Welcome to the New Year all! Ready or not….2017 has arrived. Over here at Citra Solv, we’re doing our best to make strides in the right direction for overall health and wellness. But you know the drill. Make your New Year’s resolutions on Monday only to find them already broken by Thursday if not Wednesday. Study after study indicates that most of us ditch our New Year’s resolutions within a week of making them. Yikes. So why bother at all you might ask?

Maybe because New Year’s resolutions might help us relax - rejuvenate and ultimately - feel better. Because at the end of it all, shouldn’t that be our goal? With this mindset, we urge you to explore these three ideas that just might motivate you to set some solid and substantial goals for the year. Let’s kick start a healthy, helpful and happy perspective this 2017!

1.) Finally commit to your health and well-being

Yep, that’s right. That’s always the New Year’s resolution you’re supposed to make anyhow. Isn’t that the truth? And it may mean different paths for each of us depending on the starting point. We just read that 30% of us never exercise at all. Complete couch potatoes. If that’s you, how about committing to just 15 minutes a day of brisk walking? Or maybe you’re the person who buys the gym membership and goes every single day the first week and none thereafter. This time commit to 30 minutes of intense exercise just 3 times a week. No more than that to prevent burnout.

For the sleep deprived, it could mean going from 4 hours of sleep to 7 or 8, 9 hours if you really want to start spoiling your body. And maybe it is time to cut back on stimulates like coffee, energy drinks, alarm clocks and external lights - yes, including those from electronic devices…all of which disrupt our circadian rhythms and interfere with one’s natural sleep cycle.

If you’re a fast food junkie and feel guilty for all those mid-day caloric stops (not to mention the price tag, hey, even fast food adds up to some serious cash) .... how about indulging twice a month instead? The rest of the time you try adopting a diet focusing on nutritious to get your body revved up again. Instead of that nightly bowl of ice cream, treat your body to a bowl of strawberries or blueberries with their naturally satisfying sweetness.

2.) Commit to the health and wellness of others

Okay, it’s great that you’re finally investing in yourself. You’re going to the gym, eating healthier and cruising right past your favorite fast food joint, who needs fries anyhow? You even started a budget. Great. You’re feeling better than you have in years and have even lost a few holiday pounds. Awesome.

Now try focusing on those you love and cherish. How about taking over a hot meal to a sick friend or new mom? Consider writing a real birthday card (social media doesn’t count!) and popping it in the mail to an elderly aunt or cousin. You could be a fitness buddy to someone you know who is struggling with their weight and self-image and needs motivating. Invite them to go to the gym with you and encourage them on their journey. Volunteer in a soup kitchen, walk a neighbor’s dog, and just smile more, even at strangers. It will make their day!

After all, don’t you find that by enriching another’s life, you’ve really just enhanced your own? It’s the age-old question. When you bless another person, who benefits more, you or them? We’d argue both. You both come out as winners.

3.) Banish the bad from your life

What do you do with a tree or rose bush that’s scraggly and depressed? You cut off the dead branches. It allows the rest of the living plant to thrive. You mind and body work this exact same way too. You need to prune. This rule is hard to apply in real life, but you must in order to blossom.

Maybe it means distancing yourself from a friend or relative who is always negative and brings you down mentally, emotionally and physically. You may need to prune my friend for your own well-being and health!

To a lesser extent, it could be finally committing to organic foods and products and getting rid of all those harsh chemicals from your home and beauty regime. No more parabens, PEG’s, toxins and carcinogenic materials in the body, skin and hair products you rely on daily. Let’s commit to limiting our exposure to the toxic and steer clear of the bad. It’s time to look at ingredient lists and be aware of what we’re putting inside and outside our body and our homes. And we’d love it if you’d let Citra Solv and Air Scense naturally be the ones to refresh you and your home this year.

Educate yourself. Become more aware of the chemicals your body is coming in daily contact with. Sure - you knew about plastics and the hazardous BPA within, but did you know that store receipts contain just as much if not more BPA than plastic or cans? If you must handle them, make sure you wash your hands immediately to be safe.

And maybe you can’t afford all organic vegetables and fruits at first, but surely investing in buying some organic of the worst produce offenders will benefit you. Creating a food-friendly budget can help you ignite this effort.

Finally, don’t push yourself too hard at first at goals you know you can’t possibly live up to. It may make you fail. The key is baby steps. This type of resolution making should involve picking something you can actually do and following through. Be realistic. That’s at the heart of it all. Success means starting small, achieving that goal and moving on. And remember: it’s not just about physical health, it’s about mental and social health too!

Happy New Year to you and those you love. Let’s make 2017 the best yet.