10 Tips To Focus On Wellness This New Year

Thanks for reading this post... we hope it's helpful! Be sure to check out our newest wellness products including bath soaking salts and sugar scrubs, crafted by the same women artisans who make our candles.

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The start of every year symbolizes a time for new beginnings and the opportunity to reflect on where we are and what our goals might be. While it can seem like everyone’s health-minded resolutions sound similar, there are ways to make them your own without feeling overwhelmed. 

One especially important category of healthy new year resolutions is self-care. With the added stress of working from home, caring for friends and family, and the many unknowns of life these days, taking care of yourself may not be a priority. Creating time to focus on wellness is important for your overall health and daily life in many ways. It can help your mental health by easing feelings of stress and frustration and by improving your happiness, energy levels, and concentration. 

Whether you’re using the new year to jumpstart your wellness journey or looking to incorporate lasting positive changes, remember that you’re making improvements just by deciding to take these steps towards a more positive lifestyle. To help, we’ve created a list of 10 wellness resolutions for a healthy new year. 

1. Start Small 

This is one that we really take to heart.  You may feel pressure to reinvent yourself or completely change your lifestyle at the start of a new year, but remember that meaningful change takes time. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, set small goals to reach your healthy new year resolutions.

If you want to focus on wellness and live a more mindful lifestyle in 2023, define what that means for you. Break down your wellness resolution into smaller (or even tiny!) steps you can incorporate into your daily life. No matter what your goal is, it’s more likely to stick throughout the year if you start small. 

2. Prioritize A Healthy Sleep Routine 

It may be counterintuitive for new year’s goals to revolve around sleep - isn’t it all about taking action? But getting a good night’s sleep is the foundation for a self-care routine. The many benefits include improving your immune system, mood, and concentration while reducing stress.

Try creating a nightly routine to improve your sleep by limiting screen time before bed, avoiding caffeine late in the day, and creating a clean and relaxing environment to sleep in (perhaps even include a stress-relieving candle).  By setting a healthy new year resolution to improve your sleep habits, you can see benefits in all areas of your life. 

3. Embrace New Experiences 

While you may have felt a bit stuck this past year, that doesn’t mean we can’t find excitement in life. One of our new year wellness tips is to try new things. This can be anything you want: following or creating new recipes like the delicious Roasted Tomato soup in the Soup for Syria cookbook (a personal favorite), incorporating a guided meditation into your day, or learning a new skill like knitting or painting.

Trying new things can help you to overcome fears, get to know yourself better, and spark creativity. It may even open a door for you into a community to meet new people. You never know what new experience you may love! 

4. Organize Your Space 

Another new year wellness tip is to organize your space. Decluttering your home, car, or office can help your mental health as well as make those areas easier to manage. By organizing what you do have and getting rid of excess, you may even be able to give well-loved items a second life by donating them.

If you’re looking to organize or downsize your closet, try splitting this task up into sections based on physical location (drawer, closet, that one chair in the corner) or season. You may discover some lost treasures while you’re at it! 

5. Limit Your Screen Time 

One healthy new year’s resolution is to limit your screen time. Whether you’re on the computer for work, reconnecting with friends over FaceTime, or taking a break from your day to scroll on social media, it can be easy to get distracted and stare at a screen for too long.

Setting a limit to your screen time as part of your wellness journey will not only reduce your eye strain and improve your focus, but it can also help with your sleep and in-person connections. Set a timer to remind yourself to take a break during your workday and move any chargers out of your bedroom to prevent late-night screen time. Swap your scrolling for reading a physical book (yes, those still exist!), cooking your favorite meal, or taking a walk outside. 

6. Set A Budget 

New year wellness tips can extend to all areas of your life, including your finances. Creating healthy habits around money can help you feel more in control, give you a cushion for emergencies, and reduce stress about finances.

Try setting a monthly budget, a savings goal, or track your spending, but don’t forget to plan out something fun for yourself! 

7. Do One Act Of Kindness A Week 

OK, we LOVE this one… it’s easy and offers benefits for everyone, and can be very simple things like lending a hand with a bag of groceries. By giving back to others, you actually help improve your emotional wellbeing, decrease stress, and even improve your physical health while doing the same for others.

For larger acts of kindness, search for virtual volunteer opportunities online, important social causes that you care about, or local opportunities in your community to give back to others. 

8. Practice Positive Affirmations 

One positive new year wellness tip with no costs is to treat yourself with kindness and compassion. This is one simple step you can do every day to elevate your wellness journey. Speaking positively about yourself is shown to reduce stress and improve your quality of life.

Incorporate positive affirmations into your routine when you first wake up or as you get ready for your day, or as you wind down in the evening. And if our Affirmation Candles resonate with you or someone you know, there are few things in life better at helping to destress than candlelight.

9. Practice Gratitude 

Another healthy new years resolution is to actively practice gratitude. This actually really works! Take a moment each day to think about things you’re grateful for, and say them out loud to yourself on your morning commute or write them in a gratitude journal or gratitude jar. This method of positive thinking improves your overall wellbeing, mental health, and even your relationships. 

Especially in the past 3 years, we've found the practice of gratitude is essential to a sense of wellbeing. It's as if the more aware of the things you are grateful for, the healthier you feel about everything. We've found it so powerful and important that we've created a candle and gift set that express gratitude.

10. Be Kind To Yourself 

As the year goes on and you try to implement your wellness resolutions, remember to be kind to yourself. It won’t always be an easy or perfect journey - a year is a long time to be perfect. A year is also a long time to complete your new year’s goals, so if you fall out of your wellness journey, there is time to pick them back up again or reevaluate your goals.

Just remember to be kind to yourself and acknowledge how far you have come. 

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