If you’re going to change a habit, 
you must be the treatment.
— Dr. Wayne Dyer —

One of my favorite quotes in the whole wide world is “Change your attitude, change your world.” I have lived by this quote for probably 20 years and have a good attitude about most things. However, this month’s theme is about healthy habits, not attitude, so when I stopped to deeply think about habits—both good and bad—I realized my favorite quote works just as well when adapted to “Change your habits, change your world!”

Binge Watch & Scroll:
Binge watching and scrolling actually starts with an A—addiction. Aha, they got you! We’re all doing it, and it’s killing us. It’s also stealing joy, quality of life and sleep! Tons of people literally stay up all night binge watching a series or scrolling reel after reel. It’s an epidemic. I’m not sure how we all got hooked, probably because one show starts immediately after the one before it finishes or those powerful algorithms. Somehow, the fact remains that we can stop, get a great night’s sleep, and resume right where we left off during our next free time slot eludes our brains. Thus, we binge watch and scroll…for hours on end.

Are you ready for February—the month saturated in pink and red, filled with hearts, chocolates, flowers, cards…and love.

Just as January is the month we all want to jumpstart our workout routines, projects and goals, let’s make February the month to ignite a renewal of love—of yourself, of your significant other, of your family and friends and of the world.

As such, I declare February the month to re-engage! We all understand what it means to get engaged—to pledge oneself. So, let’s pledge to get re-engaged with our lives, our community, our hearts, our blessings—all of it.

It’s only January, and I’m already saying enough is enough.
But when is enough actually enough? 
I’m not sure how it happens that certain words gain popularity and become annoying, overused, misused and sometimes, just plain cringy. For example, I cannot stand to hear the  term “baby bump”.
To me, it is completely degrading and makes my skin crawl.

Last year, there was a fad of saying “six-seven”. I didn’t know it existed until grown adults said it over and over at a family Christmas gathering this year. This may be a record, because it made me roll my eyes the very first time I heard it, mainly because of the accompanying hand gestures and the complete irrelevance and lack of value. It was and is an archetype for a waste of words, and that is why it is the No.1 banished word of 2026. In other words, it is done. Never say it again.

“I give myself permission to be all that I can be,
and I deserve the very best in life.”
— Louise Hay —

The New Year has always been an iffy time for me—kind of happy, kind of sad. For years I was overweight, so January was the month to give myself extra beatings and set unrealistic goals that I could never achieve. Every year, I would get out a new calendar, write my current weight down on the 1st of January and then set weight goals for every Friday. The first week I would set the goal at five pounds down because, you know, that “water” weight comes off quickly. Then, each week would count down two pounds at a time. I’m not sure if I ever made it beyond week two—maybe week one. It was a proven-to-fail method that I did over and over again. In hindsight, I just have to wonder why.