New Year – New You – Namaste
As we welcome 2024, we reflect on our lives and make plans for what can be improved upon in the year to come. Resolutions are easily made but can be difficult to keep as time passes. This month we share some ideas to help work toward more permanent changes in the New Year and beyond!
Awareness
Sometimes there’s a difference between a desire to reach our goals and the patience that is necessary to realize them. Awareness, and the ability to stay in a moment, is one practice we can use to maintain an inner peace while we learn to treat others and ourselves with kindness and compassion. This heightened sense of awareness will allow us to have more resolve when faced with any challenges as we move forward on our intended plans.
Start With A Purpose
- Begin by considering your reasons behind your resolution – what will establishing specific changes mean to you overall? How will your life improve if you can follow through on the modification?
- Make meditation part of your daily routine. It often does help to keep your focus on the task at hand rather than the end results, by breaking down a larger plan into smaller parts. For example, we may have those ten pounds we’d like to lose, but if efforts are centered instead on taking that walk every day after dinner, you’ll be very likely to feel motivated and continue to move forward with your goal.
- Examine your behavior loop. Want to save more money? Write down every time you spend over the course of a few days. Look for patterns, and find where you can easily substitute new habits that serve your purpose.
- Forgive yourself. Acknowledge when you have wandered from your goals and allow yourself to begin again without judgement.
Move More!
Okay, so research tells us only 8% of people that set “getting in shape” as their New Year’s resolution actually achieve that target. We think we can improve those odds with small adjustments and thinking along the lines of moving more for you!
- Throw away the scale. Seriously, in the garbage. Don’t measure success by how much you weigh. Instead, journal and keep track of what activities you achieved that day and how you feel about it. Bookmark the pages where you felt accomplished and use those as inspiration when you don’t want to exercise. Take selfies once a week if you’d like to have a visual of your progress.
- Start slow if it’s been a while since you’ve worked out. Consider yoga – it’s something everyone can do, no matter your age or fitness level. Those in the healthcare field have touted the benefits for both physical and mental health.
- Try a new sport! Working out is always better with friends, so get the gang together and try something different. If you’re the type, join a recreational league to use that spirit of competition to keep you engaged throughout the year. Pickleball seems to be all the rage so maybe this would be your new move more goal.
Hi Love is Here for You
At Hi Love, we are such fans of New Year’s resolutions that we’ve created some useful options to help anyone have fun achieving them. Treat yourself to something that pushes you to your desired “finish line”. Here are some of our best:
- While you’re on the mat or at the gym bring necessities along in our namaste medium pack. This affords a protected convenient spot for valuables so all your attention can be on sweating it out!
- Hi Love has an assortment of styles to choose from, whether you are looking for a new easy-clean gym bag or something smaller like a fanny pack that can keep your important items close and safe.
Travel
Nothing helps get through the cold days of winter quicker than dreaming of exotic destinations with warm, sunny beaches. Whether you end up traveling near or far in 2024, we’ve got good suggestions to bring that sense of adventure with you into the New Year.
- Explore areas within driving distance to where you are stopping and make the most of your weekends.. If that trip to Italy is out of reach this year, you can still share that Italian vibe by visiting a local restaurant or taking a cooking class. Visit towns you’ve never seen before and sightsee like crazy while you’re there.
- Stay at an unexpected place. Travel sites now have options like “treehouse, tiny house or even jumbo jet” as accommodation alternatives just about anywhere. Make any locale fun and festive by choosing unanticipated lodging.
- Jetting off to a distant place? Pack light with your new favorite carry-on from Hi Love. Our weekender & tote bags come in a variety of colors so you’ll be sure to find one that suits you, is lightweight and fits perfectly in an overhead bin or under the seat in front of you!
Share the Love
Setting the intention of generosity this year can help communities everywhere and it doesn’t have to be financial in nature.
- Volunteer consistently. Find a cause near and dear to your heart and offer the gift of your time. This not only helps the organization, but you too will feel a sense of pride and joy.
- Give blood and the gift of life! Blood cannot be manufactured so the only way to keep the supply stable and aid those that need it is to become a donor! One donation can help up to three people and you can donate every eight weeks.
- Pay it forward! Give thanks for the blessing in your life by spreading kindness whenever you can. Pay for a stranger’s coffee, leave an extra tip when you’re out at a celebratory dinner, or even assist with your elderly neighbors’ trash bins each week. There are so many big and small ways to spread happiness throughout the year, including a simple warm smile.
- Share the Hi Love – Giving back when you can is foundational to Hi Love. In 2020 we launched our “giveback” campaign to provide support for any person or organization that could use a little extra love. You can find more information about all of the amazing groups we’ve helped thus far on our blog. Or nominate your favorite charity by emailing us at info@hilovetravel.com.
Whatever you choose, we hope these tips help you with all your 2024 endeavors. From all of us at Hi Love, we wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!
