2024: A Year of Renewal, Reflection, and Resilience
2024 is knocking at the door. Are you ready to welcome this new year, with endless possibilities and opportunities?
The month of December can often see many people in a flap about Christmas and the holiday season. Perceived expectations, pressure to get it all right. At the end of it all, how will it leave you feeling? Are you burnt out, or disappointed? I hope not. I hope you find the peace to change this time for the better. Can you focus on the experiences of being with people you like/love? Can you truly enjoy being in the presence of family? Or perhaps you dare to do things differently and…
With a new year comes new opportunities to start over with resolutions, plans, diets and so on, which usually begin with gusto and then get lost along the way. What if 2024 you decided that this was the year to truly respect your health, lifestyle and plan-making?
I highly recommend getting yourself a new journal, and a set of pens, making a nice hot cuppa and taking a decent chunk of time to sit and dream.
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WISH. It all starts with a decision and a desire to follow the path. Maybe you want to travel? Maybe you would like to visit a friend you haven’t seen in years? Maybe you want to take yourself to a day spa. We all work very hard in life, usually with the attitude that everyone else comes first. Work can take up a huge component of life, plenty of people have ideas about what they do when they will retire. Why wait? Who is benefitting most from you in your life? The answer should be YOU. Put your own oxygen mask on first, right?
Over the winter months, we may be more susceptible to feeling wiped out, picking up every bug going and that feeling of having a week or month of duvet days just seems super appealing. It is so important to look after yourself at this time.
Top Tips
- Keep hydrated with water, especially if you are using home heating systems such as central heating or log-burning fires.
- Make sure to move your body, gently and respectfully.
- Eat well. Don’t forget to eat your vegetables and fruits!
- If supplementing, please discuss with a practitioner to ensure you are using quality products and not wasting money on items with undesirable fillers and unnecessary ingredients. You would be surprised what shows up in some pills!
- Allow yourself time to rest. Be more grizzly bear and hibernate for a while. No one can operate on full power all year long without some rest.
- Have some immune-supporting goodies in your toolkit for the just in cases! From natural elderberry syrup to local honey, echinacea, soothing teas and my absolute favourite the mighty garlic! (Maybe not just before your Christmas night out, although that is one way to ensure folks keep their distance! Haha)
Every year I am inclined to recommend one of my favourite books, ‘Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy’ by Beth Kempton. This little book of magic is perfect to snuggle up with and an opportunity to evaluate your current beliefs systems around this holiday period. It will challenge you to consider what is important to you and your family, from old traditions to creating new ones. Beth also offers ideas for embracing the new year and reminds us to be in the present moment as much as possible.
If you are having a hard time getting through this time of year whether suffering from burnout, SAD, overwhelm or whatever it may be, please reach out to a trusted friend, or a professional therapist. There are many tools and offerings to support and guide you. Please look after yourselves and do things that truly bring you joy.
Sending love and healing to all, all year round!
Sally Munro is a Registered Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist, Yoga Teacher and Director of Simply Swim Aberdeen swim school. Working with clients of all ages and stages of life, Sally focuses on the simple steps you can take towards improving your health and wellbeing.
website: www.sallymunro.co.uk
email: hello@sallymunro.co.uk
Instagram: @salthewellnesswarrior
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