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 The New Year is finally here, and with it, you are probably wondering about what your New Year Resolutions should be this year - right? Over the years, like most of my friends and family, each new year I set resolutions for myself, to become a better version of myself. Some I failed, but thankfully I succeeded in keeping most of my resolutions, and with each resolution I enhanced my spiritual growth. If you’d like to enhance your spiritual growth in 2022, but are unsure where to start, I’m sharing with you today the 3 New Year Resolutions that helped me to enhance my spiritual growth immensely:

Honor Yourself And Your Body

In the past, I often thought that when you deal with the spiritual, you are dealing with something intangible, non-physical in nature. For me, at that time, it seemed logical that I can compartmentalize growth. If I wanted to become more physically healthy (thus physically grow), I needed to exercise and eat right, and if I wanted to grow spiritually, I needed to exercise my spirit by meditating, doing yoga, and similar, ‘spiritual activities’. However, over the years, I learned that there are so many aspects of ourselves that make us whole. And only when we are whole, and we take good care of ourselves as a whole, can we truly grow, in every aspect of ourselves - including our spiritual growth. So, this new year, I’d like to invite all of you to take good care of yourselves, and as you do so, to honor yourself, your body, and grow.

Honoring myself and my body was one of the best New Year Resolutions I have set for myself. Each year, I would set my goals, intentions and resolutions, and often they reflected outward accomplishments. I always thought that I can just push through the rough parts, and with enough repetition, I would eventually accomplish my resolutions. Each year, I pushed myself to follow more restrictive diets, get career promotions, and exercise each and every day. Sounds like I was accomplishing my dreams, right? Except, I truly wasn’t. These resolutions came from what I believed I should do - not what I needed. And needless to say, after a couple of weeks, months of pushing through at most, my resolutions were abandoned. And even worse, the guilt of not accomplishing them, was eating me away.

One day, as I was getting eaten by guilt because I wasn’t pushing myself hard enough, I asked myself, why is this so hard for me? What do I need to not feel guilty? Why do I feel this guilt? As I was asking myself, I observed myself, and for the first time in a very long time, I started getting in tune with myself. And, the more I asked and honored my needs instead of what I thought I was supposed to do, I discovered true joy in life, became healthier, and grew each day in every aspect of myself, little by little.

You see, you can push and push, but eventually, you will run out of will, and sheer force won’t help you grow. Only understanding and honoring your needs can help you continuously grow all aspects of yourself.

So, I switched blindly pushing, with honoring my needs, my body and my spirit. That meant not following some strict diet, but rather observing what foods sit well with me and which didn’t, developing small eating habits that added onto creating my own diet, trying out different exercises, and not having a set exercise routine, but rather just time for moving my body in different ways, spending more time with myself and becoming overall more observant with myself.

In a way,  I understood that my inner self works in a way that should be understood instead of blamed, and instead of shutting it off, I gave my inner self more space to express the needs of my soul. And this was a major transformative experience in my life, the turning point for my spiritual growth, by simply asking myself each day - what do I need?

The examples I gave out are just that - examples of what worked for me, and how I honor my needs. For you, honoring yourself might look entirely different, and that’s completely okay! I wholeheartedly recommend that this year, you ask and listen to the best person that can help you out on your spiritual journey - yourself!

Keeping Small Promises To Yourself

The truth is, that I, like many others had and still have unhealthy habits and patterns. And I, like many others, struggled immensely with switching them with healthier habits. But, why? Why does everyone struggle so much to make the switch and simply change the way we are to be better, healthier versions of ourselves?

Well, the truth is that our minds like to keep things predictable for us. The more predictable your life is, the less stress there is in it. And so, in your young forming years, your mind observes thought patterns and picks them up, eventually creating habits, that keep you in a loop. The problem is, when you are younger, you are stil figuring out the world, and uncertainty, self-doubt and confusion are a big part of your thoughts.

As I thought about this, it became clearer and clearer to me why I felt so lost and out of place through my life. Moreover, I realized that simply deciding today that I will be a different person and starting a couple of new habits that I never did before, and sticking to them, was something that wouldn’t work out like I hoped it will. As I explored habit setting, I tried a lot of different methods, but something that really worked for me, and helped me build up healthier habits was keeping small promises to myself daily - a method Dr. Nicole Le Perra advises to use.

I decided that, no matter what my habit is, I will take some time and space to adapt to it. I’d ease myself into each and every habit, by keeping one small promise to myself daily. I’d get my journal, I’d jot down my small promise that will help me set a new, healthy habit, and stick to it. Whether it was a promise that I’d eat one fruit that day to set a habit for eating healthier, or I’d simply devote five minutes to asking myself what I need and simply listen and understand my needs to honor myself, I’d jot it down and stick to it.

And what I found was that I didn’t need to make a big change at once, but rather small, continuous ones each day to grow, and through those promises and tiny changes I created healthier habits for myself. I wholeheartedly recommend keeping small promises to be one of the new year resolutions that makes it onto your list - it’s lifechanging!

Harnessing Mindfulness

One of the best resolutions I have set for myself, and kept all this time was definitely harnessing mindfulness. In a way, it was the starting point of all the positive changes I have made in my life, something that has given me both, inner peace and joy.

A couple of years ago, when I started my spiritual journey, something I have struggled with the most was staying in the present moment. For me, everything was about thinking and overthinking every possible situation in the near future, and bracing myself for it. However, to achieve spiritual growth, you need to stay here in the present, where life is happening and existing, and simply accept it and enjoy it. Needless to say, this was a real struggle for me. No matter how much I tried, after a minute or two, I’d be again, somewhere in the far far future that might or might not happen, going through possible and impossible scenarios.

Thankfully, as I was trying to become more mindful, I also discovered crystal healing, which helped me immensely to keep myself anchored in the present moment. Each day, I would put on my Natural Healing Wrap Bracelet, take a few moments of simply holding it, and feeling it’s weight on my hand, the beautiful, gentle energy of the multitude of nourishing pink crystals crafted in it, and suddenly, staying present seemed easier. Every time I’d feel anxious, and I’d start spiraling into possible future scenarios, I’d simply touch my bracelet, take a deep breath and remind myself that I am here, I am alive now, and how beautiful that is. Day by day, little by little, I kept harnessing little bits of mindfulness with my bracelet, until I felt I was truly living in the present moment, enjoying each and every breath I took. It was truly a profound experience that set me on my way of personal growth. I wholeheartedly recommend working with a Natural Healing Wrap Bracelet if you struggle with keeping yourself in the present moment, much like I did.

I hope that you have found these resolutions helpful, and that you too will enhance your spiritual growth in 2022! Let me know in the comments below, which resolution resonates the most with you!