Cheers to the New Year's Resolution Diet

We’re approaching a new year.

A fresh start.

Open a new jar of honey and salivate at the pop of natural gooey sweetness.

What were you grateful for in 2017?

What are you shedding for 2018?

What fears held you back in 2017?

What fears will you overcome in 2018?

You could die this year. So could any of your loved ones.

How can you make each new day count?

What are your resolutions or goals?

Maybe you want to lose ten pounds, eat healthier or join a gym and hit the ground running.

Maybe you want to level up in your job and score a promotion.

Regardless of the resolution you choose, it’ll be easy to fall off the wagon after the first few weeks. You didn’t ask my opinion on this, but here you are curious enough to be reading this post, so here's food for thought on how to begin and maintain the Diet of 2018: Shedding what no longer works to welcome positive growth and new healthy habits to stick to you…like honey.

Be continually grateful for the people and situations in your life – even the ones that frustrate you because they are teaching you something about yourself. Gift yourself a gratefulness journal or keep track of your notes on your tablet or phone. It helps to take several minutes in the morning to do this before you start your day, because it puts into perspective what matters, and help set you up to handle difficult personalities with fearlessness because you’re grateful for them. If you’re grateful for them, then they are only here to help you achieve your goals.

If you think you’re a rotten person starting the year, you’ll realize it feels good to come at things from an angle of fearlessness based in kindness, compassion and gratefulness. We’re not all born rotten, by the way. If that’s how you feel, it’s because you’ve allowed other people’s messages to affect you in a profound way. I suggest reading or listening to “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz if you’d like to learn more about shedding old belief systems that hold you back from your personal success.

Always be learning about yourself and about the world. Some people are naturally more inquisitive than others, but we stagnate when we stop learning, and when we stagnate, we are prone to emotional and physical health issues. A big plus for you as a daily learner – you’re adding value as an employee by adopting the attitude of a student. Don’t assume you know everything, even if you’re CEO. There’s ALWAYS more to learn. It’s your job to be a good student, so just like in school, taking notes will help. Keeping a daily journal for these notes will help you practice your good student-dom, and homework includes spending some time reflecting on what you’re learning and how it’s effecting you.

Realize that you are ALWAYS teaching, so be conscious of this, as people around you are learning from your example. It might make you think twice before gossiping about Clara down the hall or eating a Big Mac for lunch.

Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga suggests that instructors of kundalini yoga do the following:

Men: Connect your heart with your actions.

Women: Connect your intuition with your heart.

You don't need to be a kundalini yoga instructor to absorb the suggestion. When your communications and actions are coming authentically from your heart, people will listen and your words will engage.

In addition, by caring for your body and transforming it, you're communicating that you care enough about yourself to take care of your blood flow, your heart strength, your muscles and bones that hold you together as you age. You're communicating you give a sh*t about your mental well being too, as exercise helps us deal with stress. Let's face it - it is effective to blow off steam in the middle of the work day by working out during lunch break. I swear by it and I work with an executive who swears by it - he ensures that he books zero meetings during his workout time. It's undeniable that he's zesty, youthful and energized at work. His commitment to the workouts and the effect they have on his outlook at work provide teachable moments for others.

To wrap it all up, traditional New Years Resolutions like “eating healthier”, “losing ten pounds” and “hitting the gym hard” will fall into place if you’re

grateful for your body and your health
grateful for the opportunities to look and feel better
grateful for the opportunities to attract like-minded people into your life by going to the gym, eating natural foods and in turn feeling like a million bucks
learning which foods makes your body and mind feel optimized and alert throughout the day
learning which exercises make you feel limber and strong, and which ones will boost your endurance
learning that a positive interaction with a stranger can make your day and boost your happiness
learning that it’s important to take time to take care of your mind, body and spirit
intent on teaching your employees what you expect from them by leading by example without judgment or expectations
intent on teaching your kids healthy behaviors that you never had growing up
intent on teaching others around you that honesty is the best policy
Self-honesty can make us address our habits
Self-honesty can thrust us into individual therapy to help heal our mind and make sense of all the emotional baggage that we carry around
Self-honesty can have us seeking meditation to clear those junk thoughts and create space
Self-honesty can thrust us into couples therapy to improve the way we communicate by learning tools to speak to each other from a place of love instead of a place of frustration and fear