Over my lifetime, I developed this idea of Healthy Rhythms as a way to build a lifestyle that is sustainable.  The word Rhythms is very intentional, as opposed to choosing Routines.

Routines tend to be rigid, but we can flow with rhythms.  We tend to give up on routines, but we can tweak (maintain) rhythms.  Those who know me would most likely identify me as “routine-oriented”, and you are not entirely wrong.  You may not know, however, that one of my favorite activities is to change my routines – or better said in my opinion, to tweak the daily flow of my Healthy Rhythms.

This is one of the things I like about New Year’s.  It is an opportunity for me to sit down with my Life Roadmap, discern where my directions have changed, intentionally or unintentionally, or where priorities in my life are shifting – and then tweak my lifestyle so as to stay in Healthy Rhythm.

New Year’s resolutions have gotten a bad reputation among many because they are often lofty goals that become seen as unrealistic within a month, and then given up on.  Instead, why not let New Year’s become just another opportunity to review your life goals and tweak your rhythm to bring you closer to realizing them?  The fact is that New Year’s is just one opportunity because we have many chances to maintain our rhythm, such as:

• Coming to the end of a vacation
• All holidays
• The change of seasons
• The 1st of a new month
• Mondays
• Every morning, for that matter, if necessary

Accounting for your priorities and the non-negotiables of life that impact your schedule, take the time to build daily/weekly/monthly activities that will ensure you improve your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.  Doing this exercise with a Life Roadmap already put together provides the clarity you need to be always navigating toward who you want to be.  Then, both regularly and on an as-needed basis, review & maintain these activities to stay fresh and stay focused.

And may the New Year, as challenging as it will almost certainly be, find you living Healthy Rhythms!