WHAT’S YOUR ACTION PLAN? A New Year Filled with Resolutions:
A new year means a new and fresh start for many people. It’s a time when they look toward the future and make goals that will help better themselves over the next 12 months. This can include improving health, pursuing a career or hobby, or even spending more time with family. What is your resolution for this coming year, and how do you intend to act on it? For us, we have resolved to get healthy again. When we think back to the last time we were truly healthy, it was definitely before we had our children and even a little before that. Before children, now more than five years ago, we both worked crazy hours. We would often leave the house just before 7 a.m. and return home around 8 or 9 p.m. We did little exercise and ate when we could. After we had our children, our days were still long and our menu changed to leftover mac and cheese and uneaten chicken nuggets. Today, not
much has changed. We still have long days and our children’s leftovers are still on the menu. But this coming year, we will focus on eating healthier and fitting in daily exercise. The biggest step in our focus is to create a plan. We know we will set ourselves up for failure if we don’t plan and prepare for what we want to change. Resolutions don’t just happen by themselves. Yes, you can have the resolution, the wish, the desire to make a change, but you have to have a strategy, a schedule, a new way of thinking, and actually stick to that plan for it to work. As we’ve spent the past couple of months thinking about the new year and resolutions, we’ve also thought of our clients. Resolutions are, in a sense, just like a divorce filing! Many of our clients and potential clients are unhappy or in an unhealthy relationship for years. They know what they need to do to make a change, but they don’t have a plan. They don’t have a strategy or even know how to make a change. In some cases, maybe they do have a plan, but they haven’t followed through. They are, much like us, living in an unhealthy situation for years and know what they need to do, but they just can’t manage to take the first step. Or, once they have made a first step, they can’t maintain that momentum. That is where we, as divorce lawyers and counselors, come in. We help give people a pathway to happiness by laying out a schedule and a strategy to get them to a better place. Often potential clients tell us they are so happy they met with us because we give them hope and a means to implement their desire for a better life. Our consultation meetings are no pressure and are designed to help people identify what is important to them and provide them with the tools to move forward. Much like a resolution, a divorce filing and case represents a desire to make a change, and the end result, a divorce, represents sticking to the plan. Moving into the new year, we hope everyone has made a resolution to improve their life or the lives around them in some way, and we hope that everyone sticks to their plans. For us, we intend to stick to our plan to be healthier in 2021!
We hope all our readers enjoyed their holidays, and we wish you a happy and healthy new year.
Getting that heart rate up hiking the mountains
The kids staying healthy on their bikes
– Ashley and Christopher Bruce
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New Year’s Resolutions: Let’s Get Started
Creating new goals for the new year can be harder than people realize. Of all the resolutions out there, which one is best? If you’re struggling to come up with a goal for 2021, here are a few ideas to help get you started! CREATE A BUDGET Keeping track of where money is going, as well as how much is coming in, can help people monitor their spending and increase their savings. This year, set a goal to create and maintain a budget that works for you. To do this, create a plan to help you stick with your budget. To help track your finances consider working with a budgeting app, such as Mint. READ MORE BOOKS Unfortunately, a busy schedule usually means less time to read, which is why so many people strive to read more in their New Year’s resolutions. To help keep you motivated in this goal, try downloading Goodreads, which will help track, share, and find recommendations of hundreds of books. Another great app to consider is Audible. Although this catalog is more audio based, it can still give you the opportunity to experience new books if you’re unable to find the time to sit down and read. QUIT SMOKING This can be quite a goal as smoking can be one of the more difficult bad habits to break. Luckily, many resources can help anyone who wishes to put down cigarettes for good. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a number of resources available, including a few tips, how to draw up a quit plan, learning about quit-smoking medicines, and how to manage cravings. Visit them at CDC.gov/tobacco to learn more. PRACTICE MEDITATION One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to increase physical health, but our mental health is also important. Meditation can improve moods, lessen anxiety, and reduce stress. This can, in turn, sharpen our focus, increase our positivity, and raise our self-awareness. Simply find a quiet place to sit for a few minutes and breathe. YouTube has many helpful videos that will take you through the steps of meditation: Check out Lavendaire “How to Meditate” on YouTube, which takes viewers through the benefits of meditations and offers a few useful tips to get started.
How Habit Tracking and Daily Resolutions Could Transform Your Life
Yearly resolutions are so last year … if they’re your only resolutions, that is.
Having long-term goals isn’t a bad thing, but do you have a daily plan to reach them? The huge boost of motivation in January isn’t always enough to sustain you all year long. That’s why there are major benefits to starting new healthy habits, whether you increase your weekly exercise time, eat healthier foods, or work on getting better or more sleep.
Luckily, sticking with these habits might be as easy as making daily resolutions to complement your yearly goals.
B.J. Fogg, a Stanford University professor and author of “Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything,” notes that tiny habits can make a new habit easy to implement into your daily ritual. For example, taking a short daily walk could lead to an exercise habit, or keeping an apple in your bag every day could encourage healthier snacking. It’s important that you stick with it because habits take a long time to create. One study published by the European Journal of Social Psychology asked people about a simple habit they wanted to form, like drinking water at lunch or taking a walk before dinner. They found that the average amount of time it took before the action became automatic was 66 days! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss a day, but know that sticking to a new habit is serious work, so starting small might help you out. Another important aspect of forming new daily habits is rewarding yourself. Bad habits, like smoking, have an inherent reward. However, healthy habits can have rewards, too! Try consuming a bit of dark chocolate after a workout or treating yourself to a fresh beverage or relaxing to a podcast after tackling an important task. Find ways to reward yourself, and you’ll be more likely to stick to your new habit. Certain daily resolutions don’t have to be related to exercise or diet to majorly improve your life. For example, having a gratitude journal might boost your long-term happiness by 10% and improve your blood pressure. Don’t hesitate to improve your quality of life! Just start small, and you’ll be amazed by how far you’ll go.
Is your friend or client in need of a guide related to recent job or income loss? The book can be downloaded for FREE at SupportModificationBook.com. If your friend or client lives in the South Florida area, we’ll mail them a hard copy of the book upon request. OUR SUPPORT MODIFICATION BOOK CAN HELP!
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Preparing to Discuss a Divorce
What, How, and When a Child Should Know
After the festive Christmas lights, decorations, and holiday cheer, it’s normal to feel that gloomy winter pull. However, for many people, this transition from the holidays into a new year prompts them to take a hard look at their lives. The new year is a time for people to make decisions that will improve their overall quality of life. This is why January is known as “Divorce Month.” Many people see January as an opportunity for a fresh start, yet there may be a few things holding them back from pursuing a divorce. For some, it’s not an easy choice to make, and that choice becomes all the harder when children are involved. But how does someone tell a child their parents are going to be separating? To help ease this difficult conversation, here are four useful tips. When preparing to talk to a child or children about a divorce, both parents should plan what they’ll say . This includes when and how they’ll tell their children, too. Because this is such a sensitive topic, the conversation should not be rushed. Deciding together that the conversation should take place over the weekend rather than on a holiday or during the work week, for example, will give everyone time for an in-depth conversation. It’s also important to be conscious about which words to use; harsh words and emotional outbursts will make the conversation even more difficult.
to work together to care for them. If a couple has multiple children, this conversation should also be between the parents and all children involved, no matter their age. Be prepared to share basic information that all the children can understand, which can then be followed up with any older children. Keep in mind that a child does not need to know all the details of the divorce. If the reason for the divorce is because one spouse had an affair, telling a child this may cause them to feel trapped between choosing which parent they should side with. This is why it’s important to plan a nonblaming narrative beforehand, and decide how much information to discuss with a child about why the divorce is taking place . If a parent needs help choosing what to say to their child, or what’s appropriate to tell them, our team at Bruce Law Firm can help guide in this process. Call our office at 561-810-0170 today.
As mentioned above, parents should speak to their children together . While this may be difficult to do, it’s important as it lets children know their parents will continue
Have a LAUGH
Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole
Inspired by GoodHousekeeping.com
Ingredients
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8 chicken thighs or drumsticks, lightly salted
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1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut in large chunks
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1 tbsp olive oil
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2 garlic cloves, sliced 14 oz chicken stock
1 tbsp all-purpose flour 1 onion, finely sliced 2 celery sticks, thickly sliced
1 sprig rosemary
Finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 carrots, thickly sliced 1 leek, thickly sliced
Directions
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Transfer vegetables to the slow cooker and add the stock, rosemary, and lemon zest. Cook on high for 2.5–3 hours or until chicken is tender. Check seasoning and add lemon juice to taste. Top with parsley before serving.
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In a large frying pan, heat oil and fry salted chicken on high until brown. Transfer chicken to the slow cooker. Add flour and stir. In the frying pan on high heat, fry the onion, celery, carrots, leeks, and potatoes until lightly browned. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
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It’s Time to Plan Out Our Year page 1
How Habit Tracking and Daily Resolutions Could Transform Your Life 4 New Year’s Resolution Ideas page 2 Telling Children of their Parents’ Divorce Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole page 3 The First Dog to Win a Nobel Peace Prize page 4
The First Dog to Win a Nobel Peace Prize
Foxtrot’s Heroics With the World Food Programme
Just this past October, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to what can only be described as one the world’s goodest boys — a dog named Foxtrot, known also to his Instagram followers (of which there are nearly 7,000) as humanitarian_pup.
Foxtrot himself became part of the effort to combat world hunger during a WFP beach cleanup in his home country. Workers found him as a 4-week-old pup, and after failing to locate his owners, took him in as one of their own. For the past two years, Foxtrot has helped however he can to further the WFP’s efforts to end hunger in Bangladesh. This usually includes accompanying his humans while they
While Foxtrot wasn’t responsible for improvements to auction theory (like Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, who won the Nobel Prize for economics) or for a standout career in writing poetry (like Louise Glück, who won the Nobel Prize for literature), this incredible canine shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the World Food Programme (WFP) for their work in combating world hunger. As the organization’s official mascot, Foxtrot shared in the win with the thousands of other WFP workers worldwide.
work, wearing an adorable custom-made WFP cape, and taking to Instagram to raise awareness about how anyone can join in the WFP’s mission. After learning that he and his humans had won the Nobel Peace Prize, Foxtrot didn’t waste the opportunity to share his excitement with his followers. “Woweee,” the pup said. “I … think it would be even more amazing if we didn’t need any peace prizes because peace was the status quo in our world.”
Foxtrot lives in Bangladesh (one of the most densely populated countries in the world) at a WFP outpost that works to supply one of the world’s largest refugee camps. According to an NPR article that spotlighted Foxtrot and the efforts made by his WFP humans, they worked not only to get food to refugees but also to flatten hillsides to make room for shelters for Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar.
If Foxtrot and his humans keep up the good work that won them the Nobel Peace Prize, it seems like that status quo could be within reach.
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