Monday, December 22, 2014
Let’s make 2015 an awesome year
It can be quite challenging to find interesting topics to write about in health columns week after week. A friend told me she enjoys reading my columns, but skips the ones where I get “too preachy.” I try to keep that comment in mind and look for topics that are interesting, upbeat, not too annoying and definitely not “preachy.”
Sometimes it’s an idea to improve emotional health rather
than focusing on disease prevention or treatment. For example, this timely idea was posted on Facebook and I
think it’s worth sharing. “This
January, why not start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about
good things that happen. Then, on
New Year’s Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year. It’s a good way to keep things in
perspective.”
Just in case someone reads this and thinks there are not
many awesome things happening these days, I Googled, “Bring more joy into your
life” and got 9,200 hits. There
were a multitude of suggestions, everything from going outside and enjoying the
energy and beauty of nature, or volunteering time to a worthy cause you believe
in, or even taking time to re-connect with positive friends and family.
I am definitely doing this. I already selected a clear jar so we can see the notes start
to fill up during the year. I put a pen and small sheets of paper next to the
jar.
My husband is used to my projects and schemes and has
learned over the years that it’s easier to just indulge me. I predict he will eventually get into
the spirit and contribute some notes about awesome things that happen during
the year.
We can all
think of awesome things that happen. Everyone can define awesome in their own way. It doesn’t have
to be discovering a cure for cancer; it can be as simple as watching an old
classic movie with the family, or making a new recipe that turned out to be a
new family favorite.
Let’s share this idea with family, friends, neighbors and
co-workers. Then maybe we can do something awesome that’s worthy of inclusion
in their jar, too.
Alice Facente is a community health nurse for the Backus Health System. This advice should not replace the advice of your personal health care provider. To comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy Living blog at www.healthydocs.blogspot.com or e-mail Ms. Facente or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org.
# posted by ----------------- @ 9:02 PM 
