Beyond Resolutions: Nurturing Healthy Habits and Routines

It's elevation time! With the curtains closed on 2023, I muse over the triumphs and trials that carved my path. This new year is not about lofty resolutions that often fade quickly but about crafting sustainable habits that resonate with the small details of everyday life. It's about setting our sights on attainable peaks, whether they be the addition of fitness routines, the mindful savoring of a book in place of digital noise, or the nurturing preparations for life's anticipated milestones.

Let's raise our cups to the pursuit of well-being across all avenues of life. From gentle skincare to the meticulous planning of our meals, finances, and even our rest, every facet is a thread in the tapestry of a life lived with purpose. Every small step, every boundary set, is a victory—a toast to the intentional life we're cultivating together in 2024.

If you want to experience Dubai the way I did, I encourage you to follow Chef JJ, my fellow Antiguan doing amazing things, and my fellow Island brothers Fahda Romie and Tejay, and their amazing catering business Yard Vibe, all on Instagram. You will be in for a treat when you visit. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and wet student. Join me in the tea tasting room where we spill the tea and find and balance and promote a positive living while doing it all. Hey friends, I know it's been a while, but welcome and welcome back to a new season, a new episode of Tea with Tanya, and I am extremely happy to be back here in the tea tasting room with you. It's been too long or way too long for my own liking. I mean, it's only been three weeks since we last met in the tea tasting room, but that's besides the point. I am happy to be back here. We have so much to catch up on and we're gonna get right into it. But first let me say happy new year to you. By the time this episode is released, we're probably gonna be three weeks into the new year, but it's my first time talking to you, so of course I'm gonna tell you. I feel like you know we have the entire month of January to wish each other a happy new year. After February and all that which you know, it starts a little bit weird, but nevertheless I am happy to be back here and I'm happy that you're able to hear my voice. In 2024, and we are going to ensure that we not only live our best life, but we're taking care of ourselves. This year and, of course, like we do it here, even though we're only back for the first time in a while, the tea of the week is some good old ginger and lemon tea, or is it ginger lemon tea? That's what we are having today in the tea tasting room, and some benefits of the ginger and lemon tea is that it boosts your immune system. It also helps to reduce the risk of cancer. It promotes heart health. It also alleviates nausea and vomiting. It improves brain function which I need, because I need my brain to be functioning, with all that I do, to the best of its ability, and it helps to manage diabetes and reduces pain and inflammation as well, which is something that I need to work on as well.

Speaker 1: 2:10

Now I have to catch you up on what I did during my very brief time off Okay, very brief, because I mean three weeks all from you, but then almost two weeks off from work. It's just been a fun time, like your girl finally took another vacation, because, if you've been listening. My last quote unquote vacation before this one was May of 2023. I celebrated my birthday back home in Antigua, but it wasn't really a full vacation because I was there working in Rigazo for my nonprofit, because we had our growth, the flow health expo. So I have been. It wasn't like a full, full vacation and I think the end of that trip I became severely burnt out. So that's a whole different ball game.

Speaker 1: 2:57

But I decided to take this vacation, one to scratch something off of my to-do or bucket list, and let me tell you it did not disappoint. When I say it did not disappoint, it did not disappoint like this trip reignited the fire inside of me. It was also eye-opening for me, from a personal standpoint, but also professional, and sometimes I tend to internalize a lot, and I did that while I was there, you know, observing the scenery, observing the behaviors of people and these different things, and I learned so many things about myself and even others. By the way, before we go deeper into the episode, let me tell you where I went, because I'm just talking about this amazing trip. You don't even know where I went, right, but I went to Dubai. I traveled to Dubai. It was my first time being there and this Dubai has been on the list, the bucket list, for me and my friends made my girls for a while now. But you know, adult and there's never any time. We live in different parts of the world. Some are starting their family with kids, or married or somewhere in medical school. It was just the time in to this day has never really aligned, but I'm happy that at least one of us got to go before the other. At least you know, so you can share that experience.

Speaker 1: 4:07

But I went to Dubai and I will say the city is full, is a full 10 out of 10. It lived up to its expectations. I'm not quite sure what expectations that I have, but from here in home I father would talk about it, or just people from TikTok or social media, whatever it is. It really did live up to its expectations and I think for me one of my favorite things was seeing parts of Dubai that the regular tourists won't usually get to see, and I have three amazing people to thank for. To thank for that because my experience in Dubai when I tell you I was at peace. When I said the level of peace, I felt how I feel whenever I go back home to Antigua, skin was glowing, I felt completely relaxed and, mind you, this was like a first actual vacation where I was an actual tourist, going to different sites, seeing the different things, that having to stress or worry about anything. I was very well taken care of.

Speaker 1: 5:03

But, yes, I have to give a big thank you and I'm sure they're probably gonna cringe when they hear my name, but I don't care. I have to give a big thank you to three amazing young black Caribbean men, because when I tell you, when you talk about amazing young men, these three individuals need to be, need to be on your list. When we're talking about who, which man or which man is gonna be an amazing person, these three need to be on your list. And I have to give a very special Thank you to the amazing food mechanic himself, lejuan Hill, aka also known as Chef JJ. He just let me tell you, first of all, he just knows how to craft flavors and, of course, experience, or engineer experiences. But he's a young man from my home country of Antigua and it's always very inspiring and it's always a proud moment when I get to see one of us living abroad and living up to our full potential, using our talents to Make a better life for yourself and just be successful at what you do. So, definitely, shout out to chef JJ.

Speaker 1: 6:03

I want to shout out to my two Jamaican brothers that I Inherited while in Dubai. I have to give a shout out to the amazing father and their Jamaican brothers too they actually Jamaican brothers to father Romy, or as we call it, romy, and his brother, my guy, my guy, my guy, tj. These two brothers, they have a catering company in Dubai called Yad Vives and let me tell you the vibe was real, the right been real. Okay, I was eating to my heart's content and they made sure I had a great time. So definitely, if you are, I will say and this is a shameless plug for them, without them even asking but if you are in Dubai or you want to go to Dubai, you want to have the experience that I had, or you want to have an Amazing experience as a tourist where you get to see different parts of Dubai that's not maybe shown from the TikTok Girlies or the YouTube girlies, you definitely want to hit these guys up. I know they have something special coming this year to facilitate that, so I'll definitely probably be talking about it on the podcast, here and there, and sharing with you guys to be on the lookout for that, and I will go ahead and post their their information, their social media in the show notes so you can follow them, because, again, we're out here 2024. We're gonna be traveling, we're gonna be living, we're gonna be, you know, all good vibes only, but I definitely Thank you to those three amazing, amazing men for making my trip worthwhile.

Speaker 1: 7:23

Now let's get to it. Today's episode. We're gonna be talking about healthy habits and routine, but before we get to that, I do want to share how I ended my 2023. Of course, like I said, I was in Dubai and I was able to spend Christmas and also ringing the new year in Dubai, but I really ended the year at peace, genuinely, and me even saying this, it still seems or sounds so surreal seeing that I was genuinely at peace. When I say at peace, I was not stressed, I was not overthinking.

Speaker 1: 7:54

Okay, maybe I'm lying, maybe I did. Oh, maybe I did overthink a little bit, because I mean, overthinking is literally part of my personality. But, to be quite honest, I ended the year in in a state of peace and I didn't know was even achievable. Oh, it's the level of peace that I've been trying to attain or reach for the last year or two, and I ended the year feeling that way and you know I was exchanging some messages with someone who I know consider another mother figure in my life you know, she's the mother from another, another mother, but from back in Antigua as well and I did some reflection while just reading her messages and just reflecting on what type or kind of year 2023 was for me. You know, while I stood and I had the Disamazing opportunity to be at a New Year's Eve party, literally right in front of the birch cliff and we were able to see the cook, the fireworks, and it just felt in that moment, as much as we were like laughing and smiling and taking videos and pictures. In that moment, for me personally, it felt like a true blessing to be amongst people who I I like, or the Relationships that I developed or the bond that I developed, but also being able to Just reflect on the goals that I accomplished in 2023 and the ones that I didn't Reflected on, experiencing burnout, you know, but I think this trip really did Give me the spark that I needed.

Speaker 1: 9:16

I it is like a fire in my soul, like I have a. I have this feeling in my summer that I can't even explain and I was trying to explain it to my surface in our first session of 2024 and I was even struggling, but it's just this burning desire to really go for what I Want. One thing I'm gonna go get. I'm very ambitious. I'm gonna go for what I want, no matter what. Nothing or no one is gonna ever stop that.

Speaker 1: 9:41

But after experiencing burnout and experiencing doubt and doubting certain things again, you know being the founder of a nonprofit, when you're hearing yes, but then you're still hearing knowing other instances Be having this podcast. I was able to record and have an episode uploaded every Tuesday of 2023. That was an accomplishment. You know, starting grad school that was an accomplishment. But there were other goals that I set for myself that I wasn't able to accomplish because again, of that burnout or just the lack of Motivation. And I was okay with that, because the overachieving me had to accept and acknowledge that You're not gonna be able to accomplish every goal and that's okay. That the days of me killing myself to accomplish a goal, it's, it's, no more, and what I mean by that. I'm gonna twist it now. I'm gonna work my ass off to make sure that I Accomplish my goal, but if it comes to a point where some sort of situation or circumstances, circumstances not allowing me to Reach that goal, we just we kind of break. We just gotta Find a final plan B to see what's, what's the what's the alternative route I can take to ensure that I still get to accomplish set goal.

Speaker 1: 10:46

So this trip, really it lit that fire that was that's in me, but it was starting to, I guess, blow out and I am really appreciative of my time there and being able to ring in the new year and the end while there, because of the burning desire I have literally in my stomach, I Decided I'm gonna go with two words for 2024. Usually I go at one word, or I go to phrase or mantra, but this year I am gonna. I'm choosing the word surrender and intention because I have a burning desire to do Every single thing with intention, like I've had the word intention For as my word of the year a couple years ago. But the burning desire that I have right now, like I'm talking to you, friend, and to be honest, I don't even know who I am, because, again, I'm an overachiever and I'm an ambitious young lady. I get shit done.

Speaker 1: 11:39

But, however, something about the need to do everything with intention at the next step that I'm gonna take has to be done entirely with intention. The next word that I'm gonna speak to you has to be done with intention is it's thought out Thoroughly. The next meal that I eat has to be done with intention. Everything good thing how I'm driving on the street like every, how I'm brushing my teeth, how I'm doing my skin care, whatever it is I just have this desire to do every single thing in my life, especially in this year, with intention. And also I'm just want to surrender, because sometimes being an overachiever, that's one of the reasons why I have anxiety issues, to be quite honest at this point, because of that. But just surrendering to, to whatever it is surrendering, accepting that knowledge in and realize that I don't have control over everything, and just take things at Face value. You know, take things at face value, essentially without any sort of Interpretation, and my therapist did tell me that some I'm literally stealing her her phrase to me, but that's, that's, that's how I I Intend to when it comes to surrendering and just doing everything with intention. It's taking things at face value, without any sort of interpretation, and just assume the best intent, unless I have some sort of tangible evidence of any sort of malintention. You know what I mean. So those are my words for 20 24 and that is to surrender and to do everything with in Tension.

Speaker 1: 13:07

So now, like I got a little intro to the way totally my business to some extent. I had a great time in Dubai. It was life-changing for me and one thing about me when it comes to traveling and it makes, I think Dubai also gave me the travel bug, because we always talk about I wanted to travel, wanted to travel, but then dedicate most of my life to working, working, working, working, really taking application. But I think this trip ignited that, because it took me back to my trip to Uganda in 2019 and how that that study about trip just literally Change my life. If you've heard my story about how my nonprofit came about and the inspiration behind it from my study about trip, you would know that the trip to Africa, the trip to Uganda, severely changed my life and I think since then I've seen a trajectory in my life and how I Look at life, how I look at things, how I perceive different things again. I'm not perfect, I'll tell you that much, but that trip changed my life and I think now in 2023, but now in 2024, I am seeing, or I'm reaping, what I sold while on that trip to Uganda.

Speaker 1: 14:10

So I'm just excited for this new year and how I can continue, how you can continue to be on your, your journey to Self-awareness, your journey to being the best version of yourself. You know it starts with healthy, healthy habits and all these different, fresh thoughts, and I think January is a Great time to do that, because we want to. I want you to join me on this journey when it comes to Revitalizing your routine, our routine for a healthier and happier you, because the goal for this year is good vibes only. We're gonna be healthier, we're gonna be happier. At last year, the entire theme throughout the podcast with the various Episodes, was on our journey, on our health and wellness journey, and we're gonna keep that up. We're gonna go deeper and talk about other different things so that we can maintain our health, so we can be happier as well. But I'm gonna be honest with you.

Speaker 1: 15:01

I am personally not setting. I don't have any new year's resolution. I haven't done that in a while, like I'm just I personally not really to the point at this point in time because it stresses me out I can't. I'm not doing any sort of new year's resolution, but I'm also not setting any goals for the entire year, like that's gonna be my anxiety kind of kind of Cannot manage that. I made a decision that I wasn't going to like before. I will make a decision for every month in 2024.

Speaker 1: 15:28

One life is too short. We don't know what the future holds. But I I'm making the conscious decision and being intentional by setting goals Quarterly, like I really want to take everything one day at a time, which I will one month at a time. But realistically speaking, obviously, especially as a nonprofit founder, you know, on the business woman I am going to be setting Quarterly goals. I'm just keeping it real.

Speaker 1: 15:49

I kind of sit here and tell you what's gonna happen in November. I am gonna do quarterly goals, but I will say that, even though I said I am going to do or create quarterly goals, there are some specific goals that I'm gonna be working on or working towards accomplishing. That's not gonna happen until quarter three, maybe quarter four. You know what I mean Because, again, I don't know what the future holds. But again, that burning desire that I have is the constant. The theme right now is change, change, change, and so the goals that I have that aren't necessarily gonna be in this quarter, but more so will be towards the end of this year or the mid part of this year, I have to actively be working towards these goals. So I'm definitely that much I know. But as far as setting goals for the entire year, no man, no sir, I'm not doing that. But there are some very, very specific goals that I have to and want to accomplish by a certain month of this year that I will be actively working behind the scenes. But other than that, I am doing quarterly goals for my own piece of mind.

Speaker 1: 16:56

So as we look ahead, before we even look ahead, you know, take a moment and again I'm talking to you like in week three of January, but if you haven't like, take a moment to reflect on the past year, because I think oftentimes we forget myself included some of the accomplishments that we have achieved, even if it's nothing big, whatever it is. You know we celebrate small wins here, but take a moment to look back at and reflect on the year that you had in 2024, like what were your accomplishments? What challenges did you face? You know, because when we have this self-awareness, it is gonna set the stage for us to again set specific or realistic goals, or small goals as we call it here in the body class and in society. So you definitely wanna explore that and do some self-introspection to see where you are. From me Again, like I said, I accomplished some goals, some I didn't, and I experienced burnout.

Speaker 1: 17:49

But now I have this deep fire in my soul that I want to ensure that I accomplish my goals. You really wanna reflect on the past year and see where you are so you can set intentional goals for this year. Whether you're a person that you may want to set goals for the entire year, that's fine. If you're someone that wanna set goals weekly, monthly, quarterly, you do what essentially works for you. But the key is for us to set goals or get into the habit of setting our goals. So when we're talking about habits now, for me the goal here is for us to create healthy habits and routines so that we can stay on this wellness journey. So you wanna look into, think about the science of habits like understand, maybe, the psychology behind it so that it can empower you to make changes that are gonna last for a lifetime For me.

Speaker 1: 18:44

I'm someone who I do really well with routines and creating habits, but when it comes to set habits, sometimes of course I tend to fall off the wagon and I'm noticing that that depends on where I am in my menstrual cycle, and that's something that I'm trying to be consistent with is the four phases in the menstrual cycle. But every day is not gonna be the same. If you're a menstruating person listening to this podcast, every day is not gonna be the same. Every week is not gonna be the same. We laugh or we joke and say that as a woman or as a menstruating person, you only have one good week and I'm like, do we even have one good week? But the point is, I think me and my habits, sometimes I fall off faster because, again, it just depends on where my mood is, and I'm trying to work on that.

Speaker 1: 19:28

But I also am a person that I like to. I like a routine, because one thing about me, the one routine that I can say is constant in my life, is my morning routine, and that means I'm a morning person. I wake up early. I cannot stay up late at night. I am not a night out, I am a morning person. I will be up at the quack of dawn ready to go in the best mood Not every day, again, because I am human. But I think the one thing that remained constant was is my morning routine, and I think I attribute that to going up in Antigua, where we had to get up to go to school, get up at 6, 6, 7 to get ready to go to school, and that just stuck with me. It's one of the reasons why, if I had to choose between morning or afternoon classes, I am gonna do morning. Let me get the day out of you know, let me go to class, get things out of the way and I can come back and have my day to myself. So, definitely, I am working on on building, breaking the bad habits that I have and building healthy ones, because one of my bad habits also is, even though I'm up sometimes even I'm up every day at the quack of dawn or even before the quack of dawn, because sometimes my sleeping schedule is just what it is I sometimes struggle.

Speaker 1: 20:30

A bad habit of mine is staying in the bed extra longer than I need to because I am picking up my phone, scrolling, checking an email or checking my WhatsApp or checking the message or on social media, and I've been trying to break that bad habit. Some days I'm good, some days I'm not, but I can say again, the goal for me is to be intentional. I do not want the first thing that I do in the morning is to pick up my phone to check social media. What I do, I do have the Bible app and I do have a gratitude journal that I have on my phone as well. So they are on my meditation app. So there are some things that I have to do on my phone, which is fine, but making it a habit to not even venture over to any sort of social media, that's when my phone goes to do not disturb at a certain point at night and a certain point in the morning, because the only thing that I need to be doing is the Bible app, my gratitude journal app and all my gratitude to draw up, and my inside timer app where I do my meditation, and then, of course, our journal, and now I've been trying to incorporate reading at least 10 to 20 pages in the morning before I get to do anything else as far as brushing my teeth, all these different things.

Speaker 1: 21:37

I'm not going to do my oilponing, all that morning self-care routine, but definitely that's one of my bad habits that I'm trying to break is to pick my phone up and be on social media or even responding to messages or email that early in the morning. If I do, of course, that's by choice, but I don't want it to be a constant thing. So, as you can hear, breaking bad habits and trying to build healthier ones is it can be challenging. I mean, we're human, we live in a social media world, we want to know what's going on, the fear of missing out sometimes, but you definitely want to have the right mindset and even the right strategy so that you can achieve your goal and break the bad habit and have healthier ones. So one of the ways you can do that is to develop and think about, become more self-aware, like, identify and even understand what your bad habits are, maybe recognize your triggers or any underlying reasons behind some of these bad habits as well.

Speaker 1: 22:32

And then one of the biggest thing that I had to do, and I'm encouraging you to do, is to acknowledge the impact of these habits on your wellbeing. It's one of my phone and I'm replying to message and that ends up going to another conversation. It's like no, this sometimes you know how you start your morning is how set the tone for your day. So you definitely want to acknowledge the impact of your habits on what is doing to your wellbeing. And, of course, you want to start small, like let's just focus on one habit at a time, because if you are like me and don't be like me and I don't think I'm like this anymore, but who knows, I'm not perfect you want to focus on one habit at a time because me, I want to wake up early, work out, I want to create my meal, do breakfast, I want to do everything I want. And it's like girl, let's focus on getting out of the bed when your alarm goes off and then you can do your de-forces and everything outside of your bed. Let's get back into the habit of journaling every day. Let's get back to the habit of getting up, going to your bathroom and doing your oil pulling and then you know, let's start there. So focus on one habit at a time, because breaking a habit and trying to make it into a routine, you know it's really a gradual process and if you want to jump into something where you don't even you haven't even been as consistent. It's not going to be easy. So you want to start small. I make sure that it's a habit that can be manageable so you're not necessarily feeling overwhelmed because, like me, I want to do everything all at once and then, before you know it, I'm tired before it's even 9 am. You know what I mean. So definitely want to start small and make these habits that you're trying to break. Make them manageable so you can avoid feeling overwhelmed and then set clear goals. It's working about this on the podcast last year.

Speaker 1: 24:08

Definitely want to have some clear and realistic goals. That could be if you're someone who smokes or you drink alcohol and you want to quit that, or you know. For me, I want to incorporate exercise. I was doing well and then, before you know it, fall off the rocker again. So you know you can be something that you're incorporating exercises. Just have a specific target goal, because that's going to help. So then that way you can break down your larger goals into smallest.

Speaker 1: 24:33

For me, I want to not necessarily lose weight, because I don't know what ways I have to lose, but I want to tone up. I want to be able to build stamina in the gym and just build my stamina. So my goal right now is for me to work out consistently several times a week and just be more intentional again with the types of work that I'm doing, because I think in the past, like last year, I was just working out for the sake of working out. I want to say that I mean I did have a goal. I wanted to tone up, I wanted to get rid of my little tummy that I have here. There's so many things that I wanted to build stamina. But again, even though I had these goals last year, going to the gym I wasn't necessarily actively, I didn't have a plan. To some extent, like I had a plan, then I stopped following that plan and then here we are not in the gym right now, but I'm getting back to that definitely this week. By the time you hear this, you'll go. We will be back in the gym as well, with a personal trainer this time.

Speaker 1: 25:26

You know it is what it is, but instead of eliminating a bad habit, maybe find a healthier alternative. Like for me, I want to snack more in between meals because I'm not Unless I'm being cooked for, which is really crazy these days the motivation to make a meal sometimes is lacking for me. I don't want to say hard, because when I'm cooking and I'm cooking we love you know I eat so, but I do want to incorporate snacking in between. But sometimes my snacks are not the most healthy. So instead of essentially eliminating snacking, I'm going to try to swap me eating an unhealthy snack with something that's healthy.

Speaker 1: 26:05

One thing I do I have limits on my social media how many hours a day I can be on social media. When that limit is over, I'm leaving it. I am not out here picking up the phone. I mean, I have instances when you know, okay, my limit on Instagram is over and I'm like, oh, remind me in 15 minutes. No, I'm not doing that, I'm trying to put down my phone. Less screen time. So now for me, I'm going to replace when that time is up on Instagram. I don't even want to get to a point where I'm running out of time, the time that I set for myself when it comes to social media, but what I want to do is I want to incorporate Reading more, like I did read 28 books out of my 25 books that I said for last year.

Speaker 1: 26:44

But I do want to read more of granted, I'm in grad school, so I don't know what time I'm gonna find. But again, I don't want. I don't want my life to be surrounded by everything else. I want to have a hobby. You know, I was gifted a Kindle this Christmas one of the best gifts I can never have, because I've been wanting to kindle for a while. So I'm happy I got that. So I know I can. I can definitely be reading before I Go to Bed.

Speaker 1: 27:07

And then you want to maybe have someone share your goals. Again, it doesn't matter how big or small these goals are. Of course, they're gonna be clear and realistic, but I encourage you to share them, like having a country really partner. Share your goals with your friends or family member who can provide support and hold your content. But so you don't, you don't want to be out here sharing your goals With just any random person or any random friend or family member. You want to share it with someone who Is going to be able to provide you that support and hold you accountable. So that's how you're going to maintain, break these bad habits and, of course, create these healthy routines as well.

Speaker 1: 27:41

And one thing I'm going to be doing this year and I encourage you to do as well is to Track your progress. I didn't I did a bad job in 2023 doing that, but again, my goal is to surrender. My goal is to do everything the thing with intention. So I I do have my journal that I, you know, write my thoughts on everything, but I also want to keep a track, keep a journal to track my progress, so you know, note what times am I getting up, what time am I eating, like right now, I'm at the point in my life where I have to say, okay, I'm getting up at 5 30, I'm having my water at 5 45 or whatever the case. Maybe I'm having my tea, like. Like literally every single thing is written down. Now, what I do sometimes, too, is I put the reminder or write my to-do list. I'm wanting to do this, and my afternoon I might even to do this and post it so that it's with me. But you definitely want to think about tracking your progress and noting what time, or the times that you are able to avoid your bad habits and stick to a healthy one.

Speaker 1: 28:39

You know, create small victories, like for me, and record in this podcast episode I'm like, okay, once I'm done. Was it hard for me to record this episode? It was not necessarily. Was I delaying in recording this episode? Absolutely yes, I'm not gonna even like to. I can be transparent. But I told myself right before I was gonna record this episode. I was like you know what? No, let me go later. I have a headache which I do because you know you guys don't mean my migraine chronicles but I'm like I have a headache, I'm gonna later, I'll record it the next day. And I was like, no, we're not gonna do this because we've been saying the next day, next day, next day for the last since last Yesterday. You know what I mean. And I decided I'm making a lot. Once I'm done recording this episode, I can make me a nice meal and I can put on a movie. I don't have to do anything else for this evening because this is my self-care day.

Speaker 1: 29:21

So definitely do something to celebrate your small, your small victories. And there will be setbacks in life or setbacks when it comes to go, but let's lose it as a learning experience or learning opportunity To see where you fell short and how you can pick up again. We're not here, we're almost not built in the day. We're not gonna create these habits overnight. We have to be consistent. We have to change our mindset and be more mindful and intentional to ensure that we are Doing everything that we possibly can to Accomplish and achieve our goals, no matter how small it is.

Speaker 1: 29:55

So, for me, I'm a visual person and I've also been practicing mindfulness, as you know. So you want to be able to can stay present and aware of your actions. I've, I've seen, I've been in the presence of individuals who aren't necessarily always present in the moment or aware of their actions, you know. But you definitely want to practice mindfulness so you can stay present and be aware. Like taking a deep breath it's so important taking a deep right and do wonders for you. We had Christy man on the podcast last day when we just literally just was Inhaling, exhaling for like a good minute, and the way the power that held and how it made me feel in that moment. So definitely want to take some time to just definitely Take a breath in between the business of your life.

Speaker 1: 30:36

Visualize yourself successfully breaking your bad habit and enjoying the benefits of having a healthy one. Like for me, I'm visualizing that I'm having a six pack. Granted, I mean, I don't think the goal is really a six pack, but I'm envisioning my belly being flatter than it is right now. I mean, I'm envisioning my, my, my, my body being toned, my arms looking how, how I'm seeing them, like I. I can see it and that's that, to me, is what's Motivating me to want to work out again. You know, every day is not going to be the same, but every time when I think I want to give up or not, or go back to a bad habit by not working on or by putting it off, I'm going to go back to that vision that I have of how my body is going to look, how I'm going to be feeling. Again. We're in the primary, nobody me. I'm in my primary my body for pregnancy phase of life. So I'm just envisioning having that nice tone body and feeling lighter, feeling healthier. So when it's time to carry my child, you know I can be in the best shape and I have this routine that I can continue. So definitely visualize yourself Successfully breaking that bad habit so you can enjoy the benefits as well.

Speaker 1: 31:43

Again, learn from setbacks. Understand that setbacks are a natural part of the process. Maybe think about what, what led to that setback you know, and then adjust your strategy and then just continue, keep continuing, keep continuing. Like I said again, reward yourself, because, well, you know we talk about oh, I'm gonna reward myself a brunch, I'm gonna do whatever. Find healthier ways, maybe to reward yourself for me.

Speaker 1: 32:04

Again, I I do love to read Because I think reading does broaden my horizon, and I got that particular quote from my librarian Can't even remember her name when we were in high school and she said that, you know, reading will broaden your horizon and I think that's when my passion developed to an extent as far as reading. So, for me, instead of scrolling aimlessly on tiktok, instagram, facebook or whatever the case may be, I can be reading, using that time when I'm in bed to read before Going to sleep, so I can just power down my mind as well. But this mind that constantly runs like on a hamster wheel, day in, day out, so doesn't want to do that. And, of course, again, build that routine. Integrate these new habits into your daily routine, and I know it's very cliche. What consistency is key and that's how we're gonna continue to make our behaviors Is. You know, incorporate that chain.

Speaker 1: 32:56

So you got to be consistent, you got to. You have to be consistent if you want to be successful, if you want to be the healthier version of your self, take it from me. I mean, I'm here giving you an episode every Tuesday. That was not always the case. You know what I mean. I had to. I had to visualize when I saw myself, where I saw my podcast taking me, and I had to be persistent. I had to be patient. I had to push myself, even on the days when I didn't want to again, like a day like today. I had to definitely push myself and I also tried to reflect regularly and to see what I can do To make sure that I'm putting myself in the best position to to be successful and, of course, be be compassionate towards yourself. We got to.

Speaker 1: 33:41

You know again, are we talking about habits? You want to build that morning routine. You know again how you start your days, how you. It's how you set the tone for the rest of it. So think about what you can do in the morning for me. I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna say my prayers. It doesn't matter, I will send my prayers thanking the lord for me to be alive another day. I am going to journal in the morning because sometimes, sometimes I have very vivid dreams that sometimes scare me or it's just crazy, and if you know anything about me, some dreams when they are real, depending on what it is. I am going to work hard to ensure that that that said dream is happening. So, like I told you guys, you know I have specific goals for this year. That is as a result, specific goals. That's not in the first quarter of my Goal planning. What I have, specific goals and that is as a result of a dream, and that's because you know I even wrote it out. So when you write things out, for me it it means that it's gonna come to fruition.

Speaker 1: 34:35

You want to say, not morning routine. You want to practice mindfulness. You know if that's gonna be, if you're a morning person and you want to Work on any money, whatever it is, but make sure you build that From foundation when it comes to a morning routine. And then you want to talk about Nutrition. You know nurturing your body and your mind, developing healthy eating habits. Because, let me tell you this, nutrition, our nutrition, really and truly plays a very important role in our overall well-being. Like we talk about mindful eating, making nutritious choices, you know simple ways to incorporate healthy foods into your meal and we're gonna have a guest talking about, you know, nutrition for the busy person, because you know I'm busy to your busy, but we also have to ensure that we are Eating or having a balanced diet as well. You know the power of movement, exercise and physical activity is important. Get that body going. If it's just walking for five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes a day, you definitely want to do that.

Speaker 1: 35:33

I'm not saying to go to the gym and start lifting all these heavy weights, but just find some way for you to be physical throughout your day. So that's something that's a, that's a habit to develop or incorporate if it's not there, so that it can become part of your routine. You know, of course we have our evening routines. It does so many different things that you can do to incorporate your, your routine, and I do want to share Some healthy habits and routines that I am going to be incorporating into my life this year and I'm encouraging you to do the same, you know. So you can just take, take what works for you. What I'm saying Don't be me, don't be an overachiever. I mean, of course, been overachiever, but at the same time, be realistic with what we're doing. But I want to share these with you so you can Continue to work on building these healthy habits, maintaining these health and wellness, essential so that we can have a fulfilling life in 2024.

Speaker 1: 36:28

So, for me, I'm going to be Exercising regularly. I don't know how, I haven't decided yet how many minutes per day I'm going to be or how many minutes per week or day I'm going to be working out, but I'm definitely going to be working out, incorporating, re-incorporating or creating that habit of moving my body and exercising. And that will include I've gotten that far. It's it's gonna include strength training exercise at least twice a week. I definitely want to have a balanced nutrition because these migraines I, I know, it's just, you know there's migraines, this Gastro issues that I tend to have from time to time. I don't want that some definitely being intentional in ensuring that I'm eating a variety of fruits.

Speaker 1: 37:11

One thing I will say my trip to Dubai. I think I, you know, open to different not different foods, but I mean because of course, we have the same foods here in America, but I don't know something about it. It just it just tasted and just felt better and just different. So I think I told myself that one. I know that I'm back, I'm going to Make sure that I buy those same foods and just try to eat them, because I just I like how I felt when I had them so definitely want to eat a variety of foods vegetables, I've definitely for me, whole grains and, of course, our proteins and healthy fats. I'm not someone who really Intake like processed foods and excesses, sugar or salt, but I definitely want to limit that and I encourage you to limit any sort of processed foods as much as you possibly can, any sort of sugar and any excessive salt intake.

Speaker 1: 38:00

I want to up my water intake. I want to drink at least a liter of water a day. That may sound little to you, my friend, but that's for me and where I'm in my current journey in life. I think a liter a day is reasonable. If I can do more some days, then of course I'm gonna do that. I am not a Stanley cup girlie. Yes, I've seen the crave and I've seen everybody going crazy. I am not a Stanley cup girlie as of now, but I'm definitely will be carrying a reasonable water bottle or just my regular water bottle to ensure that I am drinking at least a liter of water a day and try to be Consistent.

Speaker 1: 38:35

So you definitely want to have exercise regularly and balance nutrition, adequate hydration and quality sleep. Now, I know studies have shown that we need 79 hours of sleep. Being realistic, I am not getting that, I don't know if that's your, that's part of your ministry, but at least try to Establish, I will say, a consistent sleep schedule and create a nighttime routine that can ensure that you are relaxing before bedtime. If you are able, if you want to those people who can get 79 hours of sleep, coolers to you, give me a life. But at least try to develop a consistent sleep schedule. I'm making sure that you are getting adequate sleep, because you cannot be running on tools of sleep and that's that's just crazy. But at least find an amount of harmony. Also see that that's what that works for you and Make it consistent and practice a relaxing nighttime routine before bed.

Speaker 1: 39:24

For me, like I told you in the beginning, I Entered this year in a state of peace that I didn't know and as of now, when I'm recording this podcast, I am still in that peaceful mind state. They, of course, there are instances where I wear things become a little bit stressful, but you know what I do. I practice mindfulness. I am doing my deep breathing exercises. I am trying to schedule breaks in between my day to ensure that I'm decompressing, because I really don't want anything, or even anyone, to disrupt this level of peace that I have achieved right now. I'm trying to see I'm not trying to put a time limit on it but this level of peace right now is I've never experienced it in my Adult life, I would say so I'm trying to ensure that I'm practicing mindfulness to help with any sort of stress management.

Speaker 1: 40:14

And one more thing, because we're gonna have no one what? We're gonna have an episode about this to Schedule your regular health checkups. Please I don't know how to say it, but you want to schedule regular health checkups with your healthcare provider. Make sure you update it on your, your different preventative screenings, because that's gonna be key. We can talk about health and wellness, health and once but if we don't have no regular checkups, then that's how we, how we on our health and wellness journey. That's gonna be Important. Again, I'm gonna be limiting screen time, screen time on my phone and finding something more productive For me to do.

Speaker 1: 40:48

Of course, again, practicing hygiene and self-care Mention that you're maintaining and a good person on hygiene definitely want to be showing on a regular Doing your dental and oral care and, of course, incorporating and finding a skincare routine. And your skincare routine doesn't have to be Elaborate like my skincare routine, per my dermatologist is so simple and let me tell you my skin is skinning and I'm excited for that. So that's finding skincare routine that that works for you. If you're in the position to take a bath at night, take a bath pump you said they do something for you, so definitely want to maintain your hygiene and self-care. For me. I am gonna be working on Me planning again. Like I have someone very near and dear to me who created a Meal plan for me last year and I decided I'm gonna be intentional because I kept I wasn't as consistent as I should have been. So I decided I'm gonna be intentional with Me planning this time around. You know, planned my means ahead of time and show that they're balanced and nutritious and, of course, prepare my healthy snacks to avoid the unhealthy food choices in between my meals.

Speaker 1: 41:53

And one thing I want to work on even I talk about my exercise it is my posture. Like I don't know my. I think my posture something's on my neck is a very long like a giraffe. I'm always looking on the phone. My posture is just not what it's supposed to be. So I'm definitely and my job is pretty student area, did I say right? I don't know, but I want to make sure that I am. I'm actively working on this posture because I can't like something gotta get with this. I need to be able to can stretch properly without being in pain, but just not have this not so good posture that I have now.

Speaker 1: 42:25

Another thing that I, another thing that I want to do this year's, when I'm encouraging you, is Do better with my finances. Like last year, I think I made some. I can be transparent. I think I did something on this financially and I just want to be able to establish a Budget to manage my finances effectively. I want to be able to conceive and maybe invest for the future, but to create I'm. My goal is to have financial stability. So that is one of the things that I'm working on this year is to establish a budget and stick to it, and that's one of the things for sure, for sure and I want to be intentional with again, because I am working towards a specific goal by a certain time this year. So it definitely.

Speaker 1: 43:06

These are some of the things that I am doing, some healthy habits that I'm incorporating and routines in 2024. So I mentioned Regularly exercising, having a balanced nutrition, a balanced meat. Incorporate a variety of foods vegetables, whole grains. You definitely want to have adequate hydration, quality sleep. Be sure to practice mindfulness so that you can eliminate or lower any sort of stress that you may have in your life.

Speaker 1: 43:31

The big one for me is scheduling your regular health checkups. Make sure that you are meeting with your healthcare provider, you're staying up to date on vaccinations if that's what you do and, of course, the different preventative screenings. You know, if you're a woman, you want to make sure you get in your pap smear, you get to your mammograms, all these different things to ensure that everything is healthy, because we cannot talk about Health and wellness if we're not getting our regular checkups with our healthcare provider, and that includes our oral health as well and, of course, our mental health. We're not going when we talk about regular checkups. So maybe every six, three or six months I may be consistently like your mental health checkup. So you definitely want to ensure that you're scheduling and touching base with your healthcare provider. Of course, limiting screen time, of course, definitely want to practice gratitude. That's that's another thing that we're doing. We're going to incorporate and make sure that we are practicing and consistent with our hygiene and our self-care.

Speaker 1: 44:26

Me planning for me I'm working on my posture awareness if this was an institute, let me know, but I'm definitely working on my posture to ensure that I am not Harming myself by the time I get older than what I am as well and Financial planning establishing a budget to manage your finances, our finances, effectively, because you know, if we want to travel, well, we want to do, we got to do, we got to make sure that our budget is our budget is intact, you know, I mean so definitely, that's a very, very big one for me as well, and I will say I will leave this one with you. We're gonna set boundaries in 2024. I spoke about this last year to you, but we the last thing I'm gonna say to you here if we're gonna set boundaries, we're gonna learn to say no. Now, we're gonna set these boundaries to protect our time and our energy and and definitely try to prioritize and do things that are more online with your, with your values and your and your goals. That's, that's. That's one thing do something that is in alignment with your values and your goal. So, you know, as I wrap up, like I've been talking your a's off, this is this is how much I missed you that I'm talking, talking, talking. I didn't anticipate this first episode of the year to be this long, but nevertheless, I just miss talking to you and forgive me from rambling, I hope I'm not, but I just want to leave you with some tips, so on how you can be consistent with these new habits and routines that we're gonna be Created and maintaining.

Speaker 1: 45:52

Again, like I mentioned earlier, you want to start small. Just gradually increase Day by day, once every time. Start small, make sure that you're clear and you've set realistic goals for you when it comes to your different habits and your routine. Find different activities that can make them more sustainable. You know, create a schedule.

Speaker 1: 46:11

I mentioned use I mean, I do have a planner. Some of you Maybe, maybe I have a physical planning comes I haven't caught on to the digital planner Even yet, I don't know and there's something that's need to be written out and that's a form of my self-care as well. Well, you know, create a schedule, routine to make sure that these healthy habits are part of your life. I mentioned earlier using post-its. Even though I have a planner, I'm still writing my to-do list on my post-its on. One is on my bathroom mirror I in places that you can see. So definitely create a schedule so that you can make these healthy habits a part of your daily life so you can be consistent, track your progress and celebrate the small victories. You can celebrate by drinking a glass of wine I mean that's up to you. You can celebrate by creating a nice me. You can celebrate by just laying down, watching, binging your favorite TV show, whatever it is. But just track your progress and celebrate your small victories.

Speaker 1: 46:59

Remember, for me, I am Creating my goals from a quarter, the standpoint. If you're following me on this journey, which I hope you do at the end of each quarter, you can check in and track your progress and celebrate as well, and just stay motivated and remember the long-term Benefits of a healthy lifestyle for me. I mentioned, you know, wanting to get rid of these migraines that I have consistently wanting. You know priming my body, for of course, I want a family. So priming my body for pregnancy, so making sure I'm doing the necessary things that I need to do to ensure that that's a long-term benefit for me, a long-term benefit for me creating Sustain and maintaining these healthy habits. Just remember, consistency is key and, of course, farming. Any habits can take time, but just make the adjustments as you see fit. Listen to your Body, because only you know how you feel. So, of course, I hope you're joining me If I, if I missed anything.

Speaker 1: 47:54

Again, these are my habits that I am incorporating in 2024. I hope you homey accountable, because you know we are not perfect, but the goal is for us to ensure that we Definitely be consistent and do what works for us. So, as we continue on into 2024, I want to leave you with this phase Mantra. You can look at it, take it how you, how you see fit, but it is. Remember. I told you my words for this year are surrender and to be intentional with everything, but also we're gonna create the life that we want as best as we possibly can. Nothing or no one is gonna stop us From doing what we want to do and what we want to accomplish. But the quote that I want to leave you guys with as we wrap up the first episode here, 2024 T, with Tanya, is my roomy. It's my roomy and it says as you start to walk on the way the way appears. So something when the road, when the way ahead looks rough, it seems challenging, it seems hard, just remember as you start to walk on the way the way appears.

Speaker 1: 49:04

Thank you for tuning in. I am looking forward to catching up more with you in the tea tasting room this season. We have lots of exciting episodes coming up. We have an episode that's tied to nutrition for busy people. That's gonna be a good one, so definitely want to tune in for that. We're talking about understanding our anatomy cycle, thinking Break, control and why I'm taking it. Yes, I said it. I can't believe I just said that, but definitely we're gonna be talking about that health screenings to make time for stress management during the reproductive years and how to start therapy and Much more. So definitely I look forward to seeing you in the tea tasting room Next. We have a good day. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.