New Year

15 New Year’s Resolutions for Greater Peace and Serenity

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15 New Year’s Resolutions for Greater Peace and Serenity

“New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to start life all over; a great way to leave the past behind and embark on a wonderful new adventure called: your life.” ~ Luminita D. Saviuc

This is a different kind of New Year’s Resolutions List; a list that’s meant to help you do the things you want to do, while at the same time learning to remain calm, flexible, open and receptive to whatever life sends your way. Because you and I know that life doesn’t always go as planned, and that’s okay.

15 New Year’s Resolutions for Greater Peace and Serenity

1. Be open and receptive.

Be open and receptive to whatever life sends your way.

2. Allow.

Allow life to shape you and to mold you in a majestic and graceful way.

3. Surrender.

On Surrender15 New Year’s Resolutions for Greater Peace and Serenity

Surrender to what is.

4. Let go.

Let go of fixed plans and concepts and allow events to follow their natural course.

5. Accept.

Accept life unconditionally and trust that it’s all happening for your highest good.

How to Create Your Ideal Life in 2023

6. Embrace.

Embrace with grace all that you face.

7. Be soft.

Be soft, fluid and yielding – just like water is, and let your softness overcome all that is rigid and hard.

8. Trust.

Trust your inner wisdom more than the wisdom of the world.

9. Treasure the moment.

Treasure the moment. Don’t let it pass by you unnoticed.

10. Be of good cheer.

Be of good cheer, there is always another way.

11. Where there is no love, pour love.

Follow the advice of St. John of the Cross, and

“Where there is no love, put love — and you will find love.”

12. Give thanks for all things.

Give thanks for every experience and every interaction life sends your way, no matter if good or bad because, and allow the passing of time to make you Better, not Bitter.

13. Speak from the heart.

Speak with love. Speak from the heart. Speak in such a way that people love to listen to you.

14. Work with love.

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Whatever you do in life, work at it with all your heart. Work at it with love, passion, and dedication, “… as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” ~ (NIV) Colossians 3:23

15. Seek to become all that life created you to become.

Seek to become all that life created you to be.

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” ~ St. Catherine of Siena

And these are the 15 New Year’s Resolutions every person should have on their list. Enjoy and Happy New Year! May 2023 and the new decade bring you all your heart and soul desire. And may you receive it all with grace and gratitude.

5 tips for a healthy diet this New Year

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Whatever your New Year’s Resolution, a healthy and balanced diet will provide many benefits into 2019 and beyond. What we eat and drink can affect our body’s ability to fight infections, as well as how likely we are to develop health problems later in life, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes and different types of cancer.
The exact ingredients of a healthy diet will depend on different factors like how old and how active we are, as well as the kinds of foods that are available in the communities where we live. But across cultures, there are some common food tips for helping us lead healthier, longer lives.

 

 

Eat a variety of food

Balanced diet

Our bodies are incredibly complex, and (with the exception of breast milk for babies) no single food contains all the nutrients we need for them to work at their best. Our diets must therefore contain a wide variety of fresh and nutritious foods to keep us going strong.

Some tips to ensure a balanced diet:

  • In your daily diet, aim to eat a mix of staple foods such as wheat, maize, rice and potatoes with legumes like lentils and beans, plenty of fresh fruit and veg, and foods from animal sources (e.g. meat, fish, eggs and milk).
  • Choose wholegrain foods like unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat and brown rice when you can; they are rich in valuable fibre and can help you feel full for longer.
  • Choose lean meats where possible or trim it of visible fat.
  • Try steaming or boiling instead of frying foods when cooking.
  • For snacks, choose raw vegetables, unsalted nuts and fresh fruit, rather than foods that are high in sugars, fats or salt.

Cut back on salt

salt

Too much salt can raise blood pressure, which is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Most people around the world eat too much salt: on average, we consume double the WHO recommended limit of 5 grams (equivalent to a teaspoon) a day.
Even if we don’t add extra salt in our food, we should be aware that it is commonly put in processed foods or drinks, and often in high amounts.

Some tips to reduce your salt intake:

  • When cooking and preparing foods, use salt sparingly and reduce use of salty sauces and condiments (like soy sauce, stock or fish sauce).
  • Avoid snacks that are high in salt, and try and choose fresh healthy snacks over processed foods.
  • When using canned or dried vegetables, nuts and fruit, choose varieties without added salt and sugars.
  • Remove salt and salty condiments from the table and try and avoid adding them out of habit; our tastebuds can quickly adjust and once they do, you are likely to enjoy food with less salt, but more flavor!
  • Check the labels on food and go for products with lower sodium content.

Reduce use of certain fats and oil

Trans fat

We all need some fat in our diet, but eating too much – especially the wrong kinds – increases risks of obesity, heart disease and stroke.
Industrially-produced trans fats  are the most hazardous for health. A diet high in this kind of fat has been found to raise risk of heart disease by nearly 30%.
Video: Zero trans fat: Eat less fat … live a healthier life!

Some tips to reduce fat consumption:
  • Replace butter, lard and ghee with healthier oils such as soybean, canola (rapeseed), corn, safflower and sunflower.
  • Choose white meat like poultry and fish which are generally lower in fats than red meat, and limit the consumption of processed meats.
  • Check labels and always avoid all processed, fast and fried foods that contain industrially-produced trans fat. It is often found in margarine and ghee, as well as pre-packaged snacks, fast, baked and fried foods.

Limit sugar intake

sugar

Too much sugar is not only bad for our teeth, but increases the risk of unhealthy weight gain and obesity, which can lead to serious, chronic health problems.

As with salt, it’s important to take note of the amount of “hidden” sugars that can be in processed food and drinks. For example, a single can of soda can contain up to 10 teaspoons of added sugar!

Some tips to reduce sugar intake:

  • Limit intake of sweets and sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, fruit juices and juice drinks, liquid and powder concentrates, flavoured water, energy and sports drinks, ready-to-drink tea and coffee and flavoured milk drinks.
  • Choose healthy fresh snacks rather than processed foods.
  • Avoid giving sugary foods to children. Salt and sugars should not be added to complementary foods give to children under 2 years of age, and should be limited beyond that age.

Avoid hazardous and harmful alcohol use

Alcohol

Alcohol is not a part of a healthy diet, but in many cultures New Year’s celebrations are associated with heavy alcohol consumption. Overall, drinking too much, or too often, increases your immediate risk of injury, as well as causing longer-term effects like liver damage, cancer, heart disease and mental illness.

WHO advises that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption; and for many people even low levels of alcohol use can still be associated with significant health risks .

  • Remember, less alcohol consumption is always better for health and it is perfectly OK not to drink.
  • You should not drink alcohol at all if you are: pregnant or breastfeeding; driving, operating machinery or undertaking other activities that involve related risks; you have health problems which may be made worse by alcohol; you are taking medicines which directly interact with alcohol; or you have difficulties with controlling your drinking.
  • If you think your or someone you love may have problems with alcohol or other psychoactive substances, don’t be afraid to reach out for help from your health worker or a specialist drug and alcohol service. WHO has also developed a self-help guide to provide guidance to people looking to cut back or stop use.

12 Health Food Trends to Be on the Lookout for in 2019

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avocado popsicle

With a new year on the horizon, there are a bunch of incoming health food trends to get excited about. Activated charcoal and golden milk lattes may have dominated Instagram feeds in 2018, but 2019 will see the rise of fads even more photogenic.

Some of the ones that are going to take off in a big way have already been gaining steam—if you’ve noticed oat milk’s growing popularity in the last few months, prepare to see more of that. Other predicted trends have been staples in cuisines outside the U.S. (tahini) and/or popular in the food world for a long time (orange wine).

As someone who is constantly looking for the next hot food thing, I know a fad in the making when I see one. Here, you’ll find everything I think is going to explode in 2019, as well as the predicted trends from Whole Foods Market’s 2019 trend forecast. One thing to note is that as with health food trends of years past (we see you, turmeric) plenty of the foods on this list have been part of the culinary traditions of people and communities outside the U.S. for generations, as well as in the U.S. in immigrant communities. Instead, noting these items as trends means that the foods will be increasingly available and marketed within the mainstream U.S. health and wellness scene.

1. Oat milk will get even bigger.

Nearly every year for the past decade has welcomed in a new alternative milk product and 2018 was no different. Oat milk took the world by storm thanks to the fact that it foams just like dairy milk (perfect for lattes) and it tastes pretty similar to boot. Oat milk’s reach will spread much farther than the metropolitan areas it currently has under its spell. Before you know it, you’ll be able to walk into any supermarket and buy a carton of the stuff, and currently, you can can find Oatly brand products at Whole Foods.

2. Moringa will take matcha’s throne.

If you’re not much of a coffee person but still like to start your day with an energizing morning beverage, then moringa might be just what you’re looking for. Native to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, moringa is a plant that’s entirely edible, from the stems to the leaves to the seeds, and is packed with nutrients like vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium. You can buy it in tea form at health food stores (including Whole Foods Market) and it has a sweet, earthy flavor not unlike snap peas. There’s no caffeine in it, but frequent moringa drinkers claim it’s energizing nonetheless.

3. Shelf-stable probiotics will start popping up.

Probiotics aren’t exactly new, but shelf-stable probiotics are. Whole Foods reports that there will be more products containing strains of probiotics like Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 and Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856, which are two strains that will remain safe to eat when stored at room temperature. Naturally, this means you’ll start seeing them in granola, oatmeal, nut butters, soups and more. Even beauty brands will be jumping on the trend by incorporating probiotics into things like lotion and sunscreen.

4. Alternative fats will be huge.

With keto, paleo, and grain-free diets continuing to gain popularity, the demand for dairy-, animal-, and grain-free healthy fat sources has continued to rise. According to Whole Foods, that means alternative fat sources will start to boom in 2019, especially MCT oil (a type of oil extracted from coconut oil), coconut butter, and lots of and lots of ghee, a kind of clarified butter that has been used in southeast Asian cooking and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.

5. And so will meatless “meat” snacks.

The meatless “meat” market has officially shifted its focus from veggie burgers and vegan chicken to snacks, says Whole Foods. Next year will see supermarket aisles stocked with pork rinds made from mushrooms, and vegan jerky made from soy protein.

6. Be prepared for tons of snacks from the sea, too.

If you love seaweed chips, this news will surely excite you: Whole Foods reports that store-bought snacks will be even more influenced by the ocean next year. That includes puffed snacks made from water lily seeds, plant-based tuna alternatives made with algae ingredients, crispy salmon skins, and more. The products aren’t just limited to snacks, though. You’ll also see things like kelp noodles and seaweed butter.

7. Tahini will be the new almond butter.

Tahini is condiment made from ground hulled sesame seeds that has been used for thousands of years in the Middle East and parts of the Mediterranean. It’s a major ingredient in foods like hummus and baba ghanoush. In fact it’s been used in cooking for thousands of years. As is the case with the process for making most other nut butters, you simply have to blend sesame seeds until they turn into a paste. Even if you don’t feel like making it yourself, it’s easy to find at health food stores and Whole Foods Market. And you can use it in all the ways you would normally use nut butter. It has a slightly more savory flavor that makes it great for adding to dips like hummus, but it’s also perfect in everything from smoothies to baked goods.

8. Frozen treats will get even more creative.

If you thought frozen treats couldn’t get more zany, think again, because Whole Foods says that 2019 will be the year of avocado popsicles, hummus ice cream, and coconut water soft serve. You should also expect to find pints of ice cream swirled with artisanal cheese at the store (sure, why not?). And stretchy, chewy Turkish ice cream, Thai rolled ice cream, and Taiwanese snow ice at ice cream parlors and shops around the country.

9. Middle Eastern and North African Spices will be in high demand.

Lately I’ve been noticing that food bloggers have begun to incorporate more and more Middle Eastern and North African spices into their food. This includes some of my favorite ingredients, like harissa, sumac, and za’atar. There are so many great ways to use these spices, they aren’t hard to cook with, and they’re finally becoming more available around the country. Keep an eye out for them in the international section. If you have any luck, this recipe for spicy sheet-pan meatballs from Bon Appétit and this recipe for za’atar flatbread will help you use them up.

10. Say goodbye to straws and hello to reusable packaging.

Remember when Starbucks banned plastic straws last year? Well next year, a lot of other companies are going to be making the transition to strawless sipper lids. But that’s not all: Whole Foods also reports that single-use packages will be replaced with multiuse and compostable packaging instead. These reusable kitchen products are some of the types of products you should expect to see more readily.

11. Orange wine will finally see its moment in the sun.

It’s clear that Instagram users everywhere have a passion for colored beverages, which is why it comes as no surprise that orange wine will have a moment in 2019. Made from the same grapes as white wine, orange wine gets its distinct hue from letting the juices of the fruit ferment with its skins and seeds. They’ve been long beloved by wine experts, but will likely take off as they become more and more available in the coming year. As for what they taste like, they’re often described as having a rich flavor with notes of honey, apple, orange rind, juniper, and wood.

12. We’ll see more products infused with CBD oil.

Now that it’s legal in 30 states, food companies are beginning to experiment with CBD oil (also known as cannabidiol or hemp oil), a non-psychoactive extraction from the marijuana plant. Though it doesn’t get you high, early research indicates that it has the potential to help curb addictions and reduce anxiety and stress. Whole Foods reports that they’ll begin selling more and more products infused with the oil, like as well as products made from hemp seeds, a sister to CBD oil, like this lotion and these seeds.

Keywords

How to Set Your Intention For a New Year

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As the New Year approaches, resolutions are ubiquitous and, quite often, plain stressful. The idea that once a year we have to throw our wellness, work and personal routines into upheaval for the sake of being [fill in the blank here- better, fitter, thinner, less stressed, more put together…] is enough to make us close the curtains and pretend that ball will never drop.

This year, let’s do ourselves a favor and take a hint from the practice of yoga. Rather then fashioning audacious resolutions, let’s set intentions. Whether or not you’ve ever done a Down Dog, creating intentions is an accessible and stress-free way to support a mindful and fulfilled 2018.

Within the boundaries of a yoga mat, the purpose of an intention is to choose an action, feeling or state of mind we wish to cultivate over the duration of our practice. Some days, simplicity serves us, perhaps in a clear-cut word to remind us what we’d like to foster. Breath. Joy. Gratitude. Other days, it’s more complex as we dig beneath the surface in an effort to purge or restore. Commencing anything with this type of conscious purpose soon gains magnitude. Eventually, intentional beginnings drift off our mat and infiltrate other areas of our lives.

The purpose of an intention is to choose an action, feeling or state of mind we wish to cultivate over the duration of our practice.

Typically, New Year’s resolutions are external actions or desired outcomes. They stem from what we believe is missing from our lives. Intentions, on the other hand, are not external. They do not live outside our mind or souls, yet they often need to be resurrected. This is why intentions can be much more accessible and fulfilling than resolutions. There is no striving, no hustling and no reaching, only recognizing and rediscovering those splendid pieces of us.

new year intentions

As we seek an intention for the coming year, a question we need to ask ourselves is, What do we need more of in our lives? And then we need to go deeper, beyond what would traditionally spark a standard resolution. We need to dig all the way down to the root of that desire.

Does this yearning stem from a distorted sense of self-worth? From feeling like we are never enough, regardless of what we accomplish? Do we possess a dry well of self-love? Is there guilt? Shame? In summation, where is the pain point in our life? These are big questions to answer and it’s normal for them to evoke discomfort or vulnerability.

To support this quest, take note of these sample intentions:

For those of us who go, go, go, Simplicity might be our keyword for next year. Not for the sole purpose of doing less, but for the sake of enjoying what we do more.

Self-compassion might be an appropriate intention. When we go down the rabbit hole of shaming, we can gently remind ourselves that our flaws make us relatable, human and beautifully one-of-a-kind, and we are simply doing the best we can.

If we constantly close up like a clamshell under siege, Be vulnerable might be a relevant phrase to inspire the coming months. By continually reminding ourselves to stay open amidst the hard stuff, we will be ready to embrace all that is good, the moment it graces our doorstep.

A few more intentions that may echo significance include I am enough, exactly as I am. Share my unique gifts. Take a chance. Keep an open heart. Harness courage. Say yes. Honor my worthiness…

The list is infinite and oh, so personal. If we can quiet our mind enough to listen to our gut, it will tell us exactly which word or phrase can fruitfully inspire our upcoming year.

When you find an intention that resonates with your current state, write it where you will see it. Make it the lock screen on your phone. Put a sticky note in your car. Doodle it on a piece of paper and then tape it to the inside of your medicine cabinet or pantry. Amidst these ordinary places, you’ll find the surprise reminder. Most importantly, remember this isn’t a gamble — you cannot pass or fail. Instead, it is an accessible state of mind and these notes are simply friendly nudges to enhance each day.

New Year’s resolutions will forever have a time and place, though an intention will fuel your life with inner wisdom and purpose. Take the time to find one and then dig it up, set it ablaze and let it burn like a sparkler through 2018.

15 Things You Should Remind Yourself in 2018

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15 Things You Should Remind Yourself in 2018

The New Year is slowly approaching and with it comes the many plans, goals, and new year resolutions. And I have prepared a list of 15 things you should remind yourself in 2018, things that are meant to bring you more peace, clarity, inner strength, and confidence in the new year. 

15 THINGS YOU SHOULD REMIND YOURSELF IN 2018

1. There is something you can do better than anyone else.

“Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” ~ Rumi

In a world where so many people are cheap copies of other people, aspire to be original.

Aspire to be yourself. 

Know that there is something you can do better than anyone else. Seek to find what that something is and make a commitment to share your original work with the rest of the world.

You will be happy you did. 

2. Stop trying so hard to be perfect. 

“Perfectionism is a self destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.” ~ Brené Brown

I know you think you should be perfect and holy by now.

But you’re not!

And you know what?

That’s perfectly fine!

You are only human. And you might as well let go of the need for perfection and allow yourself to screw up from time to time.

3. It’s not about being better than anyone else it, it’s about being better than you used to be.

Life isn’t a race. You are not in competition with anyone. And the only person you should aspire to be better than, is the person you were yesterday.

4. It really doesn’t matter what they think.

“A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.” ~ Vernon Howard

It really does not matter what other people think of you. All that matters is what you yourself think of yourself. And if you yourself approve of yourself, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

5. Don’t explain. Don’t complain.

Don’t explain.

“Your friends do not need it, and your enemies will not believe you.” ~ Paulo Coelho

And don’t complain.

“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.” ~ Maya Angelou

6. Talk less. Say more.

Be wise enough to talk less and say more.

Don’t just use words for the sake of using them. Use them because you have something to say. Use them because they will bring joy to those around you.

“He who does not know how to be silent will not know how to speak.” – Ausonius

7. You can always count on yourself.

No matter how hard your friends and family will try to be there for you in time of need, they can never be there for you all the time. But there is one person you can always count on to be there for you all the time, and that is you!

You can always count on yourself!

8. Every day is a new life. 

Each moment is a new beginning. Every day is a new life. And you can always let goof your yesterdays and make a fresh new start in life.

“This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. Live each moment mindfully.

Give your full attention to the things you do right now, the people you come in contact with, the places you walk into, the food you eat, the activities you engage in, etc..

Treat each moment, each person, and every little thing you do as if it were sacred.

Because they are!

“There exists only the present instant… a Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence.” ~ Meister Eckhart

10. Life is not to be lived by running away from things.

Life is not to be lived by running away from things, but by walking bravely into all situations, experiences, places, and relationships – no matter how dark and painful they may be, and by facing all our fears and demons. Because just as the wise Meister Eckhart once said it,

“Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.” ~ Meister Eckhart

11. You are your greatest asset.

You can easily lose your material possessions, your friends, money, career, family, and the many things you deeply love and cherish. But the one thing you can never lose is Yourself!

You are your most valuable possession.

Your greatest asset is you!

And if you are wise enough to invest in yourself, you will profit greatly.

“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset.” ~ Tom Hopkins

12. It’s never over till it’s over.

No matter how many mistakes you will make, and no matter how many times you will fall and fail, if you don’t give up on yourself and your life, there will still be a lot for you to look forward to. A lot more for you to do, to create, and a lot more for you to accomplish.

“Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t.’ ~ Richard Bach

13. Relax a little bit more.

You need to give yourself a break from time to time – to breathe, relax and just be. 

I know you think you have a lot of things to do and that all of them are super important.But I want you to remember that you too are important.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.” ~ Lao Tzu

14. The love you look for in others is already within yourself.

Even though our friends and family can make us the center of their attention for a Limited period of time, they can never make us the center of their attention for an Unlimited period the time.

They just can’t! Nobody can do that.

Put your oxygen mask first, and then help everybody else.

And that’s only because it’s not other people’s job to give us the love we think it’s missing from our lives. That’s our job.

If you want to feel truly loved, you have to learn to truly love yourself. And by doing so you will realize that the love you looked for in others was already within yourself.

The love you look for in others is already within yourself.

“Loving yourself…does not mean being self-absorbed or narcissistic, or disregarding others. Rather it means welcoming yourself as the most honored guest in your own heart, a guest worthy of respect, a lovable companion.” ~ Margo Anand

15. Be there for those you love.

Not with comments, shares, texts, or social media messages. But with your honest love and presence.

Be there for those you love in mind, body, and spirit.

Give them your time and loving presence. And always remember that deep, soulful and meaningful connections are rare. 

What about you? What is the most important thing you think you should remind yourself in 2018? You can share your comment below 🙂

30 Promises You Should Make to Yourself Before the New Year

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30-Promises-You-Should-Make-to-Yourself-Before-the-New-Year

As we approach the New Year, many of us start working on their New Year resolutions. And that’s why I thought it would be a good idea to share with you these 30 promises you should make to yourself before the new year. Promises that will most probably make you feel a lot more excited about reinventing yourself and changing your life for the better.

Here they are:

1. “I promise myself to laugh as if nobody’s watching, and love as if I’ve never been hurt before.”

2. “I promise myself to live as if I were to die tomorrow, and learn as if I were to live forever.”

3. “I promise myself to love myself as much as I want others to love me.”

4. “I promise myself to expect less from others but more and more from myself.”

5. “I promise myself to die to the past every night so that I could be born again each morning.”

6. “I promise myself to let go of the heavy burden of my past. To turn my wounds into wisdom, and my difficulties into opportunities.”

7. “I promise myself to forgive so that I can heal, and let go so that I can grow.”

8. “I promise myself to learn from every experience and every interactions life sends my way.”

9. “I promise myself to allow life’s many challenges to make me better, not bitter.”

10. “I promise myself to never speak from a place of hate, jealousy, anger, or insecurity. And to always evaluate my words before I let them leave my lips.”

11. “I promise myself to complain less, and appreciate life a little more.”

12. “I promise myself to always look for the good in people. To treat everyone with love, kindness, compassion and appreciation and never speak badly of anyone.”

13. “I promise myself to let go of all the drama in my life, and only hold on to those things that bring me joy.”

14. “I promise myself to create a sense of purpose and bring meaning into my everyday life. And no matter how many times I fall or fail, I promise myself to never give up on myself, my dreams and life.”

15. “I promise myself to live my life in a way that inspires others and always bring out the best in them.”

16. “I promise myself to feel more and think less. To trust more, and doubt less. To fear less, and hope more.”

17. “I promise myself to surround myself with people who make me hungry for life, touch my heart, and nurture my soul.”

18. “I promise myself to walk away from everything that no longer serves me, grows me, or makes me happy.”

19. “I promise myself to spend more time connecting with who I truly am underneath it all, and less time chasing the love and approval of those around me.”

20. “I promise myself to honor my authenticity and show the world who I truly am.”

21. “I promise myself to let go of any bad habits I might be holding on to, and walk away from all those things that hold me back in life.”

22. “I promise myself to let go of all blame and take full responsibility for my own life.”

23. “I promise myself to allow those I care for to be perfectly themselves without trying to twist them to fit my own image. Loving them for who they are and not for what I want them to be.”

24. “I promise myself to to give more of my time to those who are special in my life, and show them how much they really mean to me.”

25. “I promise myself to clothe myself with love and wear this love wherever I go.”

26. “I promise myself to cleanse my inner vision until I see nothing but light, my own and of those around me.”

27. “I promise myself to care more about being kind than I do about being right all the time.”

28. “I promise myself to trust my inner voice and intuition more than I trust the loud voice of those around me.”

29. “I promise myself to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong.”

30. “I promise myself to allow the world know me as I am, not as it thinks I should be.”

8 habits to kick off the New Year on a positive note

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Being in tune with our “self” is the key to happiness and satisfaction.

As stress overwhelms us for a greater part of our daily lives, it is essential to switch off external factors and tune into our own selves. Your relationship with your “self” affects impacts various aspects of our life. It alters our moods, influences our relationships with others, and affects our productivity at work. It is important to bring into focus these varied aspects and determine ways in which they can be taken care of so that the “self” stays strong and happy. Here are some simple yet effective ways to stay mentally energised and uplifted in the New Year:

#1. See the positive side: Everything has two sides. Learn to look at the other side as well. Taking a negative outlook on matters makes it difficult to tackle problems. A holistic view of the situation is a must to problem solving.

#2. Learn to let go of things: Clinging on to negative things only makes life more difficult and challenging. Avoid falling prey to the convoluted web of negative thoughts. Remind yourself to stay focused on the present moment by taking a few deep breaths.

#3. Do not focus on others alone: Look at yourself and your needs as well. Taking care of yourself will help you feel satisfied with your life.

#4. Strike a balance between work and fun: Recreation is an important aspect of life and it helps you to connect with your “self” and your loved ones. From joining a hobby class to exercising outdoors, recreation activities help unlock our creativity and strengthen our connection with ourselves. Try and experiment with new activities in your daily life.

#5. Give yourself positive affirmations to maintain your sense of positivity: Reminding yourself of good things, practicing gratitude aids in reinforcing positive thoughts and actions. As you shift your focus towards things you want and away from situations you abhor or dislike, you begin to act in accordance with your goals rather than your worries.

#6. Spend time with family and friends: Social networks go a long way in helping take care of stress. Catch up with old friends and make new friends. It is relatively easy to stay connected in this digital age.

#7. Stay physically fit: Take care of your physical health. It is intricately connected to mental health as well. So eat healthy meals and exercise regularly.

#8. Eliminate any form of drug addiction: Stay away from substances of any type and form. They tend to alter the brain chemistry and can severely affect moods and behaviour.

So in this New Year take care of your “self”. Do things for your “self” and make sure that this year is good for both your mind and your body.

10 Steps to Succeed at Your New Year’s Resolution to Lose Weight.

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Losing weight was the number one new year’s resolution in 2012, according to University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, and with the percentage of Americans who are obese at 36%, it is highly likely that weight loss will be on top of many people’s resolution lists again this year.

Forty-five percent of Americans usually make new years resolutions. I’m one of them, are you?

The good news: Those of us who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain our goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions. Also, 75% of people who make their resolutions are able to keep them through the first week of the new year.

The bad news: Only 8% of people who make new year’s resolutions are able to succeed at them entirely to their satisfaction. Let’s try to raise that statistic to a higher percentage, and at the very least, help to make sure you and I are among the 8% who succeed at our resolutions this year!

Steps to Take to Ensure Your Success

1. Make your goal(s) measurable. For example, instead of saying that your new year’s resolution is to “lose weight,” it is more effective to set a well-defined measurable goal such as “I’d like to lose one to two pounds per week until I reach my goal of fifteen pounds lost” or “my goal is to fit back into my favorite pair of jeans.” Similarly, if you have a fitness resolution, rather than saying your goal is to “get strong” or “get fit,” it’s very likely to be more effective if you set concrete goals such as “my goal to be able to do 50 push-ups” or “I want to be able to do bicep curls with 30-pound dumbbells,” or “I will go to the gym 5 days per week.”

Instead of saying that your new year’s resolution is to “eat healthy,” you’ll be more likely to achieve the success you’re looking for if you set a goal such as “I will eat 4 servings of vegetables every day,” or “I will eat 1,500 calories or less per day and track it using MyPlate” or “I will eat less than 30 grams of sugar per day and track it on MyPlate.” If you’re a runner, your resolution could be to prepare to run a 5k in March, or a half marathon this summer, or to improve your time on whichever race you run.

Make your goal challenging, but achievable. Write down your goal, sign it, date it, and put it somewhere prominent. This year, my new year’s resolution is to complete 8 weeks of the Gunnar Challenge and lose eight pounds. (The rest of the LIVESTRONG.COM team is also in this with me, and you can join us too! Are you in?)

2. Dare yourself to do it. Sign up for a Dare on LIVESTRONG.COM such as “Dare to Track Food Daily,” “Dare to Walk Twenty Minutes a Day,” and “Dare to Take The Gunnar Challenge.” On the Dares, thousands of other like-minded LIVESTRONG.COM members are there online asking questions about how to get the goal accomplished, letting others know how they are making progress toward the goal, and offering support and motivation to each other.

3. Tell your friends and family. Share your resolution with your friends and family, and ask them what their resolutions are. This way, they understand your intention and what you are aiming to do, and some of them may even support you in it. You might also find that some of their goals are also to lose weight, eat healthy, exercise more, or get fit.

4. Reach out to your online social network for support and accountability. Letting your online network know your new year’s resolution is also helpful. They can help you to stay accountable. If your goal is to work out every day, log your workouts as status updates on Facebook or Twitter and tell what you did and how you feel afterward. If your goal is to eat more vegetables, take photos of your meals and upload them to Facebook or to a food blog. Your friends will likely leave comments praising your good efforts. Additionally, if you are having trouble getting motivation to work out on a particular morning, you can post a status update that you need motivation, and people might provide some or post inspiring quotes for you.

5. Find a workout buddy or online group. Having a workout buddy can help increase your motivation on those days in mid-January where you may be feeling less than thrilled about doing your workout. Scheduling time to to go running or lift weights with your buddy can make exercise more fun, and it can also make you less likely to skip your workouts.  My husband and I decided last year that we both wanted to do all 90 days of P90X. Since those workouts are an hour long each day, we were concerned we wouldn’t have time in our busy schedules. We agreed to set our iPhone alarms an hour earlier on work days at 6a.m. so that we would have time to do the hour-long P90X workouts together before getting ready for work. Because we both knew we needed to get up, we were less likely to push the “snooze” button. Also, there were definitely days where I did not feel like doing particular workouts such as Plyometrics or Ab Ripper X, but having a buddy helped make it seem more do-able. For example, some days we complained to each other how we were sore and we didn’t want to work out. One of us would say, “We can do this. Let’s get it done.”

If you don’t have any friends around who share your fitness goals, there are so many websites such as LIVESTRONG.COM where you can find likeminded individuals in the Forums, online Groups, and Dares. You can also join an official challenge group, such as the 8-week Gunnar Challenge, which I’m starting with my LIVESTRONG.COM teammates on Monday, Jan 21, 2013. When I lost 20 pounds this past summer, I did it as part of a challenge group. The comraderie, healthy competition, and support from the challenge croups members in our online Facebook group helped to get me through times when I wanted to go out and get a glass of wine, or eat a snack that wasn’t on my diet plan. For example, our challenge group members posted what it felt like to skip cake at friends’ birthday parties or to skip a beer with co-workers, and we knew that we were all making sacrifices in order to achieve our goals.
6. Prepare. This step is incredibly important. To succeed at weight loss or dieting, before you even begin, it’s important to remove temptations in your refrigerator, pantry, cupboards, or on your countertops. Find any junk food or high calorie food that you find too tempting (for me this means the bag of Kettle Corn, leftover holiday pumpkin pie, the English toffee, any cookies, even the healthy-sounding dark chocolate bars) and throw it away. If you’re concerned about wasting, just make yourself think of this moment and agree with yourself that you won’t buy any more of the offending food item for the first 6 months of the year.

Most importantly, plan out what you will eat for the week ahead and prepare it in advance. I always do this on Sundays. I cook up some chicken breast and steam some broccoli, asparagus, and spinach. Then I portion the chicken into 6-oz servings and put it into five or six different lunch-size Tupperware containers and in each one I’d also add some of the broccoli, spinach, or asparagus. Sometimes I add lettuce or arugula and make a grilled chicken salad. Sometimes I use salmon or tofu instead of chicken. Then each day as I’m heading out the door, I just grab one of these lunches, and heat it up in the microwave at work.

Also, prepare some healthy snacks that you enjoy and portion them in grab-and-go containers. On Sundays, I almost always boil six-to-ten eggs to bring to work as snacks throughout the week. Having healthy snacks on-hand is essential. Celery sticks bore me, so instead I slice up carrots, red peppers, and jicama and portion them out in baggies or small Tupperware containers. I bring the veggies to work with either a hard-boiled egg or a tablespoon and a half of almond butter, peanut butter or sunflower butter.

Preparation is also important for exercise goals. If your new year’s resolution is to go to the gym 5 days a week, look at the schedule of classes and plan which ones you will hit. Put them as appointments into your calendar so you will remember to get there. If you want to commit to a home fitness program such as P90X or INSANITY, look at the schedule, figure out how long you will need and which workouts you need to do each day.

7. Plan a reward for yourself. One of my former co-workers was trying to hit a goal weight and stay at it for a whole year. She loves clothes, and she promised herself a shopping spree when she reached her goal weight. She took this one step further and also made another rule that she could not buy herself any items of clothing when she was not at her target weight. This strategy of reward and “punishment” rule-making not only helped her to reach her goal weight — it also helped her maintain her goal weight over the whole year! She worked hard to keep herself eating and exercising properly so that she would be able to stay at her goal weight and so that she could allow herself to buy sweaters and blazers at J. Crew.

Of course, your reward doesn’t need to be clothing or other material goods, it can also be an experience such as going on a vacation or weekend get-away or even out to a special restaurant when you reach your goal. Make it something that you really want, and that really motivates you. Write down “If I reach ___ pounds, I will allow myself to buy/go to/do/eat at __________” and sign the piece of paper. Carry it with you in your wallet, bag, briefcase, or purse. When a cookie or brownie tempts you or you’re feeling like you don’t have the motivation for your workout, take out the piece of paper and remind yourself how much you want your reward.

Since some end goals might take a long time to reach, it probably also makes sense to reward yourself with small treats along the way for each week of your successful compliance. For example, for each week of exercising every day along with calorie tracking on MyPlate, you might decide to allow yourself to go out for a movie (skip the snack bar and instead bring carrot or celery sticks if you need something to gnaw on), get a manicure/pedicure, buy some cool new workout gear or running shoes, get a massage. The clothing, movies, and massages all worked to help motivate me to lose twenty pounds this past summer.

8. Visualize what success at your resolution looks and feels like. Spend a few minutes thinking about what it will look like and feel like when you achieve your goal. If your resolution is to fit in your favorite jeans again, imagine yourself wearing them and how you will feel. Perhaps you’ll be lighter in your step and it will increase your confidence in social situations. If your goal is to strengthen your abs, perhaps when you have reached your goal, you’ll feel less fatigue sitting at your desk or decrease any lower back pain you might have. Try to visualize your success in as much detail as possible and spend a few minutes each day to set an intention for yourself.

9. Believe in your ability to do this, praise yourself, and take pride. Have confidence in yourself and your ability to commit to your resolution, and be proud of each accomplishment along the way toward your goal. Thank yourself for every workout you get done and really let yourself feel proud. It takes guts and determination to workout and eat healthy, and you’re doing it. Great job!

10. If you mess-up, forgive yourself and recommit to your goal. Despite all your best efforts and attention to steps one through nine, you might occasionally mess up. We’re all human, and it happens to all of us. My high school reunion happened in the second month of my challenge group this past summer. Even though I had sworn off of alcohol for two months as part of the challenge group, and I had gone a whole month without having a beer at birthday parties, BBQs, and baby showers, when an old friend passed me a cocktail during the midst of the reunion, I ended up toasting with her and taking a sip, and the next thing I knew, I had finished the drink. Rather than allowing this slip-up to make me feel bad and snowball into trying desserts and hors d’oeuvres, I forgave myself and recommitted myself to my goal. When friends I hadn’t seen in years were taking shots at the bar and handing me drinks, I simply handed them to another friend and said I was all set. I ordered sparkling water with a lime, and continued talking and catching up with everyone. The best part, the next day, I didn’t have a headache or a hangover and I recommitted to my goal of refraining from drinking until the end of the Challenge. If you slip up, forgive yourself, and reign yourself back in. Remember how important your goal is, and remember why you want to achieve it.

I hope you’re now feeling like you have the information you need to set your intentions toward reaching all the goals that are important to you. Now’s the best time to get started, so let’s do this! 2013 is the year! And if you’re interested in losing 8-25 pounds in 8 weeks, go ahead and sign up for the Gunnar Challenge with me and my LIVESTRONG.COM teammates. We’ll be there online to support you along the way!

Also, add me on Twitter, and feel free to send me a tweet to let me know what your resolutions are this year. I’d love to hear about them.

*If you sign up for a course, Demand Media will receive a commission.

-Jess Barron

Jess Barron is VP of Editorial at LIVESTRONG.COM. After 15 years spent working at Internet start-ups with long hours sitting at a computer and free snacks in vending machines, one day Jess realized that she had gained 20 pounds. In summer 2012 in a test group for a new fitness product, Jess lost 20 pounds (15% of her body weight) in 60 days while building muscle and achieving definition in her abs and arms. Through using online tracking tools, including LIVESTRONG‘s MyPlate, Jess has kept the weight off, and she shares her tips and motivation in order to help others succeed on their fitness journeys. A longtime foodie and fan of Farmer’s Market fresh food, Jess particularly loves heirloom tomatoes, fresh figs with burrata cheese, and anything with pumpkin in it! Her love for food fuels her desire to exercise daily. Some of her favorite workout routines include running, BodyPump classes at the gym, P90X, INSANITY, mixed martial arts, and yoga. Jess has appeared on MSNBC’s “The Most,” ABC News Now, and XM satellite radio and her writing has appeared on Wired.com and Yahoo!

Source: Livestrong

 

 

Viruses: Nature’s Self-Packing, Nanoscale Suitcases.

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This the season, from Thanksgiving to New Year, when tens of millions of us will travel to see family and friends. As these trips draw near everyone will face the same dilemma — what to pack? After laundry, ironing and folding, the next problem is which suitcase to choose; too small, too big, just right. What none of us think about during this time is the myriad of invisible virus particles that will be making the trip with us.

These nanoscale objects (a nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter, or 10,000 times smaller than the width of your hair) cling to our bodies looking for ways to get inside our cells and make new copies of themselves. During our trip, they will readily be exchanged with viruses taking trips with other people, either by transferring on surfaces or as aerosols in the air, especially if someone forgets to cover their face when they sneeze. Despite their apparently insidious size, and their potential for causing everything from the common cold to AIDS, viruses are not actively malign. They are in fact non-living collections of proteins and nucleic acids that simply fulfill Darwinian predictions about evolution. In their case they have evolved the property of infecting cells and replicating by using the host’s molecular machinery to produce new virus particles that escape the cell looking for a new victim. Making their hosts ill, or even killing them, is just an unfortunate side effect of this process. It is, however, a side effect that results in devastating losses in crops, as well as being the cause of many serious illnesses and deaths in animals and people every year. Understanding these events in detail is a major goal of researchers who hope to find ways to deter these pesky hitchhikers.

Working with one group of viruses that contain RNA genomes, similar to those that cause the common cold or polio, Alex Borodavka, Roma Tuma and I have just made an interesting discovery about the ways that viruses pack for their trips. In the viral world the content of the suitcase is the nucleic acid that carries the instructions for making new viruses. The suitcase is made from viral coat protein molecules that clump together to form a protective shield for that nucleic acid. Just as we do when we get to our destinations, when viruses enter cells they unpack their nucleic acids from the protein shell and the process of making new virus particles can begin. The first stages of this process are making new copies of the nucleic acid instruction book and more coat proteins to make the newly required suitcases to pack them in. The RNA in our test viruses emerges from these events rather like our clothes do after a few days at our destination, crumpled in a heap and no longer neatly folded. At the end of our trips we may discover that our suitcase is a little too small after all because we have to work hard at getting everything to fit back in. Similarly new viral suitcases are pretty cramped, and something has to happen to fold their nucleic acid molecules neatly so that they will fit inside.

Using a spectroscopic technique that allows us to see viral particles one at time, we noticed the equivalent of a Harry Potter moment for virus assembly. When viral RNAs and viral proteins are mixed together the proteins leap onto the RNA and fold it up neatly. It is as if the suitcase and the contents pack themselves. Previously people assumed that the process was much more gradual than this. Interestingly, when viral coat proteins are given non-viral RNAs they leap onto those molecules too but are not able to fold them up. That means that the viral suitcases they try to build do not close properly and so their contents cannot survive the trip to a new host. These observations pose an interesting question.

Can we mess up a viral nucleic acid’s travel plans by getting their coat proteins to treat them like non-viral equivalents? If we could we would have a powerful way to treat viral infections. Something to think about the next time you are stuck waiting for your plane, train or bus.

Happy Holidays!!

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com