In Menopause? How to Set Intentions for 2025

 00:00 Reflect, set intentions; use "3 pluses and a wish."

06:01 Habit stacking: combining tasks to build routines.

06:49 Reflect, set intentions; health is a journey.

In this episode, you'll hear: 

1. Reflection is Key: Learn the powerful method of "3 Pluses and a Wish" to look back at 2024 with gratitude and see where you thrived.
2. Say Yes to Intentions, Not Resolution: Discover why intentions are the gentle, flexible approach to guide your year rather than rigid resolutions.
3. Master the Art of Habit Stacking: Sneak in those healthy habits effortlessly by linking them with something you already do daily.

Transcript

0:00

Hey there. I'm Cam Allen. Welcome back to the menopause method. I have a question for you. Can you guess which part of your body uses 20% of your energy, but only makes up 2% of your body weight? Any guesses? It's your brain. Today, we're going to talk about intentions for 2025 and reflection of 2024. I have always been a huge fan of like the year I down countdowns, You know, growing up in the eighties where they'd have the top 100 songs of the year or whatever, I always love that. And I also always love the TV shows where they talked about the people that passed in the year and what they contributed to the world. Yeah. So I'm a big person on reflection. And so today, we're gonna talk about how to set intentions for 2025, when you're in menopause, and also how to reflect on 2024 so that your brain sees that you've showed up for yourself and you can actually make it easier decisions when it comes to your health and your fitness. The first tool I wanna teach you is called 3 pluses and a wish. This is actually something I used in the classroom. In my previous life, I was a classroom teacher, elementary school for 18 years, and this was something I used often with my 5th graders when they were turning in a project. So they would turn in their project and then they also would turn in like a self reflection, 3 pluses and a wish. Three things that went really well and one wish that something that they wish had gone better. We're gonna apply that to our lives of 2024. So I want you to think back to your 2024. What are three things that you're really proud of? You know, can you think of 3 times you showed up for yourself? Maybe you set a boundary, Maybe you made exercise a priority. Maybe you took more walks than you've ever taken before. Maybe you practice food order for better blood sugar balance. Think back to your 2024. Get really quiet and still on the inside and acknowledge the times that you made decisions that supported your health. For me, getting quiet sometimes looks like in the shower. All the great downloads come when I'm in the shower. Why is that? Am I the only one? Or maybe it's when you're taking a walk by yourself. Another time I get really great downloads is when I'm driving a car. Nice music, music's on, sun's out, hopefully, sunglasses. I get the greatest downloads. Now some of you might be really good at, like, meditating, maybe that's when you get your great downloads. Get quiet, get still, go inside, and really think about your 2024 and acknowledge 3 pluses. Three times you showed up for yourself. Then I want you to spend some time acknowledging what you'd like to improve for 2025. Now hear me out. I don't want you to think that this is a judgment. It's not a failure. Really, it's an opportunity for growth. So what would you wish for in 2025 that did not happen in 2024? We're gonna carry that into 2025. Now going back to your brain, we're showing ourselves that it's safe to change. We're reflecting on the positive things that happened in our year. So it calms your brain's fear of change. And again, the wish is not about failure. It's about an opportunity for growth. So after you've done your reflection, then we can talk about your intentions for 2025. Now I'm using the word intentions because the word resolution to me is very rigid as intentions are very flexible and adaptable. Intentions focus on where you wanna be, not just what you wanna do. So your intentions are like where it's the b do have. I'll link that episode in the notes in here. We do have is you're coming from a place where you've already you're already doing the thing, and you're acting as if that thing that you're working towards is already here. You're making decisions from that place. And when you're doing that, it reduces your brain fatigue. Stats show this is crazy that we make 35,000 decisions a day. Most of those are unconscious, subconscious, unconscious, whatever, and, also, most of them are negative. So the the decision fatigue leads to worse choices over time. Like, have you ever been stuck and overwhelmed? Like, you have so many choices. I could do this. I could do that. I could do this. I could do that, and you do nothing. I totally relate to that. Setting intentions is like setting a framework, and it's very gentle, and it reduces your brain's decision making overload. When I'm working 1 on 1 with clients, this is exactly what we do. We set 2, 3, maybe 4 intentions for the week, tiny little steps, And then we have weekly check-in calls where we say, okay. How'd that go? And here's an example in real life. Like, I have a client right now. She's working on increasing her movement snacks. So last week, she did 3 sets of 10 squats throughout her workday, and this she did it. And this week, she's gonna do 4 sets of 10. So it's like little tiny incremental wins, if you will, to help you move towards your ultimate goal. So how do you set intentions? Choose, like, 1 to 3 focus areas. Don't make a huge list. Don't make it like rigid resolutions. Make it very simple. Like, maybe you wanna prioritize your rest and recovery. Maybe you wanna prioritize hitting your daily steps. Maybe you want to lift weights twice a week, which I highly recommend. Maybe you want to practice some putting protein on your plate first. So those are some examples of intentions. Make them small and make them manageable. Then what you wanna do is make them like, add them to your daily habits. One of my favorite ways to do that is habit stacking. So for example, if one of my goals is to drink more water, when I fill up my coffee in the morning, if I fill up my water, I'm more likely to drink more water. So that's how I have it stack those two things together. Another thing for 2025 for me is I'm habit stacking my workouts in the morning, like, before I start work because it's really easy to open your phone, get into your emails, and start jumping into work. But I know that my day goes better when I start in the morning with a quiet meditation, some quiet reflection, and then I move my body with intention. So if you have it stacked those things together, you're more likely to do that. Intentions are just a guide. They are certainly not a rule book at all. So I encourage you to really reflect back on 2025. Use the tool 3 pluses and a wish, and then set 1 to 3 intentions for 2025. It's not all or nothing. I really believe health is a journey, and I also believe that your health includes things outside of the gym and outside of what you eat on your plate. So 2025 is really a chance to design your year that feels aligned, intentional, and uniquely yours. I want you to start small. I want you to dream big and trust the process. If you're finding the menopause method helpful, please hit subscribe and share it with your best friend. Help me get the word out. Okay. Here's to an amazing 2025. Thanks for being here.