Ten Healthy Habits for 2022

And no, these are NOT New Year’s resolutions, these are simply a few healthy habits for you to adopt in the new year. And no, you are NOT required to adopt all ten, just choose the one(s) that appeal to you, give it (them) a try, keep what you like and discard what you do not. Consider this list kind of like the buffet at Golden Corral, take what you like, ignore the rest.

• Eat the rainbow
  (no, not Skittles) in the form of fruits and vegetables of various colors like red, blue, green, orange, and purple. What gives these fruits and veggies their vibrant colors are phytonutrients, which provide you with much needed health benefits. Each color offers different nutrients, so eat different colors every day, such as eggplant, berries, carrots, leafy greens, onions and garlic.
• Create and listen to more music playlists.
  There are few things that can improve your mood more than your favorite music, especially of the nostalgic variety. Cooking dinner?…then listen to music you can sing along with. Working out?…then listen to faster paced music that keeps you moving and gets your mind off the exercise. Had to put your pet down?…then listen to music that helps you get through the pain and memorializes him/her. Like Elton sang, “sad songs say so much.”
• (Re)discover nature.
  Nothing calms the mind like a walk in the woods, or paddle boarding around a lake, or watching birds at a feeder, or fishing in a secluded stream, or sitting in a meadow and just listening all while leaving the screens at home. In our perpetually connected lives, it’s essential to disconnect every so often and nature is the perfect place to do so.
• Create and/or nurture quality relationships.
  Someone once said, “No man is an island.” Most agree with this aphorism, yet many of us create that island for various reasons. Don’t. Make efforts to meet new people and/or reconnect with old friends over the course of the next year. We are social beings who require less social media and more social interaction. Remember what Clarence wrote in the copy of Tom Sawyer he left for George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, “No man is a failure who has friends.”
• Get creative in the kitchen
  experimenting with new recipes. The Google Machine might have its issues, but access to new recipes is not one of them. Sure, search for recipes that contain ingredients you like, but also search out new recipes with ingredients you’ve never tried before. Looking for inspiration? Watch Julie and Julia, a movie about a woman who sets out to cook EVERY recipe in Julia Child’s recipe book, all 524 of them!
• Visit a therapist.
  Look, we all have issues, some more serious than others and a professional therapist can help us deal with them. Therapists can help us cope with major life changes, depression, various life crises, relationship problems, addiction, and family dynamics just to name a few “issues.” Do not be afraid to seek out professional help in the new year.
• Eat less (red) meat.
  No need to go full-blown vegan here but going meatless one to three days a week does a body good. Health professionals have linked eating too much red meat to type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. On the days you do not eat meat, substitute it with healthy seafood, such as tuna or salmon.
• Read more.
  And no, social media posts do NOT count. Many of us have substituted the time we used to spend reading a good book with reading posts that only serve to get us angry. The benefits of reading are myriad: stress reduction, mental stimulation, expanded vocabulary, increased knowledge, improved memory, better analytical thinking skills, improved focus and concentration and better writing skills. Tonight, curl up with a good book rather than your phone.
• Pay it forward.
  Make a commitment to do more random acts of kindness in 2022. This can be as simple as holding the door open for a stranger at Target, picking up litter, providing school supplies to your child’s teacher, complimenting a stranger, or washing the neighbor’s car. Helping others improves our mental well-being, decreases stress levels, models good behavior for others (especially the young), and creates the “helper’s high,” that feeling of happiness or euphoria you receive after doing good.
• Count your blessings.
  Spend 2022 focused on what you have rather than what you do not. Gratitude has become a lost art in this day and age. Too many people walk around angry, lamenting what they lack and scheming how to get it, whatever “it” might be. Then, once they get it, they move on the next “want.” If you’re healthy, be grateful. If you have a family you love, be grateful. If you have friends, be grateful. If you have a few bucks in the bank, be grateful. If you are free to practice the religion of your choice, be grateful. If you have a pet, be grateful. If you have a bed to sleep in under a secure roof, be grateful. You get the idea.

Happy New Year and I hope your 2022 is awesome!