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This new year, instead of making your usual list focused on which healthy habits you want to begin, try focusing on how you wish to incorporate them into your lifestyle. With this approach, you can personalize how to make these habits more enjoyable, achievable, and complementary to your own schedule. 

You already know that movement, eating well, reducing stress, and other self-care practices can do wonders for your health. Even so, it can be hard to find time to focus on Primary Food, one of IIN’s core concepts that includes everything beyond the food on your plate that helps you thrive. 

This mindset shift of focusing on how, with the intention of enjoying yourself can be surprisingly motivating. 

Below are five healthy habits and examples of how you can use your own preferences and personality to make them work for you this new year. 

Refresh the Menu 

Isn’t it incredible that we live on a planet where the plants, nuts, and herbs that grow from the earth contain nutrients and information that support us? If we think of it from that perspective, eating whole foods from Mother Nature can feel magical.  

We get to choose to eat the colors of the rainbow, with the convenience of markets and shops that stock nutrient-dense foods that look and taste delicious. 

For the new year, you have the opportunity to inspire yourself by finding new recipes to add to your rotation of meals. You have access to countless resources online, in cookbooks, and on streaming services that showcase enticing meals and nutritional information. 

Not just another item on your to-do list, refreshing your menu to create greater health can be fun, creative, and exciting.  

Combine Movement with Other Tasks 

Whatever kind of movement you are able to do in your body is a gift.  

Rather than focus on the pressure of needing to move more, you can shift your thoughts to the reality that you have a special body, and you get to experience movement. 

Consider the how. How can you add a little more movement into what already is part of your day. Could you plan short dance breaks? Could you walk while on a work call? When cooking, could you pause for a few moments to stretch, balance on one foot, or engage the core muscles? 

You have a body, and you get to discover ways throughout the day to add more movement in ways you had not thought of before. 

The Gift of Winter Sleep 

It gets darker earlier during wintertime. Instead of fighting the urge to go to bed early, allow yourself to follow the rhythm of the natural world. 

Turn the lights down low to mimic the early sunset. Spend time doing off-screen evening activities, such as reading, journalling, and crafting or playing games. 

Wear warm clothes inside: a sweater, fluffy socks, and even a scarf indoors is appropriate if you feel cold. Have winter blankets on the couches and chairs so people can easily use them. 

Prepare the bedroom in cozy ways with dim lighting, extra blankets, and a hot water bottle. 

Before bed, enjoy a warm cup of herbal tea. 

Keeping yourself warm from the inside out can support the body to stay well, calm the mind, and give you seasonal self-care rituals to enjoy as you wind down early.  

Extra sleep in winter is a gift that helps you recharge from the past year and regain energy for the seasons ahead.  

Relax In the Non-Physical Aspects of You 

There are so many demands on your time. It is easy to let slip one of the most important aspects of your overall wellness, which is making space for non-physical aspects of you. 

A natural sense of well-being, joy, and connection to inner wisdom is within your reach. The key is making time for this connection each day. 

Choose ways to slow down and interrupt the habit of rushing around, ruminating on stressful thoughts, and worrying about things that you haven’t accomplished yet. Tune into that part of you that sees beyond the concerns of the day, and reveals the bigger aspects of who you are. 

This can be done through seated meditation, walking meditation, and mindful yoga. It can be done by listening to calming music, poetry, or teachers who tap into this aspect of being. Other ideas are sitting outside in nature and observing what you see and hear, receiving a sound bath, or practicing relaxing breathing techniques. 

There are so many ways to pause and tap into that part of you that can remind you, and reveal to you, who you truly are. Even if you set aside only five minutes each day, that is a wonderful way to begin. 

Practice Gratitude  

The practice of gratitude is a habit you can begin to incorporate once a day, either in the morning or evening, by writing down three things for which you feel grateful. 

When you notice yourself getting caught up in fear, worry, and projection, that is a good time to pause and practice gratitude. 

To do this, pause what you are doing. Take a few deep breaths. Bring to mind people, places, or things in your life that support you. Take a few moments to feel that feeling of gratitude. If you have time to go outside for this, for fresh air, all the better. 

Deep breaths, fresh air, and feeling grateful can reset your mood before you continue with the rest of the day. 

As we head into a new year, so many of us have the best intentions to make healthier habits stick. Perhaps this new year, the place to begin is not focused only on the action, but rather on a new perspective on how to incorporate changes into your life in a way that really suits you. 

Build healthy habits that create lasting change well beyond the new year. Explore our Health Coach Training Program to help you live a life you love.   

Editor's Note: This information is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider or another medical professional regarding any medical advice, diagnoses, or treatments and before beginning a new practice.