by Anna Marie Trotman
Now that we are a couple of weeks into 2018 it’s time to look at those changes you wanted to make for this year. Perhaps you made some resolutions but oops they went down the drain before you had a chance to organize your thoughts. Maybe you’re getting bored with the gym, you’re too busy or you don’t have the oomph to get there. Or you promised yourself you were going to eat better, meditate, walk, be a better mom, or fill in the blank. Fast forward two weeks and you’re falling off the wagon. Even if you didn’t make a resolution, there is always something that can be tweaked.
First, let’s look at all this resolution stuff. To resolve is to declare or be determined, it takes tenacity and steadfastness, but what does it mean to resolve to be a new you? I heard a great commentary a few weeks ago that might put things into perspective. The reporter said, instead of making a resolution, look at how challenges can be re-solutioned. The light bulb went on! I called my friend Nancy and we sat down and looked at some of the things we wanted to change about our lives and discussed how our patterns of behavior kept us stuck, we then re-solutioned ways to bring on the desired changes.
Get Off to a Healthy Start
One of the best ways to start off the New Year is to look at your health by looking at this past month or so. It’s a matter of fact that the holidays can and often do create stress, especially for women. Women can manifest symptoms such as heavy or irregular bleeding and depression There may be extra sensitivity before your period or if you are going through menopause, symptoms may appear more severe. However, we just don’t want to look at symptoms, good health is about managing our body, mind, and spirit.
Now that the holidays are behind you think about the subtle ways your body, mind, and spirit may have reacted to the stress and how those stressors may still be taking a toll. After you assess what is going on in your life, let’s begin to re-solution the patterns to alter the future and reframe the way you look at life.
What Is Reframing?
Reframing is a way of changing the way you look at a situation and your experience of it. Reframing can take a negative event as a learning experience. By altering your perceptions of stressors you begin to relieve significant amounts of stress and create a more positive way of life.
When you think about the holidays, it is quite possible that your mind is playing tricks on you that can distort your view, your mind puts a ‘spin’ on the events you see, and attaches a not-so-objective interpretation to what you experience. This is called being left alone in your head without adult supervision.
Let’s start with the people who push your buttons, mom, dad, Uncle Harry, your brother-in-law, mother-in-law, kids, or fill in the blank. Instead of immediately jumping to the conclusion that someone is trying to make your life difficult, take a deep breath and briefly attempt to understand where the other person is coming from. Ask the question; “Do I really know what I am thinking is true?” If you get a yes, then reframe the question; “Can I be absolutely sure that what I’m thinking is true?” You’ll probably get a no, then begin to look at your frame of reference, past experiences, perceptions, reactions, and feelings. Is someone else’s behavior a reflection of something you don’t like about yourself? OUCH!
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Re-Solution
Sit down with your journal and write your thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. Ask the above questions then re-frame, re-work, and re-solution. By looking at events in a new way, even if you don’t completely believe your new thoughts, perceptions or feelings, you will begin to find positive solutions which will reflect on your overall health and well-being. Make small goals that are attainable and stick to it with the help of an accountability buddy, a trusted friend or your spouse or partner.
The best resolution to make for the New Year is to transform your health! If you didn’t make your Well Woman visit in 2017, call us and start the year off with your wellbeing in mind![/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”dotted” border_width=”2″][vc_column_text]The Birth Center provides pregnancy, labor, birth, postpartum, and GYN services to women from adolescence through menopause. We provide full-scope care for women of all ages from teens to post-menopausal. Our focus is to empower our clients through holistic health management and education.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]