This New Year, keeping New Year’s Health resolutions is especially important. 2012 brings with it my 60th birthday. I am keenly aware that what I do now, to maintain health, can significantly improve quality of life in my golden years.
I resolve to take actions in 2012 to improve my health in 4 areas: physically, spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Following are my 5 personal health resolutions for 2012.
New Year’s Health Resolution 1: Lose 20 Pounds
I have lost 30 pounds in the last 2 years. I used a site called Spark People to track calories and exercises. I want to lose an additional 20 pounds.
A book by Ray Strand, called Healthy for Life, convinced me that a low-glycemic diet is an effective way to lose weight and to maintain healthy blood-sugar levels. I resolve in 2012 to track my food and water consumption on sparkpeople.com and follow a low-glycemic diet.
New Year’s Health Resolution 2: Hire a Personal Trainer
In 2012, I will hire a personal trainer at the YMCA. I’ve been using weight machines for the past 6 months, but I know how important it is to change exercise routines. I specifically want to strengthen my core-abdomen and stomach muscles. A personal trainer will make me accountable and provide the expertise I need to strengthen my core.
New Year’s Health Resolution 3: Grow Spiritually
Growing spiritually is an on-going process that I want to continue in 2012. As a Christian, I value daily prayer and Bible study. Throughout 2012, I want to do more than just read the bible. I want grow spiritually by applying what I read to my daily life. For example,
Jesus says to take care of widows and orphans.
I apply that command by visiting a 95-year-old widow 2 times a week. I resolve, in 2012, to look for other ways to help people. Helping others enhances my well-being and health.
New Year’s Health Resolution 4: Control Emotions
I’ve spent too much of my life being controlled by emotions. I’ve been reading Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, and Joyce Meyer’s book, Battlefield of the Mind.
Both authors advocate replacing negative emotions with positive statements, called affirmations. For example, I may find myself thinking that my dream to write is foolish. Julia Cameron says to replace a thought like that with something like “God approves of my dreams.”
Joyce Meyer says that we believe more of what we say to ourselves than what anyone else says. We can speak what we want to be true even before it is true! In 2012, I will practice saying and writing affirmations to positively impact my health.
New Year’s Health Resolution 5: Intellectual Stimulation
In 2012, I will keep myself intellectually engaged by pursuing things that interest me. The biggest thing that interests me is writing. In order to write, I have to control every other area of my life. I plan to schedule my day and protect writing time. When I write, I am intellectually stimulated, happier, and healthier.
Striking a balance between physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs creates a healthier person. Though these health resolutions are written for 2012, I anticipate working on them for years to come. They are the gold I need to enjoy my golden years.
Sources:
Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way: a Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Perigee, 1992. Print.
Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .
Meyer, Joyce. Battlefield of the Mind. Fenton, Missouri: Life in the Word, Inc., 1995. Print
Strand, Ray, Healthy for Life, Rapid City, SD: Real Life Press, 2004. Print