My One-Word Theme for 2023!
I chose my word for 2023 easily, about a month ago- it literally just jumped out at me. I was waiting to reveal it but on Wednesday Gretchen and Elizabeth revealed their words for 2023 on the Happier podcast, so I figured it’s time! First of all, last year’s word was “Start.” That turned out to be… pretty dumb. It sounded good in January, when I hit rock bottom (I had been battling a foot issue for months and then had Covid over Christmas) but by June I had forgotten all about it. This time, I have a word that I think will stay with me through the whole year, and that word is… Nourish. I’m really asking a lot from my body, and not treating it very well in return. No wonder my body seems like it hates me. I have some big goals coming up in 2023, and I’ll never reach them if I don’t take my eating and sleeping more seriously. Several weeks ago, I decided to drink a protein shake after hard workouts, and I noticed immediately that I was much less sore the next day. I used a random protein powder that my son left behind, and the brand is “UpNourish.” It struck me how little thought I’ve put into actually nourishing my body. I’ve always viewed “healthy” eating in terms of what I can take away- eliminating “bad” foods like gluten and sugar (well… sugar really is bad, but let’s not get into that right now.) I’m trying to shift my mindset from “What can I take away?” to “What am I nourishing my body with?” In addition to eating, I’m going to focus on nourishing my body with enough sleep, so that I can recover from workouts and build stronger muscles. My sleep has not been good lately for many reasons- but to start with, I’m going to make little changes like going to bed earlier (duh!) and eliminating caffeine later in the day. I’ll be doing a deeper dive into both these subjects next month, but the changes I’ve made already seem to be having a positive impact. 2023 is going to be a good one! Do you pick a theme for the year? Do you have one yet?