Tag Archives: New Year

A Fresh Mindset for the New Year

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Though we’re a little late, we want to wish you and yours the happiest New Year! May 2022 bring you comfort, peace, and prosperity!

It is a time honored tradition that people begin the new year with new goals. If you’re like us and didn’t get started right away on January 1st, that’s okay! You don’t need to wait for the next year to roll around to make a move toward your goals – today is always the best day to start improving.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis

The last two years have been unusual and tiring in numerous ways and many of us could use a mental reset. Even if everything around you feels out of your control, one thing you can control is yourself and how you respond to the world around you. So, in honor of the New Year and new beginnings, we thought it would be good to take some time to reset our outlook and approach the new year with fresh feelings of purpose and possibility.

“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.” —Anne Frank

If you’re having trouble coming up with resolutions or ways to reboot your mindset, we found a few recommendations from Parade.com that will hopefully help you with both – goals to help you change yourself and your outlook for the better.

Give one compliment a day – it’s like a free form of gift giving. You can make someone else’s day a little better and maybe feel better afterwards yourself.

Do random acts of kindness – it can be something as smaller, like holding the door for the person behind you or letting that person over in traffic, or more substantial, like volunteering your time to help someone in the community. No matter the method you choose, it seems like we could all benefit from a little more kindness.

Clear out the clutter – studies have indicated that clutter can increase your stress levels, which then negatively impact your physical and mental health. Take some time to clean out stuff you don’t need, because it can make you feel so much better. Plus, fewer things to worry about keeping clean and organized!

Write down something you’re grateful for each night – big or small, taking time each day to be thankful can help shift your overall outlook towards the positive. Some also believe that daily gratitude can also help with depression and anxiety.

Whatever the goal, write it down – there have been some studies that indicate putting your goals in writing makes it more likely that you accomplish them. It helps you remember your starting point, reinforces the plan in your mind, and you can reference it later if you fall off but want to get back to it.

No matter how you approach the New Year, we wish you the best and hope that you find peace, prosperity, and success in your endeavors.

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” —Benjamin Franklin

How to Make 2017 the Best Year Ever

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As we welcome the new year, many of us wish to make it the best year ever. But how can we have a great year without putting some effort into it? There is one thing that we all can do — that many of us haven’t done in a long while — that will improve the quality of your life and the life of others around you.

It’s volunteering.

Let’s be honest. Volunteering sounds like a lot of work, especially for those who have full-time job.  But for those who are retired, it turns into a tremendous blessing. With any lifestyle you may have, consider the following benefits and values of volunteering:

  • The feeling of accomplishment: Giving up your time to do something for others can make you feel wonderful. Knowing that you chose to help others instead of sleeping in on the weekends will make you feel accomplished and productive. Helping kids with their homework at the local libraries or in your mobile home park club house instead of spending time watching television shows will make you feel like you make a difference.
  • Meet new people, make new connections: In any place that you volunteer, you will definitely meet new people. Depending on the type of the organization, you can even make new friends and new connections. Volunteering in your mobile home community will help expend your friendships. Talk with your park manager about starting a home work club and tutoring for children in your park, or ask about residents who are unable to get out much. Stopping by for a visit would mean a lot to them.
  • Learn something new: A great thing about volunteering with non-profit community organizations is that you can choose an organization that interests you, or you can choose one that is completely different and challenge yourself to something new. And through volunteering you can acquire new skills, new ideas, new hobby, or even a new perspective.
  • Get a new perspective: As long as you keep an open mind while volunteering, you will definitely gain some new perspectives. You will be humbled by your experiences of helping others. Perhaps you will realize how much you have rather than how much you don’t have.
  • Help save a life: There are many places that you can volunteer to help save a life other than hospitals. You can volunteer at a youth center or local Boys and Girls clubs to inspire young minds to stay above the influence and to stay in school. You can also volunteer at your local animal shelter to help improve the quality of life of the animals until they are adopted.

These are only some of the values and benefits of volunteering. But you can make your 2017 the best year ever if you can spare some time to volunteer. Many organizations are very flexible and will coordinate with your schedule so that you can make a difference. You can search for volunteer opportunities by reading your local newspaper or visiting your city website.  If you are a senior, contact your local Office on Aging.

If you live in Orange, Riverside, or San Bernardino Counties, you can use the links below to your county’s Office on Aging website.

Orange County: http://officeonaging.ocgov.com/opportunities/volunteer

Riverside County: http://www.rcaging.org/programs_services#vol

San Bernardino County: https://hss.sbcounty.gov/daas/ 

Welcome in a Healthy 2017!

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What could be a worse way to start the New Year than to be sick? Flu viruses seem to make their way into millions of people starting as early as October, and they can ruin our most precious holiday seasons. Regardless of your immunity, there are 4 simple steps to follow to stay flu-free during the start of the new year.

  1. Get the flu shot. Flu vaccines are a sure way to protect you from catching the seasonal virus. What’s convenient about getting flu shots is that you don’t have to have health insurance or visit your physician’s office to get one. You can stop by at your local pharmacy, or you can even get one for free! There are a lot of cities that provide free flu shot events, and even college campuses provide them for their students. Make sure you do some research to see where you can get a flu shot for free!
  1. Dry your hands. We all know that it is crucial to wash your hands, especially after touching millions of germs outside. But what you may not know yet is that it is equally important to dry your hands after washing them. Even though you wash your hands thoroughly with soap, damp hands can easily spread germs to and from the surfaces you touch.
  1. Don’t touch your face. When you touch a surface that many other people touch, such as shopping carts, doorknobs and ATMs, then touch your eyes, nose and mouth, you are creating an easy route for the virus and germs to enter into your body. And, take advantage of stores that provide disinfectant towels to wipe down shopping carts.
  1. Stay away from sick people. Those who are infected by the flu virus are contagious for up to one week. If you are unfortunately sick this New Year, take a sick day from work! The last thing you want to do is be the spreader of virus. If someone at work or school is suffering from flu-like symptoms, keep your distance and be sure to have bottles of hand sanitizers around!  It would not hurt to drop subtle (or not so subtle!) hints to let them know that they’re infected because the rest of the office doesn’t want to get sick, too!  And if you’re meeting any sick family members, kindly give them an air-hug and blow them a kiss. Avoid touching someone who is sick.

There are many other things that you can do to avoid getting sick — and you should do them. Because why would you risk getting sick for the start of the New Year?

Reference: Boost Your Flu IQ: Need-to-Know Info That Will Keep You Protected This Season by Catherine Winters

http://parade.com/508234/catherinewinters/boost-your-flu-iq-need-to-know-info-that-will-keep-you-protected-this-season/