Hooray for January 2024! A new year, a fresh new page on the calendar (or a calendar already scrawled over with appointments and reminders.) Now is the perfect time to turn those vague New Year’s Resolutions into life-changing goals!
Let’s talk about how (and how chiropractic care might help). Of course, if your resolution is to vanquish your back pain or headaches in 2024, just call us on (03) 5381 1892. The chiropractors at Back 4 Life Wellness Centre can help you achieve that resolution with months to spare! But if your goals are a little harder to achieve, read on…
Commit to your Goals
Now that the dust has settled on New Year’s Eve parties it’s tempting to get straight back into the hustle and bustle of life, but if you set some intentions about what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it, that hustle can slowly and steadily lead you to the achievement of your goals rather than just filling your days. There’s a lot of power in language. Saying to yourself “I’d like to be healthier in 2024” is less effective than saying “I will be healthier in 2024.” Commit to yourself with the word ‘will’. Commit so your brain (consciously and subconsciously) can get to work on finding ways for you to achieve your goal. This applies to the seemingly impossible dreams too—you can’t fly–but you can go hang gliding! Commit and allow creative solutions to come to you.
Making Space
If you bought a new piece of furniture, you’d rearrange your existing furniture to make room–yes? Maybe you’d even donate your old sofa…. If we want to add things to our lives in 2024, we might need to clear time and space for them by crossing other stuff off our to-do lists. Make sure you’re spending your time according to your values, working towards goals that are important to your health and happiness – not zoning out in fatigue or despair (if you’ve ever binge-watched terrible TV you’ll know what we mean) or people-pleasing (if you’ve ever abandoned your work, passion projects, and exercise regime to binge clean before a visit from your in-laws you’ll know what we mean.)
Break It Down
The wonderful thing about audacious goals like mastering a new language, shedding twenty kilograms, overhauling your garden, or repairing relationships is that they are inspiring. The horrible thing is that they can be intimidating. Break the goal down into doable steps. Even better if you can break it down into daily habits….
Since we’re chiropractors and we’re all about your health and wellbeing, we’d like to suggest a few daily habits to incorporate into your plans for 2024.
- Move Daily: A commitment to movement infuses your days with energy and vitality. It’s a conscious choice to prioritise health–reducing inflammation throughout your body, keeping the spine flexible and robust, stimulating the creation of new brain cells, keeping your heart strong… Now you probably have a million reasons your life has become more sedentary than you’d like. But you don’t have to accept these things as limitations. They’re just challenges to overcome on the way to the movement you WILL incorporate into your daily life. For example, if aches and pains are stopping you, call us for an appointment on [insert clinic number here] asap so we can help get that obstacle out of your way. If you’re just too busy, see if you can bring movement into part of the activities you have to do anyway. Could you incorporate an active commute into your day, dancing while you put the laundry away or balance work while you brush your teeth?
- Make Time for Mindfulness: A few deep belly breaths after every phone call? Staring at a cloud instead of your phone when you want to zone out? Or a short meditation before bed? Mindfulness (however you work it into your day) will bring you more clarity in your thoughts and moods, making every other goal more achievable.
- Connection: Making time for the people we love doesn’t have to mean taking time away from other activities. Encourage your children to join you in your movement/exercise routines. Maybe it’s a family walk or active play. It will teach them the value of an active lifestyle as well as fostering your family bond. Chat to friends via speakerphone while doing chores. However you do it, make connecting with those you love a habit in 2024.
- Learn: Make learning and developing your mind a daily habit for life. Ten minutes a day on a language learning app, a few moments at an instrument, or even just a daily crossword puzzle will fortify your cognitive abilities. (Making everything else a little easier – bonus).
Conclusion
These are just a few deliberate choices we hope you can make for yourself in 2024. Whatever you choose for yourself, we’re on your team and are here to help if pain or mobility issues get in your way. Just call us on (03) 5381 1892 to make an appointment. Everyone at Back 4 Life Wellness wishes you the healthiest, happiest, most deliberate start to 2024.
PS: We are on Facebook and Instagram. We like to share healthy hacks, anatomy trivia and exercise inspiration there. Following us on social media might be the easiest step to a healthier 2024 you could make!