanks for reading, as always I welcome your comments, and Happy New Year!
