Greet Bedford Magazine Article Re-Print

This article by Choose Health Founder Brooke Mills was published in the February 2023 issue of Greet Bedford.  
​
Each year, on New Year's Eve, there are immense feelings of celebration, new beginnings, and reflection. Resolutions are an incredible way to remember what is truly important in your life and reflect on the year prior. If living through a global pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't take celebrations, gatherings, toilet paper, or our health and wellness for granted. As 2023 moves onward, I encourage you to reflect on what you valued last year and create attainable resolutions that feed your soul! Further, create a plan on how your resolutions are going to stick around longer than Valentine's Day - but rather until next year.
While reflecting and setting your goals, reflect on areas of your life, including budgeting and fiscal goals, mental health, physical health goals, mindfulness, and attitude, fueling foods, daily habits, sleep schedules, and alcohol or substance use. Consider exercising your brain, partner or family bonding, volunteer efforts, learning a new skill, getting outside more or decreasing your screen time. Areas of your lite are ready for some extra attention and are waiting for you to take action today!
Once you have established what actions and modifications you want to take in your life, keep it up! Here are some tips on how you can make sure your resolutions for 2023 stick!
Utilize a Planner - pick out a planner that makes you excited to open it up! Start by writing out daily goals, pauses for reflection, or encouraging quotes that align with your specific resolutions. If you're like me, you might like some checkboxes in your day - reorganize your goals into specific, measurable objectives scheduled out throughout your day. This will help you chip away at goals and check off all the boxes! If you're a digital calendar lover, set reminders throughout your day to help you reach goals and plan your days out hourly to maximize your time in a day.
Journal - journaling in and of itself could be a new resolution for you! We know the positive effects journaling provides to mental health, but what about physical health too? A study on 49 adults in New Zealand found that those who wrote for 20 minutes about their feelings on upsetting events healed faster after a biopsy than those who wrote about daily activities. Similarly, college students who wrote about stressful events were less likely to get sick compared to those who wrote about neutral topics. Women with breast cancer who wrote positively or expressively about their experience with the disease had fewer physical symptoms and fewer cancer-related medical appointments. But researchers also noted that writing about negative emotions may increase anxiety and depression levels.
Habit Trackers - ever heard of a habit tracker? Our phones can offer so much support in helping your goals become a reality, relying less on your memory throughout the day! Habit trackers can be downloaded on your phone and programmed with a time of day for reminders – set specifically for days of the week you want the reminder or even a special event coming up. (Again, if you're like me, you'll like all the checkboxes these apps offer!)
Wanting to change your morning routine? – Download "Routinery" from wherever you get apps on your phone. This app offers a specific time for your morning routine to start, with all the tasks your morning could consist of. The best part of this app is that it provides you with a pre-programmed timer that sets the time for you and continues until your morning or evening routine is over! Tasks you can include for a great morning include reading, affirmations, goal setting, journaling, meditation, prayer, visualization, workouts, stretching, meal preparations, making your bed!
Health and wellness - lastly, many resolutions revolve around health and wellness, rightfully so because it is our longevity and vital for survival! When it comes to lasting changes in these categories, consider adding things to your day - rather than removal of things you love. If you love watching a show or football every night, try adding in a daily walk or watching your enjoyable show while on the treadmill. If you love having coffee first thing in the morning and often forget to prioritize nutritious breakfasts, consider meal prepping high-protein breakfasts ready for you. Create daily step count goals and water intake goals for an easy step to add to your day that will impact you for life!
If you haven't realized it yet, "resolution" is just another way to say "goal." And both resolutions and goals are set to help you get more out of life. Maximize your life now by honestly reflecting on 2022 and making bold commitments to yourself for 2023. Put your plans in writing and offer yourself the support to help this be the year that your resolutions come to life I currently serve as Miss Bedford and will be competing for the title of Miss New Hampshire in April 2023. I am a doctorate student, graduating in 2023 and have received over $51,000 through the Miss America Organization. I have a passion for helping facilitate better health habits and educating our communities on all things health. I have started an organization called Choose Health - which you can visit here: www.choosehealthamerica.com

---