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seven simple strategies

Seven simple strategies to make this your best year yet!

January 9, 2017 Ken 0 Comments

You don’t have to reach the stars, but you can reach towards them!

It can be daunting to set yourself targets you just know you won’t be ableĀ to achieve. Right now, at the beginning of a new year, you want to determine to do better, and to make some real changes. But like I say, it can be stressful to aim for the stars when you know you won’t even hit the ceiling.

Here are seven simple strategies that you can take on. And you can achieve them, working on them every day, without them becoming burdensome and unmanageable. Each of them will help you become a little healthier and a little happier. And the combination of all seven, if you choose to adopt them and include them all in your daily routine, will make a real difference in your life.

 

1 – Drink a bit more water

seven simple strategiesMost of us are less than fully hydrated most of the time. I know that sounds like a generalisation, but I think it’s true that we generally don’t pay much attention to drinking nearly as much water as we need.

Our bodies need water for all kinds of physiological functions, and if there is less available than is needed the results can be unpleasant at best, even dangerous. Water is needed for digestion, and it’s easily as important as any other nutrient. Each of our body’s cells needs water to stay healthy.

Our muscles contain a large percentage of water, and when it’s in short supply cramps can be the least of our problems. And don’t forget blood; it’s about 80% water. The brain is a very soft and squidgy organ, and is probably as much as 80-90% water.

In fact, our bodies are composed of about 60% water. Is it at all surprising then that if we’re thirsty, or worse still, way past just that thirsty stage, our cognitive processes suffer? It becomes difficult to think straight and to make sensible decisions. It becomes far more likely we will be involved in accidents.

Why not make it a habit to refill a water bottle and keep it on your desk, or in your gym bag? Keep a bottle by the bed too, for when you wake up with a bit of a thirst. Take one with you when you go out. It’s such a little thing to do, but it can have a huge effect on your general health.

2 – Exercise a bit more

seven simple strategiesThe second of the seven simple strategies concerns exercise … but don’t panic, I’m not talking about the kind of exercise that makes you feel faint just thinking about it! It doesn’t have to be extreme. It’s not difficult to sneak in a bit more physical movement each day, almost without noticing it.

Why not use the lift sometimes, instead of the stairs? Dance to a song or two when no-one’s around! Run upstairs like you used to do as a kid (if you can manage it) and make it a fun thing to do. Do a couple of minutes’ gentle exercise as soon as you get up, or just before bed.

You don’t have to indulge in a strenuous workout routine to benefit from exercise. Just by adding a little more physicality to your day you’ll be improving your fitness. And it’ll be barely noticeable, except in the sense that you’ll soon start to feel fitter and more at home in your body.

3 – Give yourself five minutes peace and quiet

seven simple strategiesCreate a habit of setting aside five minutes each day, or better still twice a day, when you do nothing but sit and relax. No music … no meditating … no thinking … no worrying … no planning … no daydreaming … nothing.

Just sit and relax. Just for five minutes. That’s all. Just try it. Sit still, take a deep breath, and let your body rest; consciously focus on each section of your body and feel it relaxing … then stop thinking about it and just allow your brain to wind down as well.

4 – Smile more often

seven simple strategiesMake it a game to see how often you can smile. When someone does or says something nice, smile. When you meet with a problem, smile. When you decide to take on a new venture, even if it looks daunting … smile. When you pass someone on the street, smile. When you enjoy a meal, smile.

There doesn’t need to be a reason to smile. Smile because something good happens, or in spite of something not so good happening. Just smile anyway! Smiling feels good. Does you good too! And it’s catching; people will smile back, and before you know it you’ve caused a whole outbreak of smiling!Actually, it will only be a local outbreak of smiling, but imagine if everybody started doing it, all round the world … just imagine!

You can’t make the whole world smile, you have to face that fact. But you can start right where you are, and see how much smiling you can initiate! šŸ™‚

5 – Count your blessings

seven simple strategiesHere we are at the fifth of the seven simple strategies … this one concerns one of the most important sentiments of all … gratitude. This isn’t some vague, old fashioned piece of homespun philosophy. I want to you to literally count your blessings. And they are legion!

Start a list. Write just one thing on a line, then leave a blank line and write something else that you’re grateful for. Start with the obvious – your house, the roof that keeps you dry, the windows that allow you to see out, the central heating that keeps you warm, the plumbing that allows you to enjoy a wonderful level of personal hygiene, your partner, your parents, your children, your job, the money in your pocket, your savings, your holidays, your car, your friends … and then, no matter how long the list becomes, it will start to falter and you’ll find it less easy to add to it.

Add to it anyway! Every day, add at least five or ten more items to your list. Watch it grow. Add even more. Keep thinking of all the wonderful things in your life, most of them previously taken very much for granted … and realise, more and more, just how much you have to be grateful for.

seven simple strategiesYour computer … your internet connection … your online friends … the opportunities you have to do business online … your liver, which keeps itself busy helping to digest your food … your lungs, which process the air you take in … your legs, which keep you mobile … your eyes, which allow you to see the beauty of the world around you … your face, which helps you interact with others … the trees, which are the lungs of the world, and without which our atmosphere would be barely breathable … modern transport, which allows you to travel around the world … inventions, which spark the world anew with more and more possibilities … your energy, the very life force that powers you … people in need, who provide you with the opportunity to share your good fortune … time, which is the essence of life itself, and without which you are soon lying lifeless in your coffin (become aware of it and make the most of every single day, every moment) …

Keep adding to the list, a little bit each day. Make it a game you enjoy playing! Keep counting your blessings. Realise that you are indeed blessed, in dozens, no hundreds, even thousands of ways that you hadn’t even realised.

From time to time review your list … and be astounded at how many blessings crowd your life … and be astonished that it’s always possible to keep adding more to the list.

6 – Enjoy your food!

We place a huge emphasis on food, but sometimes not for the right reasons. We’re so concerned with nutritional values of what we eat, the calorific content, the amounts of various food groups such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, etc, but along the way we sometimes forget food is to be enjoyed. When we were still living on the plains of Africa, or in caves somewhere, we ate because we enjoyed it, we valued it, we knew it was vital to keeping us alive. We didn’t debate in our minds about the relative calorific contents of foods, we just ate it and enjoyed it.

seven simple strategiesIf you start treating food as your friend, like humans used to, you’re likely to find that your diet becomes healthier automatically. You’ll start to treat your food with more respect, overeat less frequently, and snack on mainly healthy foods.

Because your attitude becomes healthier and more positive towards food, your vibrational relationship with it will improve. You’ll make better choices. Your body will react more favourably to the food you eat. And your body will be more prone to easily and naturally shed unnecessary and unwanted fat (provided, of course, that you do undertake some exercise).

7 – Indulge yourself!

The last of the seven simple strategies is good news all round! It’s not even something you have to do, just a slight change in attitude; a shift from always striving for perfection to a much more laid-back approach. We’re not here to be punished. Life’s for living, and for enjoying! If we approach our diet and exercise plans positively, and expect good results, we can make progress. You don’t have to train like an Olympic athlete to keep in shape, or to lose a few extra pounds. You just need to be sensible about it. And, very importantly, keep things in perspective.

That means, among other things, going easy on yourself. Eat whatever you like sometimes! You’re not in prison! And take a day off from exercising, if you feel the need.

seven simple strategies

Make time for yourself, whether it’s to take a relaxing bath, or to spend ten minutes sitting in a quiet room just resting, and not even making any attempt to think, or to lose yourself in a favourite hobby or pastime. You deserve it! Don’t cheat yourself of enjoying life.

These seven simple strategies, if adopted and put into action on a regular basis,
will produce betterĀ results than all the extreme goals you’ve ever set for yourself in the past.
In the end, it’s what you DOĀ that counts … not what you hope to do!

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#dedication#determination#exercise#habits#health#hydration#persistence#take action

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