The new year symbolizes a fresh start, and along with that come New Year’s Resolutions, but the term resolution is often fleeting, and we’ve become disconnected to the deeper meaning.
If you have read my books or followed my blog you probably know I don’t encourage resolutions. Instead I teach the value of creating rituals. Creating a daily ritual or routine that focuses on the outcome you want will help fuel optimum health and help you achieve your goals this year!
Instead of making a resolution (which so many fail to keep), I encourage you to try something a little different this year in order to manifest true success over the next 12 months and in life. Ask yourself, what do you want to create in the world or who do you want to become? This may feel overwhelming to think about or answer, but it’s easy to get off track if you don’t establish that first.
Without answering that question, digging deep and coming up with an honest answer that truly resonates with you, you’re likely to get off track, or maybe not even get on track in the first place!
When you don’t know who you want to be in the world or what you are creating, it is easy to fall into activities or relationships that don’t truly support and align with your highest intentions.
Answering that one question will save you time in the long run. Just slow down and tune into what it is that you truly want to create. Everything flows from that desired outcome.
Once you’ve established what you want to create in the world or who you want to become, try these 4 rituals that will help you get there.
Write Down Your Goals if You Want To Achieve Them
I journal daily, it’s an important ritual in my life that has supported so much personal growth. My journaling helps me set intentions for my life and my day, helps me work through my emotions and feelings, allows me to express gratitude, and so much more!
Writing things down makes them feel and be more concrete. It provides a whole new level of clarity. Your ideas become less vague and more defined. You’ve created something that now exists in the world, if only on a piece of paper…so far. You’ve given it some life, and that is a step forward. It also helps shift your focus throughout your day, and you’re more likely to become aware of opportunities. These opportunities are more easily missed if you’re only casually thinking about what you want rather than making it more concrete.
So, get excited about dreaming big, and voicing it, then write it down. A Dominican University in California study looked at hundreds of men and women of all ages and backgrounds and discovered among the groups, those who wrote down their goals and dreams on a regular basis were 42% more likely to achieve them. If you’re hoping to improve the chances of reaching them even further, share your written goals with a friend. One caveat, make sure it’s a friend who believes in your ability to succeed!
If you need any more reasons to write down your dreams and goals here’s another -you’ll have a better chance of remembering them. This may not seem important (why would you forget your goals and dreams), but it’s easy to forget what we’re working toward when we allow the messages and activities of our daily lives to override our thinking. When you write it down, you’re activating a new dimension of consciousness and focus in your subconscious mind.
Create or Dial In Your Morning Practice
Have you started a morning practice yet? I’ve been talking about and recommending a morning practice for years. Often our days can start out feeling frazzled and we can feel disconnected from ourselves.
If you wake and immediately check your phone, start reading emails, instantly start attending to other’s needs, or begin thinking about the long checklist of things you have to do that day, you’ll likely feel like you’re running behind before you even begin. It’s hard to get into a good flow that way, where you feel like you’re starting your day focused and energized.
How you start anything influences the whole extent of it, and that is true for your entire day!
A morning practice can anchor you, and help you feel grounded rather than frazzled and chaotic. When I skip my morning routine my day feels more confused, muddled, and I experience dampened energy right from the start.
Schedule Your Morning Ritual and Stick to It
My morning practice has been a part of my daily ritual for years and when I stick to it, I’ve prepared myself to have an amazing day that allows me to be a present momma and to create away!
You’ll want to create a morning practice that works for you, don’t try to force it but do plan for it.
Support Your Digestion and Detox Every Morning
I start my day by supporting my body. I drink hot water with lemon, take my Feel Good SBO Probiotics (because gut health is critical for your success on so many levels, including improved mood!) and drink my Glowing Green Smoothie. If you haven’t tried my Glowing Green Smoothie (GGS for short), now is the time. It will give you an incredible amount of sustained energy, allowing you to tackle all of your day’s activities and any stressors or hurdles that arise.
Related: Dos and Don’ts of the Glowing Green Smoothie
Meditate and Journal Every Morning
My morning practice includes meditation and journaling. I like to meditate and see what comes through for me that day and how it informs my goals.
Once I’m done meditating my ritual includes writing out my goals for the day (yep, I begin my day by writing out that day’s goals). I don’t put a strict time limit on it, but I do give myself several minutes each morning to center and ground myself and set my intention for the day. Writing down a few words, reinforces my intentions for the day.
I suggest you create a routine that works for you. It may look a little different than mine, but try to dedicate the first 30 minutes to an hour of your day to it, and be consistent. It’s best when you make it a daily practice.
Create or Dial In a Nighttime Ritual
I was recently asked by a podcast listener which ritual would I never give up, my morning ritual or my nighttime ritual. And although it’s my morning ritual I can’t live without, I definitely promote nighttime rituals for greater physical and emotional health. Nighttime rituals allow us to honor our sleep, and recognize that it’s an important opportunity to support and rejuvenate our mind and body.
Related: If you’re interested in more simple wellness rituals to add throughout your day you can listen to the full podcast episode.
A good nighttime routine establishes consistency with your sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene includes not only what you do, but also your sleep environment. When you create a consistent routine you’ll begin to notice the positive effects it has on providing you with true beauty sleep.
Reduce Blue Light at Night
To create a nighttime routine you can do something as simple as turning off electronic devices an hour or more before bedtime. Or at the very least, if you feel you can’t give up your screen time completely before bed, wear blue light blocking glasses. Blue light blocking glasses will help prevent a delay in your body’s internal melatonin production. Melatonin is the “sleep hormone”. It’s the hormone that helps you get drowsy and tells your body it’s time for bed, among other benefits.
Don’t Eat Before Bed
I also highly recommend against eating before bedtime, especially if you want healthy glowing skin. True beauty sleep requires quality sleep. When you eat before bed, your body uses a tremendous amount of energy to digest the food you’ve just eaten while you’re sleeping. So rather than repairing and rejuvenating your entire body, including your skin which is your body’s largest organ, it’s digesting that evening snack or meal.
Do Yoga or Simply Move Before Bed
Simple movement exercises are also great for preparing your body before bed, I do a few simply cat cow stretches before bed. And I usually take a few moments to breathe and be mindful before drifting off to sleep. It just seems to help me get into a calmer state of mind for better rest.
Create a Comfortable Sleep Environment
Also important is to create a comfortable sleep environment. You should feel good sleeping on your mattress and pillow, if they’re old or don’t support you properly anymore, consider swapping them out. A nice clean set of soft sheets does wonders for your rest too. I also like keeping my bedroom environment cool at night (it helps us get into deeper sleep) and run a quiet air filter in the room at night.
These are just a few ways you can honor the length, duration and quality of your sleep and is all part of a true beauty practice. I talk a lot about Solluna’s Four Cornerstones of True Beauty. If you haven’t read our true beauty guide yet, I highly encourage it. It’s a great guide for helping you incorporate tools and activities ranging from food to body to emotional well-being to spiritual growth.
Download our Four Cornerstones Guide Now
Tap Into the Amazing Wisdom of Your Body
I’ve written and spoken about this a lot throughout the years. I find many people focus on what they’re missing, and work on filling in the gaps, rather than focusing on what they can do more holistically to support their overall vitality and wellness. I believe if you focus on supporting your body’s ability to do what it’s designed to do, you can achieve even greater levels of awareness and health.
Choose Whole Foods to Nourish Your Body
Instead of taking dozens of supplements to fill in the gaps of a poor diet (often with isolated nutrients that aren’t part of a whole food complex that are easily absorbed by the body), add in whole foods that contain those nutrients instead. You’ll get the bonus of more fiber which also supports digestion and your organs responsible for helping your body detox heavy metals, pesticides, toxins and chemicals.
Reduce or Eliminate Pesticides and Chemicals From Your Diet
Try to remove as many foods as you can from your diet that contain dyes, chemicals and preservatives that essentially gunk up and slow down your body’s internal systems.
Choose to Support Your Body’s Digestive System
I get asked often why I never added individual nutrient supplements or a multivitamin or multimineral to my Feel Good Supplement line and I’ve always responded that I focus on products that I believe support the body in a more complete and holistic way. If you take a good sbo probiotic, digestive enzymes and oxygen cleanse aid (Detoxy), you’ll absorb nutrients more effectively which improves mood, energy and overall health. All three work together synergistically for a powerful digestion supporting trio! That’s why I promote them as a Feel Good Starter Kit.
Begin a Daily Meditation Practice
Meditation is another way to tap into your body’s own innate intelligence. So many insights bubble to the surface after I meditate and it helps me resolve emotional unrest or anxieties. It also helps me feel more centered throughout the ups and downs of the day. When you carve out that “me time” and be still you are supporting your adrenal and nervous system.
I believe daily meditation is the single most powerful way to tune in to your real power, and your real truth. It’s an opportunity to look within and begin to connect to your true, unlimited power to heal emotionally and physically. You’ll notice I mention it as an integral part of my morning practice – it’s that important to me!
I encourage you to start a simple meditation practice (I recommend you begin during your morning or nighttime ritual, but anytime you can fit it into your schedule is beneficial). You can work your way up to a longer practice over time.
Meditation can take many forms from setting intentions, to praying, to listening to your breath, or practicing other meditative techniques. The form matters less than your consistency to the practice.
If starting all of these rituals at one time feels a little overwhelming, that’s okay. You don’t need to adopt all four at the same time. Choose the rituals you feel will serve you best, and begin there. Perhaps writing down your goal to create rituals you’ll stick to consistently in 2021 is the best place to start!
So true in life you have to have conciency, as life is to short. Things don’t always work out the way you plan but you have to have faith in oneself. There’s a true saying”try and try again”dont give up if something is worth it.
Thanks Kathryn, lots of love! Xo
Well Kimberly my New Years resolution is not to criticize one self so much , as then you feel not confident and then that leads to other things not positive things
Big hug charlotte
I love the idea of rituals instead of resolutions! It makes you less likely to feel like a failure!
Thanks for sharing your comments Katie. I agree! Sending you lots of love! Xo
I definitely agree that having a morning ritual can set a good Tone for the whole day. Something that I do have to admit is that, I am not a morning person…and sometimes I find it difficult getting out of bed or not hitting the snooze button. I guess practice makes perfect? :)
I totally understand Lainey, with the kiddos keeping me up, morning time can be rough. Keep up the great work in creating the best morning routine and in no time it will come naturally. Lots of love! Xo
I love rituals, specially after awakening and before going to bed. Love this article, so helpful! <3
Thanks so much and lots of love! Xo
If you are starting to use these three products, how should you use them? I do not yet have the SBO but have the detoxify. What is the best method to using these products?
Hi Cheryl – thanks for trying out my supplements! For optimum probiotic health, I recommend 2 capsules per day, in the morning with or without food. Detoxy: Take 3-5 capsules at bedtime with 8-12 ounces of water. Take daily or 3-4 times a week. If elimination occurs too frequently, reduce dosage until you are comfortable. Results and ideal dosage vary by individual. And my Digestive Enzymes: Take one capsule before each meal or smoothie. For enhanced digestion, take 2-3 capsules before your largest meal of the day (and smoothies, in cases of digestive distress). As always, I suggest journaling and writing down when you start taking these products, what you’re eating and how you feel afterwards so you can make any adjustments you need. First and foremost, listen to your body. Sending you so much love! Be well! Xo
thank you share this awesome informative post.
You so welcome! Lots of love! Xo
Thanks for sharing this amazing and useful blog.
Lots of love to you Lovely Jain! Xo