HOW FASHION CAN HELP YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION BE SUCCESSFUL?

"Do not go to bed until you have gone over the day three times in your mind. 

What wrong did I do? What good did I accomplish? What did I forget to do? "

-Pythagoras

A new year, a new you, but how?

New Year's Resolutions are often created with a mindful goal to attack specific things you would like to change about yourself. Whether it be your weight, your lifestyle, or unrequited passions, a better you is waiting to be born. Unfortunately, every year we spend 10 minutes creating a list that is probably more productively used as a piece of scratch paper.

Why do our resolutions fail and how can fashion help?

New Year's resolutions usually fail, because they are concentrated lists of problems, without any regard to the formula behind these bad habits. Here are 3 examples of how fashion can help your resolutions:

RESOLUTION 1

HEALTH/FITNESS

You want to lose 10 pounds. 

You make a list of how you will exercise more, eat less, and stay away from processed foods. Sounds like a good plan, right? Wrong. This plan is too centralized on the specific problem and lacking in inspiration, and motivation.  If you want to lose 10 pounds, try adding the element of fashion and stay motivated. Invest in an attractive, but comfortable work out gear and enjoy getting ready for your exercise sessions. Buy a fun dress that is 1-2 sizes smaller, and hang it in a place you can see it every morning. Use it to motivate you, and provide you with visual imagery that is a tangible version of the future you are creating. 

RESOLUTION 2

PERSONAL LIFE

 You want to be more outgoing and meet someone new. 

Your plan includes, going out more, downloading a dating app, and being more "social", but most likely you will do none of them. The problem is, improving your personal life, can only happen, if you change on a "personal" level. Often times, this includes what we choose to wear. We fail to realize the impact of how we dress, and its relationship to how it attracts or rejects human interaction.

 The style of clothing, color, and cleanliness, are all factors observed before a smile is exchanged, or a word is spoken. If you want to improve your social life, start by evaluating your current fashion choices. Simple changes such as wearing a softer or brighter color, will immediately make you appear more cheerful and approachable. 

RESOLUTION 3

CAREER

You want to quit your stable job and chase your dream job.

Your plan includes calculating your finances, and mustering up enough courage to quit your stable job. However, most people, never find the courage and live a life of paying bills, and unrequited dreams. 

To "imagine" the reality of a dream, you must realize the discomfort of the unknown. Fear is one of the main reasons we stop ourselves from pursuing our passions, but the lack of positive visual imagery also exacerbate our fears.

One of the most simple ways to boosting positive visual imagery of your dream job, is dressing the part. Adopting the style of the person who has such a job, is a strong foot in the door of imagining yourself as that person.  

Best wishes and may you have a phenomenal 2018! 

xo,

Maya

Fashion Diet: Candy Binge and Getting Back on Track

    What happened to Maya's healthy fashion recipes for September Fashion Diet Series? 

I have a confession, I fell off the wagon. This entire week has been a complete failure, filled with stress and poor eating choices. I decided to write about it; because, failure is perhaps the most important issue to overcome, while pursuing a specific goal. 

 Failure is inevitable, but it  is not the final result. There's no need to beat yourself up, or throw in the towel. The game is not over, in fact, it's just begun. The key lies in two facts:

1.) Don't give up.

2.) Analyze where you went wrong, why, and make a new strategy! This part is really important because until you know where the problem is and why, you cannot possibly know what changes to make. 

If I analyze my diet failures, 90% of my weight gain is due to stress, and 10% laziness. When I feel good, I enjoy cooking healthy, eating right, and making all the right decisions. It's easy. However, when things get overwhelming, stress builds, and energy goes down. These are the moments that will power is tested  and bad choices are often made. 

I have done this in my past, and thus, most of the junk food has  been cleared out from my kitchen. However, recently I purchased a huge bag of candy for Halloween, and you can only guess what happened next...

Currently surrounded by piles of candy wrappers, I'm feeling pretty guilty and rather stupid, but there are a couple of more days in September and the diet will resume. Stay tuned for more of my healthy recipes!

xo,

Maya