According to a recent survey of 2,000 people, the top ten resolutions planned for 2017 include dieting or eating healthy, exercising more, losing weight, quitting smoking and drinking less alcohol. The top 3 resolutions also had the top failure rates with respondents of the survey reporting 54% failure at keeping their resolution of dieting or eating healtheir, 44% at exercising more, and 41% at losing weight.

According to the survey, the most common reasons for failing to keep resolutions were lack of willpower and not having a plan. We would like to help you overcome those challenges by sharing resources and tips that you might not have tried or even considered in the past. Many credit Einstein as defining insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Does your plan for 2017 include the same old things? Isn’t it time to try something new?

Build Your Plan

We are hosting a complimentary working session for you to build your plan. We will talk about specific essential oils and Chinese medicinal teas that can help support your goals. You can ask questions about the resources listed below. The session will be held at 2pm on Sunday, January 8, 2017 at North Branch Yoga, 8056 Lincoln Ave, Skokie, IL. There will not be a fee for the event. However, bring your checkbook or some cash because there will be a raffle with great prizes to jump start your resolutions like a float therapy session, a stress relief acupuncture and essential oil treatment, a reflexology treatment, a pass for a qigong class, doTERRA essential oils, a pass for a restorative yoga with acupuncture class , and more. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit the non-profit Curt’s Café South.

Northshore Acupuncture Center is also launching a complimentary online 21 day self-care challenge starting Sunday, January 8th.

Resources

In the meantime, you will have failures while working towards your goals. You need to position yourself to “fail forward” – pick yourself up, learn from the failure and keep working on making the right choice over the easy choice more often.  We want to make sure you are aware of amazing resources – books, programs and people – that you can use to help you recover from your “failures” and take full advantage of the thousands of moments that you have the opportunity to make a better choice for yourself.

Here is a list of our favorite resources to help you work towards some of the most popular google searches for 2017: living a healthier lifestyle, enjoying life to fullest, and spending less/saving more.

Living a Healthier Lifestyle

I have a few favorite online programs that have helped me make healthier choices. One is the Whole Life Challenge, an 8 week online program focused on nutrition, exercise, mobility, sleep, hydration, lifestyle and reflection. The next challenge begins January 21, 2017. Another is Whole30 – a nutritional program designed to change your life in 30 days. It’s a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you put an end to unhealthy cravings and habits, restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, and balance your immune system.

I recommend a regular yoga practice – Heaven Meets Earth yoga studio in Evanston and North Brach Yoga in Skokie frequently offer Intro to Yoga courses. However, you don’t have to attend an Intro to Yoga class to get started. The instructors at both studios are great about helping new students in any class.

Why not set a goal to attend Tabitha Carney‘s monthly Friday night restorative yoga classes at North Branch Yoga?

Or you may want to start a qigong practice instead. Regina Wolgel offers individual and group instruction in Skokie.

If you need personalization and accountability, consider working with chiropractor and holistic physician Dr. Abby Kramer from Glenview. She believes in addressing each patient as a whole, taking into account structural, chemical, and emotional causes of dysfunction. She has a unique way of combining her skills in chiropractic manipulation, muscle testing, manual therapy, emotional stress relief, nutritional counseling, and functional taping to help her patients be relieved of pain and emotional burden, increase function, recover faster, and return to health!

Another therapy you could add to your is reflexology with Becky Rohloff from Morton Grove.

Or see how acupuncture, cupping and/or essential oils with Northshore Acupuncture Center can help eliminate those irritants that are keeping you from living your most productive, outrageous life.

Are you interested in starting a new fitness routine? But you are afraid of judgement or ridicule? Check out Tash Fitness, a boutique size, woman only health, wellness and fitness facility, that provides a SAFE (S-izeless, A-gel…ess, F-itness, E-ducation) environment to work on a 6 prong approach to health: Mindset, Behavior Changes, Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise and Accountability.

Living a healthy life isn’t just about physical health though…you also need to take care of your emotional health.

I enjoy how Guy Finch explains the importance of treating day to day emotional injuries like failure and rejection in this talk. For more strategies, check out his book Emotional First Aid: Healing Rejection, Guilt, Failure, and Other Everyday Hurts.

If you need personalization and accountability, you may want to consider counseling with one of the therapists from North Shore Family Wellness.

Want to use essential oils to support your goals? I recommend starting with peppermint and lavender. Peppermint can be applied to your chest for a pick-me-up before a workout and inhaled or applied under your nose before or in between meals to suppress appetite. Sprinkle a few drops of lavender on your pillow for a good night’s sleep or diffuse it to alleviate stress. Apply lavender and peppermint to aching joints and muscles. You can purchase lavender and peppermint in my office or at www.mydoterra.com/amylandolt.

Enjoying Life to the Fullest

A key part to enjoying life to the fullest is being mindful and present. I highly recommend a daily meditation practice – start with just 10 minutes a day. My favorite online meditation program is Headspace. Another free app that many people use is Calm. Two books that are great resources are Peace Is Every Step: The Path of MIndfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Abundance Now by my coach and mentor Lisa Nichols.

If you need personalization and accountability, I’d recommend life coaching. One life coach to consider is Lisa Kaplin, the owner of Smart Women Inspired Lives. Lisa is a psychologist and life coach who helps overwhelmed, exhausted, giving women who have that “I know something is missing” feeling and are ready to face their fears and step out of their comfort zones and into the true happiness and fulfillment they have always wanted.

Another coach to consider is Dr. Taunya Lowe, the author of Wanna Start a Riot? Change, Affirmations, Confirmations and Prayers and the founder and driving force behind the Riot Starter movement.

If you are not ready to invest in individual coaching, check out the Riot Starter Academy or Latia Vaughn’s REDiscoverU program which is coming soon – sign up for the PUSH Society to be an insider.

Spending Less/Saving More

Check out these tips of how to save money in 2017 by Jennfier Matthews, the author of the best-selling book 12 Ways To Put Money In Your Pocket Every Month Without A Part-time Job: The Skinny Book That Makes Your Wallet Fat. Her new book 5 Simple Steps for a Debt-Free Life will be released this month.

Pick up your copy of 12 Ways To Put Money In Your Pocket Every Month Without A Part-time Job online today. If you need more hands on help, contact Jennifer for assistance with developing and adhering to spending plans, increasing and understanding credit scores, affordable homeownership, and achieving financial goals.

Are you looking for interaction in person? Attend the two day Legacy Shifters conference in Chicago on March 25th and 26th to envision your financial future, and create a plan to achieve it. Or seek out the advice of Edward Jones financial adviser Kevin Mott in Evanston.

Get Involved With Your Community

Did you resolve to get more involved in your community this year? Start with little changes like making your coffee dates at Curt’s Café so that your money goes back to the local community and helps support at risk teens trying to develop job and life skills instead of a coffee giant. Give blood. Check out our Connecting to the Community posts to find ideas of ways to get involved that match your interests and schedule.

Resources for Specific Goals

Do you need specialized treatment to conquer an eating disorder? Check out the programs at the Eating Recovery Center’s Insight Behavioral Health Center.

Do you need specialized treatment to conquer an addiction or depression? Talk to Ashley Senderak, a treatment placement specialist for the Acadia Healthcare Recovery Division.

Do you need to move on from the ending of a special relationship or the death of a beloved pet? Check out Ritual in a Box products by Andrea Weisbond from Glenview.

Did you resolve to read more this year? Check out Good Book Fairy for recommendations. Lauren Margolin, a.k.a. Good Book Fairy, is hosting a Book Chat Live event about Faithful by Alice Hoffman in Long Grove later this month. Check out her list of the best books from 2016.

Trying to quit smoking? Talk to me about how acupuncture, herbal tea and essential oils can support you through the process. Or consider trying hypnosis with Karen Hand.

Did you resolve to try new things this year? What about learning how to belly dance at Hip Circle?