By Fern Tausig
On Your Mind
Fern Tausig
Think about whether you have changed since a year ago. There may have been changes that you didn’t plan or have any control over. We have all changed in some ways. We have all been touched by this pandemic in one way or another. We have learned more about science and germs than we ever cared about, and we have survived one of the most contentious elections in the history of our country that tore apart families and friendships.
How have you changed? Are your changes positive or negative? Remember, you can’t control the world around you, but you can have control over the way you allow things to affect you and the way you respond to them.
I have worked with many people in the past few months who have all handled this situation differently. There are those who took advantage of the isolation through introspection and decided to make major changes in their lives. Many have lost weight by cooking more interesting meals. Some began exercising or meditating or reconnecting with old friends. Others just learned to feel grateful for the small blessings in their lives. Then there were those who gained weight, became more anxious and lost sleep. I was able to help them. I’m wondering how many of you reading this are in the first group or the second group.
There are real things you easily can do to make needed changes in your habits and lifestyle. Habits are easier to change than you may have believed. The first step is to set some goals. Take inventory of the parts of your life that are not contributing to your wellbeing. They should be simple and realistic. Think of the benefits you will get from making those improvements. If you haven’t been sleeping well, you can learn to sleep better. Sleep is just a habit.
Sometimes the changes are easy. Making changes to the kind of food you eat by finding ways to add fruit and vegetables or just eliminating junk from your life is good.
Another way to make a change is to find the silver linings in your experiences last year. Silver linings are those things optimists look for to find the positive in negative experiences. How often did you connect with people you love in a more meaningful way? Did you find creative ways to spend your time at home?
The new year has many exciting positive things to look forward to. Once the vaccines are in place life can begin to come back to a new normal. How will yours be different? How have you changed and how do you want to change in the new year?
Fern is a certified hypnotist, lifecoach and health educator. She can be reached at myhealinghypnosis.com.
