Good morning readers,

how are you today? We’ve successfully finished the first week of 2022! How are you feeling?

This is the time of year when people have made New Years Resolutions so that they can try to become a better version of themselves.

They want to update their internal software to Version 2.2.

However after a week – many people may have already broken their resolutions and this feeling of failure then forces them to give up. At least this always happened to me.

I remember in the past I always used to have the same goal for the new year – lose 10 KG.

It didn’t really matter to me how I lost the 10KG and in fact – I would use some pretty unhealthy methods – such as skipping meals, or throwing up.

I remember one New Year’s Day I got so drunk that I spent the entire day throwing up and was unable to eat. At the end of the day I said to myself “woohoo – I’m on my way to my goal”.

How sick is that?

Last year in June 2021 I joined the “Book lovers in Basel” bookclub and the first book we read was “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. (A book I can very highly recommend!).

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

One quote from the book really stuck with me:

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.” 

― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

The problem with having one “goal” is that you only focus on the goal and not on how you achieve it. Talking about my goal to lose 10KG – what happens when I achieved it? Do I keep going? Do I try and maintain it?

How do I feel? Well probably hungry and tired since I have been denying myself important nutrients and vitamins.

So I decided to make a change.

This year I decided not to make any New Years resolutions but instead I have focused on what type of person I want to become.

A well-rested, well-read, calm and healthy person who takes pleasures in the small things and spreads her joy to others.

So to do that I have started to implement the following habits into my life:

Well-Read
📖 Read something every day
📖 Read a wide range of genres
📖 Read at least one non-fiction book a week

Calm
🧘 Do morning stretches while listening to “The Daily Stoic” podcast
🧘 Take a walk at lunchtime to the river or through the fields
🧘 Journal every morning and every night
🧘 Focus on my breathing when I do a task such as laundry or cooking (meditation).

Healthy
♡ Reduce alcohol intake – don’t drink alcohol from Monday to Thursday
♡ Cook from fresh whenever you can
♡ Avoid sugary unhealthy foods
♡ Go to the gym twice a week
♡ Try and be active for at least 30 minutes a day (by taking a walk)
♡ Reduce social media intake – (Mental health!)
♡ Drink a glass of water every morning

Takes pleasures in the small things
☺ Appreciate the beauty of nature
☺ Do a walk without having headphones in your ears
☺ Stop for a minute and just look around
☺ Listen to your surroundings
☺ Savour each mouthful
☺ Smile

Spreads joys to others
🌸 Use social media in a positive way
🌸 Post only positive posts
🌸 Talk to more people
🌸 Recommend books that you’ve been reading

So how about you? What kind of person do you wish to be? How will you achieve that?

As always, thanks for reading!

XOXOXOXOXO

Laura