10 New Years Resolutions You Should Keep
Every year I make New Years resolutions I know I’m going to break. A lot of us do. I mean, sure we go in with the best of intentions. We’re still slightly hungover from all the Christmas cookies we’ve been eating and all that we had to drink the night before (me? just me?) but our intentions are there. Like, lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, blah blah blah. These are unrealistic expectations and we are NOT going to keep them. Time to just fess up already: most people have broken at least one resolution within the first week of the New Year. And before you know it, you’re back to the same habits you had in the previous year and hating yourself for not being able to change. Not this year. Here are 10 New Years Resolutions You Should Keep.
10 New Years Resolutions You Should Keep
1. Make better choices. I’m not saying change your whole life. I’m saying if you feel as if you’re about to make a bad decision, don’t. You don’t have to be perfect all the time, but if you can make one better decision every once in a while, you’re going to feel better about your life.
2. Find things to be grateful for. Little things. Big things. A clean cat box. Children who went to bed easily. Doesn’t matter. Just decide what things you are grateful for and write them down. You’ll be surprised how much happier you’ll feel when you realize how good your life really is.
3. Take time off. Whether it’s a vacation, or simply taking time away from the family to go get a yogurt, take some time just for you.
4. Prioritize the most important things in your life. And be honest with yourself…if it’s work, make sure you focus on that. If it’s family, make them top. But don’t try to make everything #1. You’ll go crazy. You have to decide and you have to accept that this is where you are in life and that that’s okay.
5. Stop making excuses. If something goes wrong, take responsibility for your part of it. Don’t lay the blame on someone else, just apologize, figure out the next step, and move forward.
6. Go to the doctor. At least once. Get that physical you avoid every year. Make your health important.
7. Try something new. Anything. Never been to the state fair? Go! Always wondered what sushi tasted like? Try it! Just try something.
8. Say yes more. Not to everything, but you’ll be surprised how many opportunities open up in your life when you just say YES.
9. Forgive your past. This one is hard. And I’m not saying you have to forget all the awful, but try to find ways to forgive so that you can move on. And you don’t have to forgive everything yet, either. But start. Start moving forward.
10. Be selfish. This one is so much harder than you think. This means taking care of yourself first. If your kids are sick, but you aren’t taking care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of them. If someone isn’t putting your best interests forward, they probably shouldn’t be a priority in your life. You have to take care of YOU first. Be the person in the airplane…apply the mask to your own face before helping others.
Ultimately I know these are all hard to keep, too. I mean, making any changes in our lives is scary. But this year instead of making resolutions you probably aren’t going to keep, just try to focus on finding a better version of you. Grow a little. If you can look back in a year and say, “Wow. I feel like this year meant something,” you’ve done a good job.
