New Year — Transformed You!
The Oily Home Companion
You’ve probably heard me talk about ditching and switching to healthier and safer products. But today let’s talk about ditching and switching from a different point of view, a more transformed mind, body, and spirit. With a new year comes the opportunity to be reflective and ask ourselves some questions.
Where is there excess? What no longer serves us? How much time are we spending in quiet and prayer daily? Whose presence adds more angst to our life than positivity? When within reason, instead of just getting rid of them, how can we show them love and pray for them, so the situation is more positive for everyone? How have we treated others? How have we treated ourself? As we reflect on these questions, we can be challenged to ditch and switch in a different way than we have talked about before. We know that health is multifaceted. So, what can be ditched, what can be switched, and what can we add in? Here are some ideas to get started!
Personal Goals
Investing in this process isn’t selfish, but it does require being intentionally minded about how to take care of yourself daily in the new year.
Consider your mental and emotional health. Are you feeling frazzled, spread thin, lonely, stressed or discontent? How are your relationships? Are you relaxed in your home environment, or is it cluttered and stressing you out? If so, now might be the time to make some goals to improve on those things!
Switch to a clutter-free mindset! If you read our Hygge Winter blog, you already saw some tips about creating a cozy, peaceful environment. Purging the clutter & excess is part of that. Whether you need to “Marie Kondo” your house and do a deep clutter-detox or just need to straighten things up, you will feel LIGHTER and LIBERATED once you do so!
When possible, switch your time and energy towards those who brighten your day, who leave you feeling worthy and loved, and who radiate joy. When not, YOU BE THE CHANGE! Instead of falling into the trap of gossip, pity parties, and complaining, be the one who brings the atmosphere of positivity.
Switch a bad habit for a good one! Sounds more simple than it feels, but we can do hard things! Be gentle with yourself, but aim for change!
Switch your words to ones that are thought out, gentle, honest, and that build others up. We live in a world where the modern default is to speak unfiltered...often to the detriment of those around us. It can be frustrating and sometimes even infuriating when others come at us with the ugliness of the world. It’s tempting to retaliate and often encouraged in today’s society. If a healthier/happier mind and soul is one of our goals, we can work to guard our speech and be intentional about what we say, even when others are not.
Family Goals
Is it a coincidence that family are the ones that we love the most but are also the ones who can drive us the most bonkers?
It happens. It’s not always sunshine and roses. Families have squabbles and sometimes tension builds. Real life families are just that...REAL. When you get a bunch of humans together...there is just a whole lot of room for error. And boy, do we mess that up sometimes! At the end of the day, these people are the ones that are dearest to our hearts, which is often why discord is so painful when it exists.
Take a look at your relationships in your family. Are you devoting enough time and energy into nurturing them? Often people act up when they are seeking attention or because they finally feel safe to let it all hang out. Are there problems that need attention or bitterness that needs to be dealt with so that peace can return to a relationship or do we just need to re-establish healthy boundaries and start afresh?
Switch around your priorities so that God and family are the hub! Ditch the tendency to say yes to EVERYTHING. Doing so will help you reserve time for family--time to be together, uninterrupted, enjoying each other’s company. Be available, be in present time, and enJOY!
Ditch the grudges that get in the way of moving forward. Love is stronger than the most stubborn soul. Switch to forgiveness. Forgiving wrongs, even without ever receiving an apology, allows hearts to mend.
Ditch some of the burdens like hatred, worry, resentment, and suspicion. Though we cannot just flip a switch and make them disappear, we can work towards change. We have YL’s oils that offer emotional support like Release, Peace and Calming or Stress Away. We can pray about the situations that are out of our control and hope for positive change.
Health Goal
Getting healthy in the new year isn’t just about losing holiday weight or “gettin’ ripped”.
Physical health is so much more! As we consider health goals for 2020, we should consider what we eat, how we sleep, and what we bring into our living environment.
Switch in some healthier food options! Redesign the way you think of your food...it’s not just fun, flavors, and fullness...food is fuel! Eat the rainbow! Add color to your meals with fruits and veggies. Maybe try a new vegetable each month and try to cook with it several times. Set yourself up for success in your dietary changes by making some easy grab ‘n go options like sprouted seeds and nuts, frozen cranberries or grapes, apples, or nut butters & celery.
Switch out the chemically-laden junk! Still have some rogue bleach-based wipes hiding under your sink? Still clinging to that magical white liquid scrub? There’s no time like now! Buy or make your own DIY Thieves wipes! Grab some baking soda, citric acid, Thieves Household Cleaner, and whip up your own SAFE version of that scrubby goodness! If you know it’s not safe or healthy for you, just leave it in 2019!
Add a little bit of TLC to your night time routine. As you are settling down for the evening, incorporate some oils (Cedarwood, Lavender, Sleepyize are some great ones), perhaps a foot soak or bath, some devotional time, or a cup of caffeine-free tea. Maybe start your “to bed” process a little earlier to build in time to read a chapter or two (without falling asleep two words in, hahaha). Just a change or two geared towards settling our minds can make a big impact on our quality of rest at night!
Incorporate more movement into your life! No matter what your level of fitness is, just add SOME form of movement--a little walking, some seated calisthenics, stretching, lifting small weights while watching a show, or have a full out work dancing! Don’t forget to “grease the hinges”—a.k.a use some oils before and after your exercise to support those muscles! See the next section for some tips from Verick!
Fresh & Fit
Pre-workout supplementation is all about preparing your body for the energy output. Pure Protein Complete, Ningxia Red, and Agilease are perfect options to nourish muscles, support joints, and Breathe Again or RC clear the air for deeper breathing during workouts! 💪
During your workout you can offer your body both emotional and physical support with Motivation oil, Peppermint & Peppermint Vitality, Breathe Again, Ningxia Nitro, and Nutmeg essential oil!
Yep, some don’t know this but Nutmeg Vitality is an oil that can bring you calm and focus during your workout and is especially interesting to research, so make sure you do! Ningxia Nitro is an easy supplement to take along on your run or to the gym. With green tea extract & 42g of naturally occurring caffeine, you get the benefit of a little energy boost without jitters or a crash afterwards!
Post workout muscle recovery is way easier with Aminowise. It has branched-chain amino acids which replaces essential amino acids used during exercise, increasing the body’s ability to make muscle gains and decrease muscle soreness. Unlike many other amino acid supplements on the market, Aminowise is sweetened with stevia, not sugar or chemicals. And let’s not forget Sulfurzyme! Our bodies need sulfur and this supplement will help pull out toxins for a faster recovery. OrthoEase massage oil is perfect for after workout relief and soothing fatigued muscles. Panaway essential oil and Cool Azul Pain Cream have a combination of minty oils to offer cooling relief.
Every STEP of the way, Young Living has support for your fitness routine!
Recipes
Adding in some new recipes can be really fun. It freshens up the kitchen routine! OHC has some ideas to get you started. Check out the links below for some healthy winter recipes.
Financial Goals
Finances are often a stressor in a household, even if you are a household of one, haha!
Between the usual bills, rent/mortgages, groceries, and holiday spending...so much of daily life revolves around money in and money out. Add in some surprise expenditures like a roof repair after a storm, new tires on the car, or replacing a broken water heater and *wham* you’ve started to get the nervous sweats! Take a look at your finances and see how you feel about them. Is this an area of strength for you or is there room for positive change?
Ditch frivolous spending and switch to more intentional purchases. Little splurges can add up really fast! Switch to a more regimented spending routine so you have the money for what’s important to your family’s goals!
Switch to a budget! Sometimes all we need in order to make significant gains in our finances is to pay attention to what we are spending our money on and adjust. Budgeting takes what we have and helps us stay accountable to our financial goals by spending the right amount on needs and wants. Make sure you place a priority on the RIGHT things. Spending money on your health and wellness is something you will not regret later, that extra latte or dinner out, or purse you don’t need? Priorities!
Switch in more ways to increase your available budget! Side hustles can be a great way to supplement your current income. I know one that worked for me! I’d be happy to help!
Make SMART Goals
Have you heard of a SMART goal?
Making a SMART goal is all about being specific and creating a vision for how you will facilitate success. Your goal for the new year must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-limited. (S.M.A.R.T.)
When we are specific about our goals for the new year, it helps us develop vision. Think about vision boards! It’s similar to that concept. We are giving it more thought. The specifics address what we will do and how we will do it. Seeing the steps makes it more likely to be achieved! We created this handy worksheet to help outline your new years goals!
Make sure your goal is measurable. Give it some way to be quantified so that your success is undeniable! Instead of just saying you want to read more in 2020, make a goal to read 5 new books in 2020.
Ambition is good and yes, it is necessary...BUT make sure that your goal is truly attainable. Do not set yourself up for utter failure. Again, identifying the steps you need to take to accomplish your goal will make it more approachable. Is it a realistic goal for YOU? You’ll be less likely to give up if you recognize that you can have little successes along the way to achieving your final goal!
How many of you work best with a deadline?? Having the framework, the timeline, the expectation of a completed task all help to manage our time. Due dates tend to be pretty motivating, right?! So, give yourself a deadline...or even a series of deadlines where you will evaluate the progress towards your goal. Have a running buddy that has similar goals to high five and cheer one another on!!
Changing your resolutions into SMART goals is an easy way to give yourself a leg up on keeping at your goal! There is less room for failure when you carefully address what you want, why you want it, and how you can achieve it. 2020 is a fresh start...let’s build a beautiful year!
Oily Support
As we chase our goals for 2020, let’s make sure that we are using our oils mindfully and often!
Remember, if the oil stays on the shelf it’s not working for you! Here are some ideas about which oils to reach for.
Personal Goals:
Acceptance, Transformation, Build Your Dream, Highest Potential, Humility, Orange and Joy together over the heart
Family Goals: Believe, Stress Away, Gathering
Health Goals:
Peppermint, Breathe Again or RC, Motivation, EnRgee
Financial Goals: Abundance, Valor
Are there more options? So many! Can some of these suggestions overlap category to category? Absolutely! Find which oil speaks to your situation and your SMART goal. Don’t underestimate the power of being purposeful and prayerful in how we use our oils!
2020 Vision
Recently I found myself running up on a couple of curbs and having a hard time parking.
My teens and tween were starting to lose confidence in my chauffeuring capabilities. “Surely it is my vision”, I said. “It couldn’t possibly be because I stink at driving all the sudden, after all, I’m 41, most people start to need readers in their 40’s, right? Or-maybe it’s my depth perception.” I thought. I made the appointment for an obscenely early morning and kicked myself the whole way there that I was missing a much needed hour of sleep and my morning routine at home. What I didn’t expect to hear after the screening was, “Well, we wanted to give you a prescription, but ma’am, you have perfect 2020 vision.” I jokingly said, half sheepishly, as I paid, “So, I guess I just need to learn how to drive and park my vehicle.” As I left there that day, I got to thinking. How many of us are in a “new vehicle” and we haven’t taken the time to read the manual or set up the seats and mirrors for our height, or learn how to park a larger “wheel base”? See, while we all have a chance to improve our vision in life, if needed, sometimes some of us just need to take the time to learn how to properly use the vehicle we’ve been given to help others. And as for vision, the Bible says in Habakkuk 2:2 to write it down*—so I’m taking the time to do just that and I’m keeping it simple this year with the 2020 Vision and goals sheet we shared above. (You can also click here to download and print yours out!) I’ll Ningxia Red toast you to a brand new year of transformed 2020 vision... and no curbs!