Be your best self in 2018

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” — Brad Paisley

I’m ready to rock 2018, write a fabulous 365-page book. So ahead of the celebrations ringing in the New Year, I’m taking in ideas for resolutions.

“Organization is my Achilles’ heel,” said my friend Marie. “So my resolution this 2018 is to implement systems that make the running of our household more smooth. A place for everything and everything in its place. A friend of mine was very pleased with the work a professional organizer did in her home to help her get on top of the organization (Minney Spaces Organizing).

My second resolution, which frankly is the more important one, is to find three things each day for which I am grateful and highlight them, meditate on them for a few quiet moments each day, and journal them. We have been doing it as a family each day, but I would like to go deeper personally with gratitude; it’s so good for one’s mental health. So starting a gratitude journal, and adding in inspirational quotes.”

Nancy’s resolution was more on the spiritual side. “I want to wake up every day with joy in my heart,” she said, “and joyfully greet each of my family members with a ‘Good Morning!’ Some mornings that is more difficult than others, especially pre-cappuccino and with teens,” she laughed. “And my second resolution, which goes hand-in-hand with the first one, is to be deliberate with gratitude in my life.”

“I typically don’t make ‘New Year’s resolutions,’ but rather set short-term, specific and measurable goals in each area of life throughout the year,” said Teresa Gisla, a local nurse, certified personal trainer, and Isagenix nutritional products representative (323-356-0104 or Facebook.com/teresa.gisla). “However, the new year is a great opportunity to examine your life. Unfortunately for many, the discomfort of change is enough to make resolutions seem unimportant. We often start out excited about our new resolve — we envision the day when we have accomplished what we have set out to achieve. Belief, motivation, and effort are high. But we quickly discover what change actually requires and we lose hope and motivation, and effort wanes.”

Focusing on why you made the resolution in the first place, Gisla says, “will pull you through the discomfort and into the later stages of growth and transformation where there is little to no resistance because of who you have become in the process.”

Gisla says Isagenix shakes and supplements helped set her on a path to resolution achievement. “I have been using the Isagenix program and products for three years now [and they have] given me freedom from dieting altogether. I am now able to push cruise-control on my health and spend my mental and emotional energy on other things in life.... I initially started out as a product user wanting to lose weight and after having great success, decided this was something everyone deserves the chance to experience.” (Isagenix 30 Day System, $378.50)

“We are going to do the Whole30,” explained friend Bernice, who it seems is not free from dieting. “It lasts 30 days and my husband thinks of it as torture but weirdly also likes it — not just for the results but also for the discipline one has to have to do it. We always lose weight and have lots of energy. It’s hard, because there’s no soy, dairy, wheat, vegetable, corn oil, rice, corn, sugar. And those ingredients are in lots of things. The hardest thing about it for me is there’s no alcohol, so no wine with dinner. But on a positive note, it really gets me out of my cooking rut, doing the same thing over and over again. I have to search out new recipes and find lots of different preparations for vegetables. You basically eat a lot of meat, vegetables, and nuts.”

My friend Moira says her resolution for 2018 will be to explore new-found love from 2017. “I learned Zumba, and I work out twice a week at Move Fitness & Dance”. “This coming year, I want to exercise even more, and add in PIYO or yoga to my weekly workouts” (unlimited fitness classes for $49 a month).