Each time we’re on the precipice of a new year, ready to bid adieu to a passing year, people make New Year’s resolutions with the hopes of eliminating bad habits to turn their life around for the better. This tradition is rooted in Babylonian times, starting thousands of years ago. Ancient people reportedly made promises to their gods to earn favours for the upcoming year.
Today, many of us have still kept this New Year’s tradition alive, whether it’s to get fit, become more mindful, quit smoking, start going to therapy, and so on. Sadly, most of us make the same cliche New Year’s resolutions every year, but we aren’t always great at keeping them. So by the time February rolls around, our resolutions are stale, and we forget the promises we made on New Year’s Eve. It’s as if these new resolutions were made to be broken.
Now that 2022 is coming, it’s time to make a clean break. We’ve all survived two years of lockdown and a vicious pandemic. So let’s ditch the typical resolutions that stress us out or let us down every single year. Instead, we owe it to ourselves to live our best life and make plans that will make us healthier and happier.
Instead of making commitments that we have trouble sustaining, now is the time to construct ones that we enjoy. The key to successful resolutions is creating attainable goals that make you feel good. As a result, you feel inspired to make little tweaks for the better each day. With resolutions like that, we will all have no trouble sticking to the plan and following through.
Here are twelve resolutions that will change your life, assuring you can create goals that fit your lifestyle and unique journey. C’mon! Together, let us claim a fruitful 2022, with a richer mindset, stronger body and healthier habits.
1. Start Going to Therapy
Being cooped up and isolated over the past two years have taken its toll on us. In addition, the anxiety and stress of living with Covid have put us on edge. As we grapple with mental fatigue, many of us are now truly realizing and seeing for ourselves first-hand how mental wellness matters. This is why taking time for therapy is on top of this list.
Our mental well-being is one of the most critical aspects of health because it affects many things. Studies show that anxious people are more prone to chronic illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Mental health can influence the following:
- Relationships
- Work or school
- Sleep patterns
- Eating habits
- Motivation
- Physical well-being
Unfortunately, mental health takes a backseat for most of us because we prioritize our physical, career, family, financial, relationship, and community goals. However, mental health is interconnected with all those aspects, so everything will suffer if we don’t take care of it. For this reason, taking time for counselling and getting the support you need to decompress and alleviate stress is a priority.
2. Engage in More Outdoor Activities with Your Family
This January, we ought to commit to making more time for family and spending it in the great outdoors. Instead of eating in restaurants or going to a movie, make room for outdoor adventures. You can try the following activities:
- Hiking in trails
- Visiting various playgrounds
- Throwing frisbee in the garden
- Taking a field trip to a botanical garden
- Doing an “expedition” in a nearby forest
- Biking around the neighborhood
- Ice skating in a pond or lake
- Sledding down a bunny hall
- Flying kites in the park
- Swimming in the pool or beach
There are so many things you can do with your partner and kids. Encourage them to spend time away from their gadgets by setting up a weekly date to commune with nature. Studies show that grounding or earthing can improve memory, fight depression, decrease the risk for chronic illnesses, alleviate stress, and improve your circadian rhythm.
3. Develop a Healthier Relationship with Food
Have you ever eaten with gusto and felt super guilty afterwards? Well, the New Year is the perfect time to reset your taste bud and mindset. You are doing yourself a great disservice when you think of food as the enemy. Instead, remember that food is the fuel your body needs to perform daily functions.
Don’t be so hard on yourself for enjoying treats in moderation. You ought to give yourself permission to eat what tickles your palate, provided, of course, that you don’t binge. It takes conscious effort to establish this new habit.
Learn how to meal prep healthy dishes so you can partake in delicious and nutritious food that won’t nip at your conscience. This will stop you from grazing and feasting on junk food. As a result, you can truly enjoy your meals in a relaxed environment. As a bonus: this mentality will promote better digestion because you’re not stressing over your food selections.
4. Practice Mindfulness
We all feel tired from time to time. But, do you feel tired at the end of the day and can’t help but wonder where the time went? This means you are headed for burnout! If you have this terrible habit of just going through the day’s motions to get everything over and done with, you are not really living a purpose-driven life. So make sure you aim to crush this limiting behaviour this New Year.
Now is the time to take stock of your life, along with your goals. Besides, research suggests that being more mindful helps people manage stress, cope with setbacks, and reduce anxiety or depression. Those who live intentionally and apply the fine art of mediation feel more relaxed and at peace. They also show improved self-esteem and more zest for life. If you want to improve your motivation, practice mindfulness by doing the following:
- Slow down and pay attention
- Live in the moment
- Accept yourself, including your flaws
- Learn how to focus on your breathing
- Meditate or do yoga
- Decompress by “unplugging” from gadgets
5. Enjoy More Date Nights with Your Partner
This 2022, you deserve to enjoy a more meaningful relationship with your partner. It’s sad that many couples who once shared mutual love and affection end up in dysfunctional relationships with tons of conflict and arguments. When love fades away, resentments creep in, making it hard to tolerate other people’s flaws. And this is dangerous because no one in this world is perfect.
Don’t be a part of the divorce statistics by taking time to nurture your relationship. This falters and fails when you forget to prioritize your partner. Thus, date night is vital because it fosters communication and allows you to reconnect. In addition, when you prioritize your partner instead of just your work and kids, you increase feelings of intimacy and build attachment.
6. Learn Financial Literacy to Improve Your Budget
A New Year’s resolution that will improve our life the most, in the long run, is learning more about financial literacy. Knowing how to properly spend on needs versus wants, save our income, and invest a portion of our money for the future will set us up for financial independence.
Now is the perfect time to cut your bad spending habits because you don’t want to drown in credit card debt. Instead, improve your financial wellness by learning about your cash inflow and outflow. Then make a budget that you can sustain that allows you to save for the rainy days and invest in your retirement.
7. Read More Books
Knowledge is power, so making friends with a book instead of staring at our cell phones and mindlessly scanning social media should be a part of our resolution. If you’re not a bookworm, taking up the challenge to read one book for a year is a straightforward goal to reach. By the time you finish it, you may feel inspired to snuggle up with a new book. To help you get into this habit, you can try the following:
- Make yourself accountable by sharing your reading list with family
- Join a book club so you can share ideas
- Carve out 20 minutes at the end of your day and commit to reading several pages
8. Find a Creative Outlet to Release Pent-Up Emotions
All of us need to nurture the creative side of our brains. So for this New Year, let’s vow to let our imaginations run wild and let our creative juices flow. You can even make it a tradition by learning something new each year. You can hone these skills by taking a class such as painting, embroidery, decoupage, cake decorating, making videos, etc. This new skill can even help fill a void in our life.
Besides, doing a fun and creative project with your newfound skill feels very rewarding. It is also the perfect distraction from things that stress us out, whether work or social commitments. It helps us feel invigorated and provides that much-needed reprieve for the rational part of our minds. Who knows, this new outlet may even turn into a new side-hustle that will allow you to earn more income this 2022.
9. Commit to Get in More Steps Daily
Movement is good for our bodies to keep obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc., at bay. If you’re not ready for a full-fledged workout program this year, do baby steps. You can start by doing the following:
- Commit to using the stairs
- Park further away to get more steps in
- Walk around your office during breaks
Making small changes will compound over time. And as you improve your endurance and strength, you will feel more motivated to try a higher intensity activity.
10. Join a Club and Meet Like-Minded People
Starting a new hobby or nurturing an existing one becomes more meaningful if we join a club. This should be a part of our list this New Year as it allows us to meet new people and make more connections. Clubs ascertain that we meet like-minded people who share our passions, interests, and values.
Also, creative clubs will help us master a new craft more quickly because we will have mentors to watch over our progress. At the same time, they will serve as our inspiration to keep on improving.
11. Cut Back on Alcohol
There are many health benefits of sobriety, and everyone knows we don’t need to drink to have fun. This year, why not firm up your resolve, cut down on alcohol consumption, and commit to staying sober for a set amount of time? Instead of drowning your frustrations with alcohol and using it to numb your feelings, find healthier coping strategies like exercise, crafting, or baking.
Excessive alcohol consumption harms the liver, and it can eventually turn into liver cirrhosis. So this year, make a vow to limit your alcohol intake. Your body will thank you because it will boost your immunity, improve your mood, enhance your skin, and allow you to sleep well. Besides, kicking this lousy habit means you save more money.
12. Prioritize Regular Health Checks with Your Doctor
Few of us go to the doctor for check-ups as often as we should. January 1st is the perfect time to open our planner or calendar app to make appointments for the year. We all owe it to ourselves to get health checks that are age-appropriate. For example, if you have a family history of breast cancer, you need a yearly mammogram by 40. Similarly, if colorectal cancer runs in your genes, schedule a colonoscopy.
Don’t forget to include bi-annual dental checkups and prophylaxis, too, for everyone in the family, especially kids who are prone to cavities. Staying proactive with screenings means you detect any issues early, giving you a better fighting chance to address any health concerns.
If you want to remain vigilant, consider taking a CircleDNA test. This at-home DNA testing kit provides hundreds of reports on your ancestry, personality, health and disease risks, nutrition, fitness, and so much more. Remember, these reports are based on your unique DNA. Thus, this factual data based on your genetics provides us with a well-spring of knowledge, allowing you to make better decisions and pushing us to stay more motivated to achieve your New Year’s resolutions.
