Planning a New Years resolution is usually about meeting a goal you’ve dreamed of, but you can also take this time of renewal to lay the groundwork for reaching a lifetime of goals. Success, health and happiness can be yours.
1. The Glass Isn’t Half Full or Half Empty, It Just Is. Do you find yourself complaining often? Do you pretend life is perfect yet feel unfulfilled? Life is a struggle, but it’s getting through those struggles that make life so amazing. You have a choice to see the world for all it’s beauty AND all it’s ugliness. Recognize that you are in control of your thoughts and actions while accepting that sometimes sh*t just happens.
2. Clean Out Your Closet. Having things is nice, decorating your home with what you love is fantastic, but clutter is not. It’s time to stop letting the “junk drawer” become packed so full it won’t open. Having a lot of stuff around you all the time is overstimulating. Your focus switches from living to collecting. Mark your calendar every few months to go through your closets and garage to donate or share items that you don’t use anymore. Life is about experiences, but it’s hard to enjoy those if your vision is blocked with stuff.
3. Create Playlists. Music has amazing power to change our mood. Listening to upbeat music can cheer us up while sad music can deflate our moods. Create a playlist of songs that perk you up, songs to wind down and relax, a power mix to get you working and all time favorites to remind you of the fun life brings. When you need to change your mood all you have to do is push play!
4. Ditch the Diet and Make Every Day Healthy! The days of only eating “healthy” when we need to lose weight or get in shape are gone. It’s important for us and our environment to eat healthier. Fast food isn’t really convenient, but instead increases your chances of high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes. Commit to eating more veggies and fresh food that isn’t full of preservatives. Go organic whenever you can and keep an eye out for GMO foods which we don’t know enough about yet and are already looking like a bad choice. Pack snacks like almonds, veggies and fruit in your purse so you can make it from work to home without going through the drive through or buying sugary snacks at the store.
5. Keep a Journal. Make a point to start or end each day with a moment of reflection. You don’t have to write a whole page each day. Some days you might just want to write an affirmation or even illustrate what you’re feeling. Journaling can help with everything from depression and breakups to grief. It also gives you a record to look back on, much like a photo album, but just for you.
6. Be Choosy With Your Friends. Spending time with people who are different gives us a broader and more accepting view of the world and is also great for networking, but certain people can make our life worse. This year take some time off and spend less time with friends and family who are consistently negative, self-absorbed, disrespectful, into drama or violent. Spend more time with those who make you feel good and who support your goals and dreams.
7. Go Natural. Spend more time outdoors. We spend so much time indoors at work, home and the gym. Move your meditation under a tree or on the beach. Take your workout to the park or your backyard. Find scenic places to walk in your area, plant a garden, pick up litter or start a walking or running group. Think of things you love that can be done outside instead of indoors.
8. Volunteer! Giving back to your community or supporting organizations around the globe is a win-win. It’s not just great to help others, but it feels good and can be great networking! Everybody has a skill they can offer in service to others. Find an organization that fits your interests though the Change is Up To You Project.
9. Get What You Give. The daily grind can be rough on anyone so it’s important to spend each day with a solid base of self-love. By loving ourselves we can more easily show love towards others. When you accept and are patient with yourself you can accept and be patient with others. The more love you share with the world the more you get back. Start now by joining the Self-Love Challenge.
10. Laugh a Lot and Often. Humor is a super stress reliever and it’s FUN! Make a YouTube playlist of your favorite comedians or funny animations, hang up comics at home, work and in your car. Keep funny memes and images on your phone so you can laugh wherever you are.
11. Share the Love Via Snail Mail. The art of letter writing may be old-fashioned, but a physical message or package is more powerful than a Facebook “Like”. Send a Thank you card to someone you visited or who took you out to lunch. Surprise your family or friends with a small gift when it’s not their birthday or a holiday. Travel around your state and send postcards to everyone you know instead of buying a lot of souvenirs.
12. Start a Year Long Project. Is there something you’ve always wanted to do or a challenge that you want to overcome? Start a project that you work on throughout the year and record your progress with photos, videos or a words. Whether you choose daily, weekly or monthly if you really want it you will find the time.
13. Sit or Stand Still. You don’t have to meditate for hours everyday, but you can probably take 10-30 minutes each day to take a break from chores, TV, your tablet or phone. Just watch the world go by, sit on a bench in the park, people watch downtown, draw a labyrinth in the sand or close your eyes and daydream. It’s amazing how fast the world spins and how tie flies, but there’s no universal law that states we have to ALWAYS be in motion. Just being in the moment can be healing, restful or energizing depending on what you need.
14. Create an Attitude of Gratitude. You are your thoughts, so take control by forging an attitude based on gratitude. When you wake up say something you are grateful for. When someone cuts in front of you in line or cuts you off in traffic instead of getting angry get grateful. There will always be things to upset you and piss you off, but you always have a choice in how you react.
15. Map Your Future. Do you want a new career, to live in a new state or country, return to school, be a foster parent, write a novel or just reorganize your life? Draw a map. Start with your end goal and go backwards to where you are; what steps do you need to take in order to get from point B to point A? You can write out your map, create a chart or even cut out magazine images and create a fun map to hang on your wall. It’s your future so dream BIG!
Share your thoughts about what you want and need in 2015 in a comment below.
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