As I said in the first baby step post, this month, I want to highlight 31 ways to baby step your way into a more mindful and healthful life. Some of the tips will be advice already stated or implied in previous posts, while some will be brand new. This post provides the ninth and an explanation. The idea is to start at the beginning and accumulate as many mindful and healthful habits as you'd like to sustain by the conclusion of the month. It's similar to that icebreaker where you're in a circle of people and you need to repeat all of the members' names in order... it's a challenge, but you'll feel great at making progress and it'll help you see how far you've come from the 1st to the 31st!
Baby Step # 9
Try Something New
If you're the type of person who cringes at the thought of trying something new, consider that perhaps you simply haven't found the right kind of new thing to try yet... maybe, you know, instead of a new political affiliation, new religion, or new job, you could try something small, relatively painless, and something you've actually been interested in, but for one reason or another you've neglected to attempt.
In May, I wrote a post called Try Something New! Five Ideas to Get You Out of Your Daily Funk. To be honest, in reviewing it, it's pretty comprehensive in terms of offering a variety of suggestions for things to change up in your everyday life. For example, the post suggests taking a new route for your commute, trying some new change in your morning routine, picking up a hobby or personal practice, working out (or specifically trying the morning for a change), or trying a new food.
Today, I wanted to get you thinking about the types of newness that might interest you. If your Baby Step Goal or your New Year's Resolution pertains to...
- working out, you might consider the following suggestions:
- exercise dvds at home (I do Jillian Michaels' dvds!)
- YouTube videos at home (I've favorited some Jillian and yoga videos on my YouTube page)
- Pinterest or Social Media post workouts at home
- a run/ walk/ jog outdoors
- joining a group for motivation and accountability
- this could be a Facebook group, a face-to-face Meet Up group, a running club, a community-based group exercise class or workshop series
- working on time management, take a look at:
- make a list of what habits you can live without/ no longer serve you
- "make"/ "find" extra time for what you want (check out this post for help on that)
- create a new routine to assist with your time management goal
- go on a "media & social media fast," eliminating distractions and negativity via media/ social media outlets
- improving your health, you might want to try a new food (or several), try:
- research recipes and multiple methods to prepare your new food before purchase
- sometimes just the method of cooking/ preparing can drastically alter how well you like a food, so experiment!
- consult friends and family for suggestions on foods to try
- check out the "Mindful Eating" tab or the Making Mindfulness Facebook page for ideas
- remember your taste buds change every seven years, so give _______ a second try!
If you're interested, below is a short video clip showing how to efficiently open a pomegranate. If you've never tried one, they aren't as intimidating as they look and they are SO delicious!
[I plan to edit this video a little, but I wanted to get it up fairly quickly.]Labels: Go Ahead--Try It!, Life, Mindful Baby Steps, Mindful Eating, Tip of the Week, Videos
