Another new year, another reason for celebration, and another chance for transforming life! As 2022 is approaching, our mind is abstracting the events of the preceding year and wondering how to make the coming year marvelous. New Year comes and brings with it sky-high expectations- the expectations to live a happier, healthier, and vibrant life. From that emerges the concept of New Year resolutions where one decides and commits to doing or abstains from doing certain things.
Let’s face it, most of us fail to achieve even a fraction of the goals we set out at the beginning of the year. The resolve with which we craft those resolutions fade away within a few weeks. And we also do not care enough to sit down and scrutinize what went wrong.
The most common reason why resolutions don’t work is that them being unrealistic, non-specific, and we burden ourselves with a lot more than we can handle. Resolutions are not the ones to blame here, rather our incapacity to frame achievable goals and lack of proper planning. The solution is to make attainable resolutions that are not just goals but lifestyle habits that you wish to make a part of yourself. Making minor lifestyle alterations will support the bigger changes you want in your life.
Having said that, here is the list of 7 lifestyle resolutions that can be effortlessly incorporated into your life this year.
Committing to being kind and classy
Being kind to others is not just about greeting strangers with a smile, we are talking about a wider perspective here. Would you be kind to someone who did something wrong to you on purpose? Would you respond patiently to someone speaking rudely to you?
Talking nicely to everyone is easy but the real test of kindness is when you are faced with an adverse situation. No matter how positively you start your day, encountering events throughout the day that are likely to hamper your good mood is inevitable. You can never underestimate the power of a small event to ruin your whole day.
But do you think it is okay to give something or someone the power to have control over your mental state? Things cannot stay like this for life, and New Year is a beautiful excuse to become a person that does not let the circumstances decide the level of their kindness.
So a great resolution to pick is to be kind to everyone come what may-to decide that you will not react crudely no matter what lemons life throws at you.
Kindness defines your character and your class. There is nothing wise in arguing with people just because you can’t stand them doing wrong to you. Choosing to gracefully walk away and being okay with them saying or doing something wrong to you is a sign of an evolved human. By doing this, you are not doing a favor on them but yourself by preserving your energy and maintaining your inner balance.
Adding love to your relationships
According to a Harvard study, for leading a happy and fulfilling life, loving relationships are the key ingredient. Acquiring all the wealth you desire, achieving the heights of your dream career, will all seem fruitless if you struggle with troubled relationships all your life. So, the second New Year resolution is to invest more in your relationships and make your life more fulfilling.
We have a small list of people that matters to us, and failing to emotionally provide them is quite a shame. If you do not prioritize and give time to your special people, then you will always feel empty inside regardless of the other material and financial successes you get in life.
We all are busy in our lives, and no one gets enough time to communicate. A famous belief nowadays is that even if one is not in constant touch that does not mean they are not friends or do not have each other’s back. As a result, this kind of relationship fades away with time and eliminates the need to get in touch, ever in life. What is the point of having a friendship or any kind of relationship if you are not watering it with enough communication?
This is not to indicate one should become clingy and constantly irritate their loved ones by asking for their whereabouts. We are talking about pumping energy into relationships more frequently than you do now. Healthy-loving relationships with people can have an extremely positive impact on you even without you realizing it. On the other hand, you know how a single unresolved issue with your dear one bridges the way for more issues and makes for unnecessary stress in life.
Discover who you are
And we don’t mean figuratively! Finding out who you are is easier said than done. Not everyone gets to the core of what it actually means. For the major part of it, finding yourself has more to do with spirituality than with identifying your likes and dislikes. This should definitely be your New Year’s resolution for this year, and for the many years to come, since finding a definite answer for this takes a whole lot of time and soul-digging. The task is not as tough as it sounds though, questing for yourself is a very fulfilling and satisfying journey.
To begin with this resolution, a few minutes of meditation and reading spiritual books is enough. In this prolonged journey of understanding your own self and soul, you will gradually unfold how up until now you were living a fake life conditioned by limiting beliefs. This way, you will set out to find your true purpose and dare to be the true you that you are.
Enhance your sleep quality
A good night of quality sleep is essential to help keep you in high spirits and keep mental stresses at bay. It is not only about the full 8 hours of sleep, but the quality of your sleep as well. The activities where you spend time before sleeping, and the environment you sleep in, all that determine the quality of your sleep. If you wake up between the sleeping hours and do not feel rested even after sleeping enough, then there it is, another problem to overcome this year.
Incorporate small habits into your routine, that would help enhance the quality of your sleep, and make this your New Year’s resolution. For instance, cut down on technology usage at least 3 hours before you sleep, read a good book as you lay down and wait for sleep, and set the same time for sleeping and waking each day. Quality sleep helps maintain your overall mental and physical health and is enough to energize you for the day.
Make new financial goals
Set new financial goals this year as managing your finances well is an important skill to have in life. Decide the milestone amounts you want to achieve such as the amount you want to save, invest, or the income milestone you want to achieve this year. Making this type of New Year resolution and reviewing it each day, will significantly improve your financial condition by the end of the year. This is a long-term goal, and you can take one aspect of your finances at a time such as deciding that 20% of your income will go to saving every month and sticking to this resolution till the year-end.
Donating a small percentage to good causes
Besides ensuring that you save a part of your income, donating a small portion of it to good causes will make you feel like a savior. There are so many environmental and healthcare initiatives around the world that need a lot of funds. Moreover, you can donate to the needy yourself without taking the assistance of a mediator service. Investing your time in helping people will give meaning to your life.
This life is to serve people, and taking up the resolution to contribute to the well-being of the planet and its people is extremely gratifying. The joy of serving surpasses all joys of life, and if you are wondering how donating will help improve your lifestyle, then think again. Giving charity makes you feel good, it adds to your self-worth and values and helps you create impact. What could be better than this resolution?
Developing the attitude of gratitude
Being grateful is not easy. A mere thank you for all that you do in life is not enough to generate a sense of gratitude. A great lifestyle habit or a New Year resolution you can adopt is developing and cultivating the attitude of gratitude. Gratitude includes the heartfelt appreciation for everything in life, even for the bad stuff that happens to you. It is a deep overwhelming feeling of acknowledgment and praise for all that you have in life.
Paying gratitude to the almighty every day for all your blessings cultivates a deep sense of relief in you- a feeling that says all is well in this world. On the other hand, reflecting on what you don’t have yet, further pushes the things you want away because it does not make you feel good. The trick is to feel good and remain in a peaceful state of mind by feeling thankful for all that you have and at the same time, ignoring complaining about what you don’t have yet.
Aforesaid are the realistic and easy-to-follow New Year resolutions to include in your lifestyle. Get accustomed to these resolutions over time, and you will witness substantive changes in your life.
