Take the New Year Challenge

Monday, January 02, 2012

Your Relationship

Assignment: Take stock of your relationship with your partner and decide what you want to improve for the New Year.

Just like a business, it's important to analyse the relationship you have with your partner to see what improvements need to be made so that you can benefit as a couple.

"The beginning of a year is an opportunity for changes and a fresh start. Naturally, couples and businesses are going to have goals that might not be the same as the other person, so to start out and to ensure that all the mistakes of last year don't happen again, you do the assessment at the start of the year," said counselling psychologist Lola Allen-Jones.

You can begin my making a list of the things you love about your relationship and those things you would like to change. It might not necessarily be changes your partner should make but rather flaws you realise in yourself that might be preventing your relationship from growing.

"The most difficult part is talking about it because it's easy to write and you can write and write, but you have to sit down together and talk about it and you have to think, too, about where you want to go in terms of things you want to achieve in life," said Lola Allen-Jones.

However, she was quick to add that both persons would have to agree on where they want to take their relationship and, too, that both will need to make a full commitment to seeing it grow.

"You have to know what you want from the relationship because in a relationship each person is expected to give 100 per cent. People tend to say it's 50/50, but it's not 50/50; each person is expected to give to his or her partner 100 per cent, so we short changed with that mentality of the 50/50," she said.

One of the things most couples struggle with is communication and, as such, Allen-Jones suggested that this will be one of the things that couples might find themselves needing to address this year.

In communicating, she said a couple must be able to take criticism and make an effort to change themselves for the better and for their relationship to work.

"You have to be able to own up to it, so if she says to him bwouy, you have been staying out late too many nights with the boys, he is going to have to be honest about that and understand where you are coming from," she said.

Your Finances

Assignment: Round up the money spent to the next 1,000 and save the difference.

Denise Williams, vice-president of marketing at Mayberry Investment Limited, said women should do what is called a 'round up' when it comes to spending.

"Every time you spend, round up the amount spent to the next 1,000 and put away the difference," Williams said.

"For example, if you spend $4,800 at the supermarket, tell yourself that you spent $5,000 and put away the $200. Or if you spend $2,100 at the gas station, round it off and tell yourself you spent $3,000 and set aside the $900. Then each week or each month, you take whatever you have put aside to the bank. If you feel you want to do it weekly fine. If you feel you want to do it monthly fine, but make sure that you don't touch that amount that you have put aside," she added.

According to Williams, the key is to put something away every time you spend, no matter how small it may seem. She explained that persons would have to ensure too that they make a list of the things purchased and the amount spent along with the difference when rounding up to the next 1,000.

"This is not easy even though it may sound simple," she warned, but that is why it is called a challenge."

Your Children

Assignment: Hug your child and tell him/her that you love him.

While this may be the norm for some parents, there are those who never take the time to hug their children and tell them that they love them.

Some fail to do so because of ignorance of just how important it is to a child while others just cannot seem to make the time to reach out to their children.

This week, give your child a hug and tell them how much you love them.

Child psychologist Camille Lemonious said it builds their self-esteem and helps to convince them of their parents love.

"Right now, a lot of our children suffer from lack of parental affection... Too many of our children grow up in homes where they don't feel welcome. And when you hold your child, when you hug them, when you kiss them, it helps to remind them that they are wanted and loved," she said.

Your Health

Assignment: Make a list of the fitness goals you'd like to achieve for 2012.

It's the start of a new year, and what better time to begin formatting your fitness plans for the rest of the year than right now?

Go get out your pen and notepad and start jotting down the changes you would like to make in your diet and fitness routine, so you can have optimum success this year.

"If you have a clear picture in your mind as to where you want to go, then hopefully you'll have something to guide you to ensure that you achieve your goals. You can make a list and you need to put it somewhere where you'll be able to access it," advised nutritionist and fitness coach Donovan Grant.

Make sure that your goals are realistic and will fit in well with your lifestyle, or you'll only be setting up yourself for failure. Your goal might just be something as simple as vowing to eat breakfast every morning, drinking eight glasses of water per day or jogging at the park twice per week.

"You have to sit down, assess your goals health wise, look at the challenges from last year and look at where you want to go," Grant said.

After writing down your goals, it is advisable that you put the list somewhere where you'll be able to see it daily.

"Whether you want to put it on the dash board in your car or you want to put it on the mirror or on the refrigerator, it would be more effective if placed somewhere you can see it," the nutritionist said.

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Take the New Year Challenge