Take a few moments today to reflect on the past year – what have you learned? What are you grateful for? What would you like to do differently in the new year? Try to write down a few of your reflections and feel free to look at them periodically in the new year.

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Do you see someone harassing someone else and don’t say anything? Do you witness injustice around you and don’t speak up? Do you allow someone to do something to you that you don’t like, and you don’t speak up? Do you not speak up because you think someone else will? Are you afraid of what may happen if you speak up? Are you afraid you might get pulled into the situation? Or are you afraid of other people judging you? Whether you do or don’t speak up, reflect on why, and think about whether you need to speak up more – after all, if you don’t speak up, who will?

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When we think about taking responsibility, we usually think about being responsible for something or someone, or acting responsibly, i.e., not stupid or immaturely. However, taking responsibility can mean something totally different: it can empower us to be responsible for our own feelings and thoughts and avoid blaming others. Taking responsibility for our own lives can be challenging, but once we realize that our moods, feelings, and thoughts are completely in our control, taking responsibility will seem like the right thing to do.

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I love sugar and sweet treats. In fact, often I crave something sweet and am not satisfied until I get it. Interestingly, a friend of mine (who is a doctor of Naturopathy) sent me an article recapping a research study, which concluded that refined sugar is far more addictive than cocaine! 94% of rats who were allowed to choose between sugar water and cocaine chose sugar. Even rats who were originally addicted to cocaine quickly switched their preference to sugar once it was offered as a choice. Also, the rats were more willing to work for sugar than for cocaine! I’ll spare you the greater details of the study, but wow – this explains the difficulty I have between choosing between a chocolate brownie and a plate full of veggies! However, becoming conscious of your addictions is the first step in breaking them. What do you think? Sugar is the new cocaine – does anyone else feel they may have a sugar addiction?

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Hold the door open for an extra 5 seconds when someone is following us into a store.

Help someone carry their groceries out to their car.

Allow two people to pull out in front of you while driving (instead of the usual 1 or 0).

Ask someone who seems to be struggling if you can help them.

There are infinite ways in which we can lend a hand to someone who may or may not be in need. Let’s step it up and lend a hand whenever we can. 

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In my spinning classes, we do speed drills. For the longer speed drills and when we are riding at 90 to 100% of our maximum speed, instead of having students envision themselves on a road, going for the finish line (although I do give them this option), I encourage students to think about a goal or a dream they have, and use the speed drills to push themselves towards that goal or dream. Whether you’re in a spinning class at 100% speed or walking on the treadmill, try meditating on something you’d like to see come into fruition, and push yourself harder or longer to reach that goal while working out. 

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Roll the shoulders forwards in a circular motion a few times, then backwards a few times. Then pull the shoulders up to the ears, bring them back, and slowly release them down. Doing shoulder rolls is a quick way to loosen up the shoulders, upper back, and neck muscles, and also a good way to get in touch with and release any tension that may be building up in your body. 

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We’ve all had days when everything seems to go wrong, and all we want to do is complain. We’ve also had days in which someone has complained to us, and we wonder, “Gosh, do I sound like her?!” What good does complaining do? The more we send out negative energy and vocalize what we don’t want or don’t like, the less positive energy we are able to send out to attract what we DO want. Next time you find yourself complaining, try to stop, reel it in, take a few deep breaths, and replace the complaint with something you are thankful for.

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Eat an extra serving of fruit.

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Something I’ve noticed in my workout classes is that almost everyone ends up hunching their shoulders when they are lifting weights, doing cardio, or even just stretching. While lifting weights, we are either unaware that our shoulders are rounding forward and hunching up towards our ears, or we are lifting too much weight and sacrificing proper form. While doing cardio, we often pay so much attention to our limbs that are moving and sacrifice our posture. While stretching and relaxing, the tops of the shoulders tend to make their way up towards the ears, regardless of if we are bending over or lifting our arms straight up. So wherever we are, whatever workout we’re doing, let’s try to pay attention to our hunched shoulders while exercising, and try to relax the shoulders while still getting a great workout.

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