You're constantly making choices as you live your life each day.  You choose what to focus on and how to spend your time.  You choose who to spend time with and which relationships to invest in.  You choose your response to all the situations and circumstances that come your way. 

Over time, the choices you engage in repeatedly become habits.  A habit is defined as:  "a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior; an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary."

The habits you cultivate matter; they influence the trajectory of your life.

With so much emphasis on performance, achievement, results, and outward appearances, it's easy to become distracted by and overly concerned with the superficial.  On the outside, things look good and you present the perfect picture of success. 
 
Meanwhile on the inside, you feel drained, confused, and unfocused.  You also feel increasingly disturbed as you find yourself becoming spiritually disconnected over time.
 
There are no shortcuts to maintaining good spiritual health; it needs to be nurtured on an ongoing basis.  Here are seven ways to regain your spiritual strength and focus.

Your feelings are part of an amazing and powerful communication system designed to guide and protect you.  While you don't want to be trapped, controlled, or incapacitated by your feelings, you do want to be aware of them and cognizant of what you're experiencing at any given time.

That awareness enables you to assess what's going on in your life so you can choose how best to respond. 
 
As you strive to become more attuned to your feelings, here are seven feelings you should never ignore.

“You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discover that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevsky. This is a very great liberation for the suffering, struggling person, who always thinks that he is alone.

“This is why art is important.  Art would not be important if life were not important, and life is important.”  James Baldwin, Author

Periods of struggle can leave you feeling trapped and alone, desperately trying to hold yourself together as you push through the darkness.

There are times when it makes sense to seek out input and guidance from a skilled health expert.  The specialized knowledge and support a trained practitioner provides may be just what you need to get focused, develop a plan, and stay motivated as you work towards your health goals.

But what about your own intuition and self-knowledge about your body?  Do you view yourself as the ultimate expert on your body and your personal wellness? 

Perhaps you're still trying to figure out what omega-3s, antioxidants, and free radicals are all about.  Maybe you're unsure about the exact steps you need to take to achieve and maintain the best health possible.  Even if you're not an expert on all things health-related, one important fact holds true:  you have an intimate awareness of your body that no-one else has. 

Ready to set some New Year’s resolutions?

Before diving into the specifics for all the goals you want to achieve, step back and take a high-level look at the year ahead.  What kind of year are you anticipating? 

Taking a big picture view of the year ahead provides valuable context to help you prioritize as you develop your goals. 

You drag your feet.  You procrastinate.  Perhaps you have a big job to complete and you feel overwhelmed, unsure of how to get started.  Perhaps you have an unpleasant task before you and you would simply rather not deal with it. 

Then there are those times when the task you're facing is neither all that big, nor particularly difficult or unpleasant.  Nevertheless, you still find yourself putting it off day after day.

When it comes to improving your health and well-being, it doesn't matter what your starting place is; there's always something you can do to get yourself moving in the right direction.  And those initial steps you take don't need to be extreme or overwhelming. 

In fact, it's better to start off with small, manageable changes.  As you follow through with taking small steps consistently, you'll see and feel the effects both physically and mentally.  Over time, these healthy behaviours will solidify into long term habits that become second nature to you. 

​Here are five small changes you can make that will yield big results for your physical health and mental well-being.​

Why is it some people seem to have much better luck than others?  We've all met people like that; those fortunate individuals who seem to draw good luck to themselves like a magnet.  Wherever they go, good things happen to them.  How do they do it?  What's their secret? 

Even though good luck is partly a matter of chance, it is indeed possible for anyone (including you) to attract more of it.  You might not be able to control exactly when, where, and how good luck will strike.  But with a few simple changes in behaviour, you can increase the likelihood more good luck will find its way to you.

“Do not be embarrassed by your mistakes.  Nothing can teach us better than an understanding of our mistakes.  This is one of the most effective forms of self-education.” 

Thomas Carlyle, 19th Century Philosopher
 
Some people seem to have a natural gift for dealing with mistakes and setbacks in life.  No matter what happens, they bounce back quickly, eager to move on to whatever comes next.  For others, recovering from mistakes is a struggle.  They come down hard on themselves when they mess up even slightly, often leading to a downward spiral that can be hard to get out of.
 
If you tend to view your mistakes with shame or embarrassment, it's time to shift your mindset.  Reframing these events as a learning opportunity is one of the most empowering things you do for yourself.