A few years back, I did a “decade in review” exercise guided by the prominent coach Marie Forleo.
She said something that really resonated…
“Most people overestimate what they can do in 1 year YET underestimate what they can do in a decade”
That was back in December 2019.
Since then, I’ve kept a decade-journal where I’ve consistently set up 3 “areas” of focus for the year, pick a “guiding word”, do a mid-year review to re-inspire, make adjustments and re-focus. At the end of the year, I do a review which then informs my decision making for the next year.
While most of us believe accomplishing 3 things in a given year isn’t much, the reality is if we stay course, that builds up to 30 important achievements in a given decade.
And I don’t know about you, but I’ll take that!
What I like about the method, is that helps me to stay focussed on a few key areas instead of being all over the place (which personally, I find very overwhelming and demotivating).
Over the past 4 years, I’ve seen myself make more progress this way.
If this sounds like a more realistic and enjoyable way to make progress, I encourage you to try it!
And if you need some inspiration, check out these 5 things to do THIS DECADE so that the next one your healthier & best one yet!
Ready? Here they are:
1. Stop dieting, start eating all the macronutrients. I believe in eating all of the macronutrients in a balanced way. Each macronutrient is essential to our health and (contrary to popular believe) NO MACRONUTRIENT is better than other.
Cutting out entire food groups/categories (as it happens with fad diets) leads to bodily imbalances and nutritional deficiencies.
Tip: aim to include some complex carbohydrates, healthy fats a good quality proteins at each meal to ensure you’re getting proper balance and enough of each.
2. Find ways to manage stress. I know, easier said than done but we need to find ways to manage stress because it truly is the root of all illness and imbalances. I often see women in my practice who are doing “everything well” with their nutrition & supplements, yet, stress is out of control and is ruining their health. If you’re in your 40s and 50s and navigating abrupt hormone shifts, this is TOP priority.
Tip: include walks in nature & deep breathing most days. They are free and available pretty much anytime, anywhere.
3. Make exercise part of your life. If regular physical activity is not yet part of your life, we need to understand how essential it is in helping us thrive in our bodies. From helping lower inflammation, improve mental health, insulin response, sleep quality, bone health. I honestly can’t stress enough how important moving our bodies on a regular basis is.
Tip: Start TODAY and please don’t get hung up on the technicalities. EVERYTHING counts. Walking, jogging, yoga, pilates, stretches weight lifting, dancing. JUST START.
4. Deal with health issues now. If you’ve got an injury, a cavity, wonky blood sugars, aches & pains please don’t tell yourself you don’t have time for that and wait until things become unmanageable. I’m not talking about going on a searching expedition to find what’s wrong with you, I’m talking about those things we know we shouldn’t neglect.
Tip: have a preventive focus by making small & consistent changes. Rather than waiting until you have to completely overhaul your health which will cost you $$$$ not to mention how stressful that is.
5. Make friends, find hobbies, nurture relationships and have interests to fall back on. This is hands down the best intervention to keep our spirits and mental health in check. There’s no amount of salads we can eat or workouts we can do to replace human connection.
Tip: do 1 social thing and/or hobby at least once a week. Whether is a date with a friend, a phone call with family member, a chat with a neighbour or attending a class or group activity, make sure you do more than chores and working. There truly is more to life than fulfilling our duties and when all is done it is the quality of our relationships that will determine the quality of our days.
Oh, and if you want to check out that “decade in review” exercise by Marie Forleo, here it is!
Take good care,
Pamela