Happy & Healthy
THIS IS THE GOOD INTENTIONS OF 2017
Now that we the Christmas coziness behind us (which I secretly find very unfortunate, because now we have to wait another 362 days), we can start preparing for the next celebration. Let the bowls of oliebollen, waffles, and other treats come, and put the bubbles cold, then we can get to work on Sunday with the intentions for the new year.
More sports and movement, healthier living and eating, and self-development: this is the top 3 of good intentions for 2017. And as you can see, these are all intentions focused on ourselves. Social intentions have almost completely disappeared in thirty years. And while social contacts are very important for your health, as shown by a study from Zilveren Kruis in collaboration with Kantar Public. In 67 percent of cases, our intentions are now individualistic in nature. And while social interaction is precisely so important for our health. So important that three years without social contact is worse than three years of unhealthy eating. Time to turn our good intentions into social intentions. Social contact is good for blood pressure and the immune system and also has a stress-reducing effect. Yet we Dutch are only somewhat aware of this, as no less than 42 percent of our population sees little to no connection between maintaining their social contacts face-to-face and good health. We find it more important to ‘take a moment for ourselves’ than to ‘visit grandma a little more often.’.
If we agree to pay a little more attention to each other and be a little kinder to each other, the world will naturally become a little more beautiful. And we could really use that nowadays. I will get to work with the following intentions. Will you join me?
Happy New Year, dear friends.
1. Go social
Humans are social animals, a group animal to be precise. To prevent stress and tension, it is important to have connections with others, such as your family, friends, but also neighbors. And the latter are sometimes forgotten. So schedule that cup of coffee with your neighbor.
2. More attention for your partner (and/or kids)
So Mr. Perfect, come forward. I have a list ready: trip to Copenhagen, weekend sauna, a walk in the woods, and an overnight stay in a cabin on the heath. And the phones stay at home. Because attention for each other is increasingly disappearing due to social media, among other things. Children need focused attention very badly. This is very important for their social and emotional development and thus for their health.
3. Don't let social media replace face-to-face contact
Plan a day (or part of a day) without your phone, or at least without social media. And now, in my case, that's quite a thing, because social media is my work. Still, I want to participate in this. Maybe on the weekend? Use this as an extra contact moment; instead of spending that hour on Facebook (because when you add it all up, you really lose that time daily), go for a walk with that friend you haven't seen in so long because you both have been so busy or go have coffee with your grandma. Working on good health is not only an individual activity like eating healthy and moving more, no, it also requires social effort.
4. Join a team sport or join a choir or band
Then you make social contacts and are also doing something healthy.
5. Reconnect with an old friend
Get in touch with a friend from your youth. How nice is it to reconnect with old contacts and share childhood memories?
6. Send cards instead of using social media
How happy do you get from a card you receive in the mail? Away with those Facebook congratulations, a handwritten card or letter, that makes us all happy.
7. Visit your grandma a little more often
Because as long as it can still be done, isn't that the absolute best?
Happy New Year, dear friends.
