I gotta be real with you. It sometimes still triggers me to see so many people broadcasting their diets and over-the-top workout plans all over social media. The Daniela you might have met five years ago would have ranted about how oppressive it is to women (it’s actually oppressive to a whole lot more people than that), but not Daniela 2.0. 

These last five years have brought immense clarity. After upping my wellness game and addressing instead of ignoring inner wounds, it became easier to see the cycle: We fixate on diets and exercise because we have to eat to perform life’s most basic functions, and those basic functions require movement. Not to mention, there are structures of power that reinforce the belief that “all we need to do” is diet and exercise, but that’s a topic for another time.

One of my most recent realizations during meditation is that fixating on diet and exercise is neither good nor bad. It simply is. And the more we practice non-judgment in our health endeavors, the healthier we become.

Try this mindful moment.

Here’s a similar exercise in practicing nonjudgment: Consider the sentence that follows as neither good nor bad: Focusing on diet and exercise is only about 15% of the equation. It may be hard to hold that sentence as neither positive nor negative, and that’s okay, too. (The more you practice mindfulness, the easier it becomes to embody nonjudgment—even if it’s just for a few moments at a time.) 

Fact: We keep failing healthy resolutions because we neglect 85% of the picture, and we keep repeating old patterns (trying yet another diet or exercise plan) because it’s comfortable. It feels like the safest way to achieve our goal.

But it doesn’t always lead us to our goal, does it?  

Break the cycle of breaking up with your goals.

If you have health-related goals for the year ahead, it’s time to get a little uncomfortable. Growth only happens by stepping outside of your comfort zone, so with the spirit of a healthy challenge, I encourage you to examine each of your twelve wellness markers for holistic health: food, movement, rest, fresh air, energy, water, relationships, career, finances, mindset, spirituality, and purpose. 

You can begin delving into this essential inner work by taking a moment to answer these questions:

Food

• Am I content with how I nourish my body?
• Is the way I’m eating sustainable?
• What do my eating habits or patterns reveal?

Movement

• How do I feel when I move my body during everyday tasks?
• Is exercising a habit of mine or part of my profession/day?
• What exercise do I hate? Do I do it anyway? What exercise makes me feel alive? How frequently do I do that type of exercise? 

Rest

• How much do I rest a day (including sleep)?
• What activities recharge my mind and body?
• Which activities put my mind and body at ease?

Mindset

• Am I aware of my thoughts and emotions and in-tune with how they impact my mind and body?
• Am I aware of my triggers and how to self-soothe in healthy ways?
• How frequently do I check-in with my state of mind? 

This is the work. It’s not glamorous, and we’re great at telling ourselves we don’t have time for it. But we have to make the time. Few things are more valuable than our health, which is exactly why making time for it is always time well spent. Sometimes, that time isn’t about sweating and eating more plants. Sometimes, it’s about looking within.