New year, same problems?
One thing we have come to realize over the past year is how the practices our members are not only learning, but doing are helping them deal better with the friction and stress that we are all living in right now. Maybe you’re one month into the start of 2021 and realize the new year hasn’t provided much relief from the stressors of the past year; things may be feeling just as chaotic as before. Or perhaps you’re feeling discouraged that you made a New Year’s Resolution that just wasn’t attainable, and you’re ready to give up on your goals entirely.
However you’re feeling today, you don’t have to wait on the world around you to change for the better in order for you to live better. See how it feels to tune into yourself and get into action today by incorporating these easy practices into your daily routine:
Breath - One way you can immediately feel better, is to connect with your breath. Take one full relaxing belly breath and savor the effect. For a calming effect, take a short inhale and long exhale. For an energizing effect, take a long inhale and a short exhale.
Nature - Step outside and connect with nature. Spot a tree, a flower, a plant, or a bird and look for the fractals in nature. Fractals are the complex natural patterns that replicate in similar ways at all levels of scale, from tiny to huge: the geometric spirals of a succulent, the repeated markings across a bird’s wingspan, the up-close intricacies of a snowflake. Scientists believe that just gazing at fractals can bring positive shifts to our mood and stress levels.
Fuel - Give yourself permission to slow down. Very often, we don’t connect with our food because we eat while working, reading, watching TV, or checking social media. Instead, be present and savor the first, middle, and last bite of your next meal. Listen to your body. It already knows what, when, and how much to eat. “As you get more and more connected, you not only trust your body better, you also trust other aspects in your life as you’re making decisions,” says Evelyn Tribole, Madefor Advisor, dietician, and author of nine books, including the best-seller, Intuitive Eating (co-author).
Hint: One of the reasons the Madefor Method works is that each of Madefor’s monthly Challenges are structured around a Minimum Viable Effort Model - What’s the smallest step you can take to see positive rewards?
