New Year, Same You
‘Tis the season
We just finished the gauntlet that is “the holiday season," we rounded the corner on Thanksgiving and ran headstrong into the Christmas season. Schedules were packed full kiddo’s Christmas programs, office holiday parties are here, and for a lot of families some creative and crazy travel schedule to make sure you can fit in all of the events you had. Then it’s over in one fell swoop and we are staring at all of the “New Year, New You” posts.
Are you going to be a new you? Or is it time to give ourselves some grace, realize our year was filled with mistakes, not good enough moments and we still crushed it? I may have volunteered for a snack I forgot about at my kid's school party but I also remembered 900 other things I volunteered for. Also, note to self, no one likes frosting free, food dye free cookies at a class party so save your money and don't volunteer for cookies next year. 🤪
For so many people we look at New Years as how we are going to implant all of the changes we want to make based off all things we didn’t like that last year. And coming fresh off a steady diet of Christmas cookies, my brain might not be in the right state to make any monumental changes. Haha! But for real, we end the year right at the end of the most insanely busy few weeks and forget that we don't need to be a new person next year, we probably just need to put the cookie down, hit up a workout class, grab an adjustment and get some sleep.
When it comes to resolutions, a lot of people are strong the first few weeks then as the year goes on the success rates drop like the temp outside here in the Chicagoland area in winter (at least we think winter is coming...I feel like we all know this gorgeous weather is not going to last and we will again be cursing the place we've chosen to settle down any day now). So why do we do it? Why do we continue to set up high goals and lofty expectations that we struggle to follow through on? Are you ready to set goals that turn into a lifestyle to make you the best version of yourself? To not make you a different person but the best version of you?
So what are we missing? We’re missing an environment to thrive. Year after year we try to fit our new changes into the same old structure, and then get defeated when it doesn’t work. The problem isn’t our goals, we are the problem. We are the reasons our goals struggle. We don’t give ourselves the resources we really need to create lasting change.
The purpose of a resolution is to make lasting change, but in order for that change to take place we have to start with changing our mindset, and then our environment! Until that part takes place it’s a continual cycle of starting strong and tapering off.
But while mindset starts it, willpower alone isn’t enough. To make that lasting change we really desire, we’ve got to make lasting change to our environment first, and put the resources in play that will lead to our success instead of our demise this time around!
Another year, same resolutions…
The most common theme is always, hands down, to take better control of personal health. That makes complete sense. We have a very finite amount of time on this Earth, why not live it at full throttle? The only way we can live full throttle is to control our health better, ensuring that our bodies can handle it.
The concept of resolutions is great. They are all about growth and bettering ourselves and I can think of nothing better than chiropractic to be an integral part of your health plan. Sure, I am super biased and a little over the top in love with what chiropractic has done for my family...but it's that amazing!! At the end of the day chiropractic comes down to one specific thing, it improves the body’s ability to adapt to and handle stress. I don't know about you, but my reality is I more so need something to help me adapt to stress then expect the unrealistic expectation that I can avoid it. Working full time, helping run a business, all while being mom to 4 kids, 2 dogs, 4 cats, and 11 chickens, I'm like a walking stress advertisement. 🤪 So my reality is I want to put things into my life that help me adapt to that stress and that's where chiropractic comes in big time for me!
It’s also a surprisingly helpful “cheat code” for healthy living! Literally by changing your neurology, chiropractic can help make lifestyle changes far easier and thus your resolutions more effective. Getting adjusted is a perfect “reset” that gets your entire body working so much better, that it then craves better nutrition and movement.
The opposite is also true. When you are subluxated all the time (stressed), you are stuck in sympathetic fight or flight mode. When locked into that pattern it’s literally proven that your body craves more sugar (poor diet), and wants to just sit down and rest (no exercise). Those nights I am bone tired, haven't been exercising or getting adjusted regularly and all I want is to take a dump truck of treats and stuff my face with them. I feel such a huge difference in what I crave when I'm doing those good things to my body. Doing good things become easier instead of trying to sheer willpower life changes. We can’t make big life changes and expect them to stick, unless we first reset and reprogram our “hard wired” neurological patterns. Change those first with chiropractic, and the rest gets far easier and lasts far longer!
Set yourself up for success
If you are setting goals, keep them realistic. If you're a new mom you are a super hero for growing and nurturing a human. A literal human being! You are a rockstar, set no goals other then adding in things to keep your sanity and not lose yourself completely to the animal of motherhood. New dads, same for you. You're holding the family down and you need to take care of you too but maybe this isn't the year to set a first time goal of running a world record Iron Man. Next year ;) Set your goals to be the best version of you but also taking into account the stage of life you're in. Most importantly, don't compare your goals to anyone else. A mom friend with grown kids all in school might be able to workout consistently while you might be on the way out the door to finally workout once that week and the baby wakes up, with a blow out and freaking out because you're trying to take your boobs out the door.
Juggling life, whatever that looks like for each person, on top of trying to change habits and behaviors is no small feat. The fact that you’re even entertaining ideas like that is great. Taking on executing is even more awesome, so before you stress out about taking on change for the new year first give yourself some grace for trying to grow.
There’s an old saying that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. Embrace it, you don’t have to take on the world by yourself. If you need help, ask for it. If you don’t know where to start, get a guide to point you in the right direction. People see me in a good moment and ask me how I do it. I always answer that "The secret to doing it, is that I don't." Just like you probably do, I need those moments of success to keep me going. I need those days where no one tried to stab someone over a toy, or we all get homework done and checked over, dinner made, work items finished and a house somewhat clean. I need those days to get me through the ones of frozen pizza, 2+2 being wrong on turned in homework, sibling chaos, mom melt downs, and absolutely nothing going right. Whether we admit it or not, we're all a combination of those up and down days. Share the good ones, be proud of them, you rocked it! Acknowledge the bad ones too because they happen to the best of us, we made it through, tomorrow will be better and we still rocked it! Find your tribe that will tell you you're awesome on the good days and let you vent on the bad ones and still tell you you're awesome. We all need a cheerleader in our lives and adding in some goals to be the best you, requires a good support system.
At PWC we are here to help you. Let us be part of your team for the new year. We think you're pretty awesome. We think chiropractic is pretty awesome. You + chiropractic = unstoppable. Let's do this and let's do this together. Happy New Year from all of us at PWC.
