Liv·a·ble (adjective): worth living; enjoyable
Every Livable Lesson will encourage you to prioritize your own health and happiness by:
1. Sparking inspiration from a quote/research.
2. Connecting the quote/research to what you deserve as a teacher.
3. Promoting accountability with related actions to implement inside and outside your classroom.
4. Encouraging reflection with a related wellness question.
Inspiration
“People tend to set the same exact resolution year after year,’ says psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD. ‘It really shows that there is a gap between what we do and what we want.” – Cleveland Clinic
“Every year more than 50% of people make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, work out, save money, get a promotion, get a raise, and more. And yet, virtually every study tells us that around 80% of New Year’s resolutions will get abandoned around [February].” – Forbes
What You Deserve
New year, new you? Feels a little overwhelming doesn’t it?
New Year’s resolutions can be the catalyst for people to finally start holding themselves accountable and implement healthy habits into their life. But why are there still so many people who quit their resolutions within one month?!
If a New Year’s resolution fails, it’s most likely because one of these was completely missing:
- Purpose
- Consistency
- Joy
Let’s talk about why these matter…
Purpose:
Change will never happen unless you know why it needs to happen. So, know your WHY! Your lifestyle change has to matter to you, not someone else.
If someone has not established their why or their purpose for changing something in their life, they will not feel as passionate about following through.
Consistency:
People often set the bar REALLY high with their New Year’s resolutions.
Start small. It’s not feasible to set major resolutions that completely alter every part of your lifestyle. For example, it’s going to be unrealistic to wake up earlier, read a book a month, make home-cooked dinners every weeknight, and exercise four times a week if you weren’t doing these things before. How can you expect to stay consistent when such drastic changes are obviously overwhelming?
We know a habit cannot develop without consistency. However, consistency cannot develop without some sort of plan of action. So, create a plan of action to tackle exercising four times a week first. Once you feel like that’s become a part of your lifestyle, then tackle more homecooked meals.
Consistency is more likely to occur when focusing on one thing at a time.
Joy:
The easiest way to invite change into your life is to simply find a more positive, enjoyable approach to your health. Life is truly too short to try to develop and maintain habits that do not spark joy.
Some examples of how to bring joy into your life with habits:
- Ditch dieting—stop focusing on what to take out. Instead, focus on what you can add in. This is known as “crowding out.” Add one vegetable to each meal. Add in a nourishing, filling snack.
- Exercise is not a punishment—find movement you enjoy and that blends into your lifestyle naturally. You may not look forward to it at the beginning, but soon enough, the way the movement makes you feel sparks joy because it is movement that makes sense for you.
- Re-evaluate things you thought sparked joy—are you doing anything that you think relaxes you but really ignites anxiety? Examples could be scrolling on social media or only doing intense cardio as your exercise every day.
So, are you ready to re-evaluate your New Year’s resolutions?
Accountability
At School:Create a lesson that inspires students to create a New Year’s resolution that focuses on purpose, consistency, and joy. Or, can you create a class-wide New Year’s resolution focusing on purpose, consistency, and joy that all students can work toward together?
At Home: Invite family members into this conversation. Ask them to reflect on a resolution they’ve set and discuss how they can focus on purpose, consistency, and joy.
Reflect
What’s holding you back from being the best version of yourself this year?
In health and happiness,
Lauren Girgash
Founder of Livable Learning
Recent Comments