Embracing a Heartfelt Adventure
There is much to *love* about February – a month focused on heart-care in addition to love. It’s a month dedicated to celebrating all the amazing things our hearts can do and cultivating all that our hearts allow us to be. It’s a time when we honor the power of the heart and appreciate all that it allows us to experience and share.
In addition to being the month of love, it’s fair to say that February also comes with a fair bit of uncertainty. We are uncertain, as yet, of the sustainability of wellness habits established in the early days of the year, and as winter persists, energy and enthusiasm often feel like they are waning. February is notorious for thoughts of stuck-ness or feeling uninspired. And while it’s true that some of us are thriving with newfound wellness and wellbeing, others are struggling to drum up the same level of energy and motivation felt only a few weeks ago. It’s a perplexing month when it comes to our wellness intentions and goals… I often think that success could go either way.
It is for these reasons that finding strategies for navigating winter ups and downs is crucial for building long-term success with wellness. In learning to celebrate victories, for example, we can develop a continuous source of motivation that helps prevent a winter slump from derailing progress. The development of a positive mindset is yet another powerful strategy that allows us to see the winter season as an opportunity for self-discovery rather than the roadblock it is often perceived to be.
Personally, my favorite strategy for maintaining focus and motivation in the month of February is to reframe wellness goals as heartfelt experiments. As an approach, the heartfelt experiment introduces an element of curiosity and playfulness into the wellness we are building, turning wellness-seeking from a chore into an ongoing adventure for continual exploration and growth. In reframing goals into experiments, we add a burst of energy and a spark of fun; it is through this lens that we revive the excitement in wellness goals that was felt at the start of a new year.
Here's a look at the process of transforming wellness goals into heartfelt experiments and tapping into new energy for our wellness journeys…
First, we are curious: In the world of wellness, sticking to traditional goals can sometimes feel strict or overly focused on the end result. Turning those goals into heartfelt experiments, though, gives us permission to become scientists exploring all the possibilities. With curiosity, we can try out different things until we find what feels right.
Experiment 1: Shift a wellness goal. Take a wellness goal and shift the lens to explore the goal as a heartfelt experiment. As an example, instead of setting a goal to lose weight, consider if eating more veggies could help you feel happier and healthier. When approaching from this frame of mind, you may be more open to trying new things and finding different ways to achieve the same results.
Next, we are adaptable and grow: Traditional wellness goals are time-bound and identify specific targets; however, this isn’t always the best strategy for creating sustainable change. With heartfelt experiments, we are empowered to go with the flow and learn from whatever happens. We are able to embrace changes as they occur and grow through the process of conducting the experiment itself.
Experiment 2: Try and try again. When things don’t go as planned, rather than panic – try again! With heartfelt experiments, we treat our wellness goals like playing a game where we are continually learning and exploring rather than succeeding or failing. For example, if you want to exercise regularly and miss a day or two, you might experiment with different exercises or schedules. Sometimes all it takes is a small adjustment based on what you learn along the way to have a big impact on the ultimate goal.
Last, we are open to adding fun to the journey: Setting traditional goals can become boring or rote when always approached in the same way. However, turning goals into heartfelt experiments injects a sense of playfulness into a wellness journey – instead of a serious march towards a fixed goal, it opens a realm of fun exploration for building a feeling of wellness overall. Goals that emphasize fun or play make the wellness journey more interesting as well as sustainable for the long haul.
Experiment 3: Make the journey itself a game. Wellness goals turned into heartfelt experiments can become a game through the setting of challenges, rewards, and milestones. Want to drink more water? Try a different fruit-flavored water recipe each week and then reward yourself with a fun activity when you hit a hydration milestone. Approaching a wellness journey like an exciting adventure boosts our connection and interest in sustaining new habits formed along the way.
Reframing wellness goals as heartfelt experiments is a powerful strategy that can transform winter slumps into opportunities for growth and renewal. In embracing the adventure of discovery through experiments, we infuse the wellness journey with curiosity and playfulness, and we overcome the winter blahs by cultivating habits that are meaningful and resonate with our hearts. After all, the pursuit of wellness and wellbeing does not have to be a rigid journey – with a heart-centered approach, we are building a strong foundation for wellness envisioned while also enjoying the process all along the way.
What wellness goal will you shift to a heartfelt experiment this week?
