It’s hard! Too cold to start your early morning jogging regime, but the mean ol’ calendar says it must be so! 

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Why January, Why?

Of course we all know time is a construct maaan, but the ‘new year, new me’ culture of January is certainly persuasive. If the new year began in summer it would be far easier to get motivated — but there you go. We have some ancient Roman king to thank for this January thing — King Numa Pompilious to be precise. He manoeuvred the new year from sunny spring-time March to drizzly, chilly January. Thanks Numa! 

All this to say, if the agreed calendar new year doesn’t match your vibe, feel free to skip its invented obligations. Turn over your new leaves in May when the leaves are actually on the darn trees! Or in October when they start to glow orange and fall off (easier to turn!) Just don’t let the calendar get you down…

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However if you want to press on regardless with the January goals — we salute you! And, as we know how hard it is, we’ve decided to share some tips, tricks, encouragement and magical thinking to help you stay on track. Of course you don’t have to only do these in January, but they’ll sure help you get through these last couple of winter months before spring is ready to get sprung…

Look Both Ways

Always good advice, but rather than roads, today we mean to both the past and future. The Roman god Janus, who the month of January is named after has two faces — one looking forward and one looking back (a little like Voldermort and Professor. Quirrell… but luckily not evil!) He is the god of beginnings and endings, of doorways and thresholds, time and transitions. This January why not locate yourself in your present by reflecting first on the past year? What changed, what you achieved, what you wish you had done. You could even note down 5 things that you learned that you want to take with you into the new year. 

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But as Janus reminds us, we cannot live in the past. We must always be looking forward to the year to come too. What we want to achieve, what we want to gain, our hopes and fears. It’s also a nice ritual to write these things down to manifest them for the year ahead. 

While looking both ways, remember that these memories and future dreams all come together to create your present self. We must look back and forward to see where we’ve come from and where we want to go, but we must also live in the moment. Use these first few cold days of January to locate yourself, without distraction. 

Make Soft Resolutions

If you gotta make resolutions, then make them realistic — make them fun! Things that you don’t dread actually doing. Crazy thought, huh? Little positive changes can be great for our overall state of mind. Habits and intentions rather than goals are the order of the day, things that will last past the end of this month. 

Say you want to get more active — that’s a goal to last a lifetime, not just a January. Hitting the gym, with weight and stamina goals might be your thing, but for many people it’s a glimpse into the fires of hell ? ?. If you’re in that camp, you can instead make a soft resolution. 

For example, schedule a weekly walk around the park with a good friend — that way it’s a social as well as active pastime. Both having a laugh with a pal and moving your body release endorphins. It’s a double whammy! 

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Another way to trick yourself into getting active is to visit more cultural institutions. Ever noticed how tired you feel after visiting a museum? Those places are big! You can do a load of walking without even realizing. And, best of all — you learn a ton of stuff! Another double whammy! (and who ever learnt anything on a treadmill?)

Y’see, if you’re a bit smart about it you can make the resolutions work for you, rather than the other way round… It sure is fun to cheat the system — even if it’s your own system!

Shrooms Can Help

Introducing a microdosing routine into your life this year can help you make changes in a multitude of ways. 2021 was a bumper year for psychedelics, especially psilocybin, currently being lauded for its mental health healing powers, from depression to PTSD. This is only set to increase year on year, so why not get on the magic mushroom and truffle train now? Of course starting a microdosing routine at any point is a great idea, but there are a few reasons why this January it could be your best decision of all. 

Magic Makes Your Intentions Come True:

Nope, it’s not too good to be true! Magic mushrooms can actually help you to keep your intentions / resolutions. One of the amazing things that psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in shrooms, does, is that it can temporarily quieten the Default Mode Network (DMN) of our brains. The DMN is involved in the building of our self image, of introspection and imagining future scenarios — daydreaming, if you like. However, sometimes it can prevent us from making changes, as it keeps our image of ourselves constant and can land us in a negative feedback loop if that image is not what we want. 

The DMN can definitely be an obstacle to keeping your new year’s intentions. For example, if you have internalised the idea that you are not a healthy person, your DMN will reinforce that — making it harder for you to alter your habits. You automatically think yourself out of the change. 

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By temporarily relaxing the DMN psilocybin makes it possible for you to rewire your brain into new thinking patterns. You just have to focus on your intentions while this is happening. Whether you microdose or go for a full trip, focus on your intentions beforehand. You can do it!

Help With The ‘Classic’ Resolutions

Those classic resolutions? The big, hard ones that loom over you? Turns out magic mushrooms and truffles can help with them too! Studies have shown that magic mushrooms and truffles can help with:

Give You A Much Needed Boost

Even if you don’t have a specific intention or goal in mind, microdosing psilocybin can really improve your quality of life for the new year. Increasing you focus, motivation, general well being and even kindness — it’s the easiest resolution you’ll ever keep. Learn exactly how easy with our microdosing guide, and get started today! 

Happy New Year!