Using essential oils for the New Year
Using essential oils for motivation can help you start the New Year on a positive note.
Then you can keep up your good habits by using essential oils to maintain positive thinking, stay inspired, and have self confidence about your resolutions.
While New Year’s resolutions are personal, there are common themes that run through humanity which bind us together: We value our health. We want to live happy, prosperous lives (whatever “prosperity” means to you). We want to feel appreciated and, in turn, to have things in life worth appreciating.
5 popular New Year’s resolution themes
Read on to learn how the best essential oils for motivation in the New Year can help you achieve your personal goals in each area.
- Practice health & fitness
- Live a more natural lifestyle
- Advance your career
- Release stress
- Stop procrastinating
1. Practice health & fitness
Research into “aromachology” (aroma-psychology) suggests that scent is closely connected with memory and emotion—and that scent can affect your behavior.
Athletes sometimes use aromachology to their advantage, using a specific scent while they train. One former professional athlete wrote:
“I consciously used olfaction to create a specific mood, mindset, and target behavior. For example, the smell of sunscreen reminds me of summer and fills me with energy… On gray, wintry days when I was training in a depressing gym, the smell of sunscreen evoked all the positive emotions associated with summertime.”
He enjoyed his training more . . . and the more you enjoy something, the more likely you are to stick with it! Take a page from his book and use these go-to essential oils for motivation if you're looking to improve athletic performance.
Peppermint Oil
Latin name: (Mentha x piperita)
Crisp, sweet, minty peppermint essential oil can spark your motivation to get moving, increase focus and mental clarity, and—being rich in menthol—can cool and soothe muscles after a tough workout. Reach for peppermint oil when you need an energy boost and to clear mental fatigue!
Spike Lavender Oil
Latin name: Lavandula latifolia
Popular in sports massage blends, spike lavender essential oil contains the relaxing component linalool, and energizing 1,8-cineole. Use spike lavender for focused confidence, and to help prevent or relieve sore muscles.
Juniper Berry Oil
Latin name: Juniperus communis
Chock-full of a-pinene, juniper berry essential oil can help get energy flowing through your body and release knots of tension. Try it in a bath to loosen up tight, achy muscles.
Arnica Infused Olive Oil
Latin name: Arnica cordifolia
An infusion of wild-harvested arnica flowers in organic, extra virgin olive oil. This carrier oil is prized for its ability to soothe and comfort sore muscles. Include arnica oil in your post-workout routines to decrease recovery time and and stay on track to conquer your fitness goals! It works beautifully alone, and as a carrier for an essential oil blend.
Essential oil recipes for fitness resolutions:
2. Live a more natural lifestyle
Is this the year you plan to go all natural? Eating more organic foods, reducing your waste, and using natural body care are big steps toward supporting your health. It also reduces your ecological footprint on Mother Earth.
Another important step is getting toxic and harmful products out of your home. The American Lung Association says…
“Many cleaning supplies or household products can irritate the eyes or throat, or cause headaches and other health problems, including cancer… chronic respiratory problems, allergic reactions, and headaches.”
Fortunately, you can make your own homemade, natural cleaning products with essential oils!
Learn more about the benefits of cleaning with essential oils.
Scotch Pine Oil
Latin name: Pinus sylvestris
The pinenes in Scotch pine essential oil have a broad range of purifying effects, making this essential oil useful for daily cleaning, and for more powerful DIY recipes to stay healthy during cold season.
Tea Tree Oil
Latin name: Melaleuca alternifolia
Probably the most well-known essential oil for natural cleaning, tea tree essential oil contains terpinen-4-ol, a potent component that makes a wide variety of microbes unwelcome in your home.
Lemongrass ct Rhodinol Oil
Latin name: Cymbopogon citratus ct. rhodinol
Rhodinol-rich lemongrass is often used to clean bathrooms (and other humid areas where fungi might grow). This lemony, rosey essential oil can help purify surfaces and the air.
Essential oils recipes for natural living resolutions:
3. Advance your career
Ready to grow professionally in 2021? Maybe it’s even the year for a new job? Essential oils can help you stay inspired and productive as you challenge yourself professionally.
And if a job search and interview process is in your future, essential oils can help calm any stress or anxiety that come up, so you feel confident.
Learn more about how essential oils can help you through transitions.
Rosemary Oil
Latin name: Rosmarinus officinalis ct camphor
Used for cognition and attention throughout history, rosemary essential oil (Rosemarinus officinalis) contains camphor, which can bring a fresh, steady flow of energy to the head. Rosemary oil can lend you the emotional fortitude to continue through challenging times to achieve your goals.
Frankincense Oil
Latin name: Boswellia carterii
Famous for its ability to enhance meditation, frankincense essential oil helps you embrace your heart’s desires. Keep this essential oil close for peace through stressful transitions. Frankincense’s a-pinene content is largely to thank for its emotionally soothing effects.
Lime Oil
Latin name: Citrus aurantifolia
Bright and cheery lime essential oil helps you embark on a new path with joy! It contains d-limonene, a well-researched component which has been shown to promote feelings of happiness and positive energy.
Essential oil recipes to support a career change:
4. Release stress
Stress is often a cycle.
Worries and fears set into your mind, causing tension in your body. Your body senses this physical tension and sends more signals of stress to your mind, which causes more tension in your body . . . and on the cycle goes!
Essential oils can create a “relaxation cycle” instead. By calming your mind, they help release physical tension in your body. And by easing achy, tight knots and spasms in the body, these essential oils can help your mind feel more relaxed.
Ylang Ylang (Complete) Oil
Latin name: Cananga odorata var genuina
Just a few drops of this rich, heavy floral essential oil can help release years of stored-up tension. Rich in natural alcohols and esters, ylang ylang essential oil offers a profound sense that “all is well,” which some even describe as euphoric! Inhale deeply to banish negative thinking with this uplifting aroma.
Patchouli Oil
Latin name: Pogostemon cablin
Patchouli essential oil has a deep, earthy aroma, and is rich in heavy components called sesquiterpenes. They contribute to patchouli’s ability to calm the nerves and help you relax.
Bergamot Oil
Latin name: Citrus bergamia
Bergamot essential oil is a powerful citrus oil for overcoming stress! It’s rich in d-limonene, which has been shown to lift people out of low spirits and promotes feelings of positivity about life.
Essential oil recipes to manage stress:
5. Stop procrastinating
To stop procrastinating, it’s important to first be sure you’re focusing on the right things. Essential oils are great for redirecting focus!
We all get bored with our chores sometimes, but if you’re trying to make yourself focus on a life path that you’re genuinely uninterested in, then your procrastination could be trying to tell you something. (Maybe it’s time for a change!)
Using essential oils for procrastination is about finding inspiration, building the courage to follow that inspiration, and keeping your mind motivated and focused on your resolutions.
Lemon Oil
Latin name: Citrus limon
Like the other citruses mentioned above, lemon essential oil is brimming with the happy, inspiring component d-limonene. Lemon essential oil helps you walk on the sunny side of the street!
Black Pepper Oil
Latin name: Piper nigrum
Zesty, spicy, and warming, black pepper essential oil contains a combination of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, making it both energizing and grounding—perfect for staying focused while working toward a resolution. This is one of the best essential oils to boost motivation and raise your energy levels.
Ginger Oil
Latin name: Zingiber officinale
Unleash the fire within! Ginger oil’s warm, spicy aroma fills you with motivation and courage to achieve your plans! Its sesquiterpenes keep you grounded so you won’t get lost in daydreams.
Essential oil recipes to overcome procrastination:
