In addition to these new challenges, keep on drinking 2 glasses of water each morning and getting your exercise. Pre-decide your healthy snacks and try to get a few minutes of mindfulness or meditation in as well as keeping your sleep routine, sparking joy with creativity and keep on being of service.
Day 8: Pushing Out Of Your Comfort Zone Because You Can! Remind Yourself Of Your Talents
Congratulations you completed the first week! Now, let’s dive into more ways to improve health and wellness. Stretching is good for muscles and it’s also good for your mind.
When I thought about what I really wanted to try that is a bit past my comfort zone, I immediately thought about coloring my own hair. I know it seems frivolous, but it’s something I’ve been too intimated to try.
How about you? Make a list of all the things you want to do, but think you can’t and pick one to try out. Maybe asking for and accepting help is something you’re not comfortable with. Think about giving someone else the gift of being a gracious receiver.
Here are some other ideas:
- Unplugging from technology for 24 hours?
- Home repair project
- Making a new more complicated recipe
- An on-line language class
Resources:
Duolingo https://www.duolingo.com/
CoffeeBreak Language lessons https://radiolingua.com/
Memrise https://www.memrise.com/
Have you been so inspired by pushing out of your comfort zone that you’re practicing phrases in a different language or working on a home improvement project?
Day 9: Affirmations To Center and Focus Your Mind
For health and wellness, we all need to focus on what’s good and beneficial in our lives. This creates feelings of empowerment that will serve us. In fact, positive affirmations or positive self-talk helps with neuroplasticity, that is that you can help re-wire your brain to be more positive, to be stronger and less reactive.
Athletes and coaches have been putting this into successful practice for years. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. “I can” is a much more effective motivator than “I can’t.” Right?
Try this: Write down 3 more things that you like about yourself. It might be that you’re kind to your pet, or you know how to fix things, that you make a killer apple pie, can tell a joke or you know how to put people at ease, whatever it is, write 3 or more things that are absolutely, positively terrific about you.
Now, even if it’s uncomfortable, and trust me, it is for me and most people, do practice affirmations and positive self-talk to affirm those wonderful traits that are part of who you are.
Resources:
35 Affirmations that will change your life: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/affirmations_b_3527028
Positive Affirmations https://www.pinterest.com/pin/126241595788037633/
Day 10: Cooking and Enjoying a Plant-Based Dinner for Your Overall Health
Did you know that most vegetables and fruits are loaded with micronutrients making them “protective” for your health and wellbeing. When you load up on protective foods, you’re helping your immune system and because they are so filling, you’re less likely to eat empty calories.
Maybe you’ve heard of the Blue Zones? These are areas of the world where people live very long, healthy lives and many of them have a plant-based diet.
Here’s a shopping list for today’s dinner:
• Plant-based diet: Barb’s grandmother’s recipe for garlic and broccoli, which can be eaten alone as a meal or served over pasta.
• Garbanzo beans & Cherry tomatoes +/- mozzarella balls, olive oil, chopped parsley, a splash of balsamic vinegar
Shopping List:
- Garlic
- Broccoli
- Favorite Pasta
- Olive Oil
- Balsalmic, Red or White Wine Vinegar
- Fresh or Dried Italian Parsley
- 1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Mozzarella balls or Mozzarella string cheese
The Blue Zones Kitchen https://www.bluezones.com/blue-zones-kitchen/
Forks over Knives Cookbook https://www.bluezones.com/blue-zones-kitchen/
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