Dr. Tara's "Fave Five": Rethinking Resolutions
/Happy January! Hope you enjoyed the holidays and have had a good start to the New Year. This Fave Five is all about setting goals, realizing our dreams, and living with purpose and intention in 2019 and beyond.
“You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.” - C.S. Lewis
1. Life Hack: Resolution Revolution
Are you a resolution setter? If so, check out my article “Resolution Revolution” for some helpful tips on how to revamp and achieve those objectives. And resolutions or not, most of us can benefit from a little reminder on how to set “SMART” goals!
However, with all of the negative connotations around annual resolutions, it’s perhaps not surprising that there has been a move in recent years towards setting monthly positive intentions instead. Stay tuned for next week’s blog where I’ll tell you all about this new mindful living trend!
2. TED Talk: “Success, failure and the drive to keep creating” by Elizabeth Gilbert
This is a great talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the well-known book “Eat, Pray, Love”. With wit and insight, Gilbert reflects on how to maintain our creativity and live our passions in the face of both failure and success.
3. Breakfast Goals & Recipes
As many of you may know, I’m not a proponent of New Year’s “detox” or crash diets. I believe in exercise and nutritious eating as part of a year-round healthy active lifestyle. My focus is on well-balanced, minimal-processed food with room to indulge in a thoughtful and guilt-free way.
One of the ways my family and I maintain healthy eating habits is by having meals that are not only nutritious, but also easy, tasty and satisfying. I want that Starbucks cake pop to be a mindful decision, not something I’ve grabbed because I’m rushing and “hangry”. Enter my morning meal mantra: “fibre + healthy fats + protein”. Check out these recipes for some “perfect score” breakfasts that will keep you happily satiated for hours!
Chocolate Cherry Almond Quinoa (a great grain-free alternative to oatmeal)
“Inspired by Alchemy” Chocolate Maca Smoothie
Reese’s “Peanut Butter” Proats (nut-free overnight protein oats)
4. Favourite Reads to Help Us Live with Intention
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho’s best-selling novel is a personal favourite. It’s a beautiful tale about a shepherd boy on a journey to discover his personal destiny. The Alchemist reminds us that fear is often our greatest obstacle and that we need to push past that fear to pursue our dreams.
Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed
This is a great collection of over 100 insightful quotes and words of wisdom. It’s a must-read that might help shorten those to-do lists by reminding us that, well, there are a lot of things that we don’t actually need to do!
Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy
Amy Cuddy, a professor at Harvard Business School, writes about how to increase self-confidence and personal power, and overcome our life’s hurdles through simple techniques and small in-the-moment “tweaks” to our body language, thoughts and actions.
5. Quote: Not even the sky’s the limit
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Wishing you all the best for the New Year ahead!
Dr. Tara