Trust the magic of new beginnings once more. It is the first blog of 2024 and time to look forward to wonderful things all through the new year.

“I am not big on resolutions. They don’t last long enough,” laughs Ruby Walia, Founder – Phool Patti. She adds, “On a serious note, what I am mindful about is taking forward the lessons learned over the months in the past year. Also, I believe in leaving unnecessary baggage behind.”

When December gives it up for January, even the laziest among us thinks,” Wow, is it a new year again?!” It is time to take stock of all that happened the previous year and prepare for the months ahead. The more organized ones will whisk out their planners and begin fixing targets and ways of achieving them. Then, there are others who will craft beautiful vision boards and write out their affirmations. Some genius folks rely on their grey cells only and create their to-do lists in their heads.

Ultimately, it boils down to the fact about how well you wish to utilize that precious commodity all human beings are blessed with – Time. Alongside, you want to live a better life making the best use of the available time that you have.
Which brings us right back to Ruby’s philosophy – that is, mindful living. Imbibing lessons. Taking them forward with us into the future. Leaving unnecessary baggage behind – hurt, anger, jealousy, spite, fear, and other negative emotions that sneak up to us, sometimes without our realization, catching us unawares.

Phool Patti works to bring the natural goodness of Mother Earth into your life and
believes that each one of us can aim to better ourselves holistically every day. It is
true that every day is a chance to begin again and an opportunity to enhance our
mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual development more than what it was
yesterday.

The individual is an active participant in their health decisions and healing processes, including wellness-oriented lifestyle choices. Holistic approaches to health are derived from ancient healing traditions that help to achieve higher levels of wellness and prevent disease. These approaches include use of traditional medical systems, mind- body spirit interventions, manipulative and body-based approaches, biological based therapies and energy therapies. (What is holistic health.)

Here, we share some tried and tested ways to make 2024 a richer, rewarding year.

Look after your health

Why you should look after your own body and ensure good health at every stage of your life should be a no-brainer but unfortunately, most people tend to be slack an lazy when it comes to their own physical wellbeing. Good physical health – which in effect, is the absence of disease – is of utmost importance to keep you going after your goals in life. Ill health can derail many a well-laid plan. Your physical wellness and lifestyle have a direct effect on your mental wellbeing. Taking time to attend to your physical health is likely to ensure a good mood, protect you from a clutch of ailments ranging from common cold and allergies to serious ones like heart attack and stroke, ensure better mental health, and keep you motivated and energized through various stages of life.

Studies have demonstrated how the body has a causal relationship between good mental wellbeing and consumption of a healthy diet, notably, inclusion of the recommended amount of fresh fruit and vegetables daily in your diet.
Research has also shown that physical activity can work wonders to improve mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and help prevent chronic health issues. While higher intensity exercise is seen to be particularly helpful, recent findings suggest that even low intensity activity if performed regularly can be beneficial. Essentially, this means that all you must do is stick to your walk on a regular basis or indulge in some honest cleaning in your house. Gardening works wonders in many ways. In addition to these more traditional ways of ensuring your physical wellbeing, recent research has also shown that the way we engage with our physical environment can impact our wellbeing. For instance, the time we spend in outdoors in nature focusing on natural surroundings has beneficial effects on mood and mental wellbeing (The Wellbeing Thesis).

Keep negative thoughts away  

Maintaining your equilibrium in life involves consciously keeping certain types of thoughts away. These are the negative thoughts that sometimes invade us even without our knowledge. Negative thoughts can do incalculable harm to you. As specialist will tell you, an external injury is much easier to see, diagnose, and treat. Not so with harmful, negative thoughts. Especially if they rise out of general anxiety, depression, or a mental health condition. Then, it is not so easy or prescriptive to treat them.

Negative thought patterns are like a paper cut you keep getting when you have only a vague idea of what’s causing it. Or maybe you don’t notice the cut at all… until it
starts to sting.

Each person, depending on their condition and triggers, will require different approaches to medication, psychotherapy, and lifestyle changes to ensure good mental health. Remember, when therapy is out of reach, it can be difficult to get fast treatment.

As per experts, some doable ways of realizing and acting on the situation are –
1. Remove “should” thoughts.
2. Recognize automatic negative thinking.
3. Don’t put your thoughts or actions on trial.
4. Acknowledge with kindness to your own self that you are feeling overwhelmed.
5. Don’t be in a rush to replace negative thoughts with positive ones – don’t force yourself.
(5 Ways to Stop Spiraling Negative Thoughts from Taking Control). 

Reap the benefits of volunteering

Today, most of us are immensely busy with our own lives and would be hard-pressed to take time out to volunteer. However, according to experts, the very act of volunteering is full of surprising benefits. From helping you to advance your career, to making new friends, or learning a new skill, it also has health benefits. Giving to others can help protect your mental and physical health. It can combat depression, reduce stress, keep you mentally stimulated, and provide a sense of purpose. It’s true that the more you volunteer, the more benefits you’ll experience but volunteering doesn’t have to involve a long-term commitment in any way or take away a huge amount of time from your schedule. Giving in even simple ways can help those in need and improve your health and happiness. (Volunteering and its Surprising Benefits)

Remember to have fun along the way

It is easy to look at the dark and gloomy side of things but if the basics are in place – supportive, understanding people in your life, good health for yourself and your loved ones, food to eat, a place to live and grow, remember, you have more than many on the planet. So, rejoice and make the most of today. We are so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take enough time to appreciate where we are – that’s an old quote for you. So, take a little time out to have some good, old- fashioned fun along the way. Happy living through 2024!