Every New Year brings with it new hopes and promises. If you’re like most people, you start the New Year with a list of objectives in mind. Perhaps you want to improve your finances, adopt a healthier lifestyle, broaden your knowledge, or pursue a long-term relationship. Whatever your resolution is, you want to be able to stick to it. We want to help you do just that, so we’ve provided some pointers to help you make the most of the New Year! New Year’s resolutions have long been used to assess what is truly important in our lives, allowing us to pause and reflect on the year that has passed while also planning for the year ahead. If living through a global pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that health and wellness should not be taken for granted. Improving your body, mind, and soul in 2023 is an excellent way to organize your long-term goals for the New Year.
Be Realistic
The truth can be painful at times, and the truth about resolutions is that 80% of them fail by February. To keep your resolution, you must be realistic when choosing one. We all have a lot of room for improvement, but we can’t do it all at once. Choose one attainable goal for the year and stick to it. If your idea of a home cooked meal is heating up a frozen meal in the microwave, making a new year’s resolution to eat only raw and organic foods is probably not the best option; instead, set a goal of cooking one new, healthy meal per week. Mastering one simple goal each year is far more effective than failing a long list of unattainable ones.
Personalize It
Choose a resolution that is meaningful to you. Don’t say you want to read more books because you saw one on social media. Perhaps a close family member died of lung cancer as a result of smoking, and you want to quit for good. That is the kind of significant resolution you should make. A goal that will truly benefit yourself and your loved ones is one that you will work harder to achieve.
Partner Up
Find someone to whom you can confide about your resolution. Ask them to hold you accountable, whether through a bi-weekly check-in or by actively collaborating with you toward the same goal. It is true that there is power in numbers. Everyone requires assistance, even for seemingly minor issues. If saving money is your goal, ask your partner to check in on you every pay period about the money you wanted to set aside or to stop you from making impulsive purchases.
Regain Control
Recognize that there will be setbacks. Any type of improvement will require effort and will push you. You may break your resolution, even more than once, and be tempted to give up. Just because you dropped it doesn’t mean you can’t pick it up and keep going. Do the difficult but necessary thing for yourself and see it through. You don’t have to strive for perfection; simply do your best.
Upgrade
You may discover halfway through the year that your goal was less attainable than you thought, or you may have already met your goal before the end of the year and need to raise it. Adjustment is a necessary part of life in either case. If you want to make your home more eco-friendly, and you’ve already upgraded to LED light bulbs, bamboo bedding, and energy-efficient appliances, your next step should be to start buying more organic food or sustainable clothing.
Read More Books
The month of January is ideal for curling up with a new book. Why not connect with friends and peers to connect over the best pages you’ve read to keep yourself accountable all year? Our Good Housekeeping Book Club can help you get started, and together you’ll have a good idea of how many books you’ll end up finishing before the end of the year.
Sleeping Routine
Many problems can be traced back to a bad night’s sleep. But there is so much more we can strive for beyond a reasonable bedtime. Developing a plan to improve your sleep hygiene — the habits you maintain to get a good night’s sleep every night — may look different for everyone, depending on when you need to be active and working during the day. Your brain actually relies on cues to regulate your internal circadian rhythm, and your daily choices can interfere with these. Begin taking control of your sleep by completing these ten tasks throughout the year.
Participate in a Club
Starting a new hobby is one thing, but joining a club will allow you to meet new people. Sites like Meet up can help you find a group of people who share your interests, and you can work on creating digital meet ups while making new friends. Creative clubs can also help you stay committed to learning a new skill.
Make Annual Health Screenings a Priority
Open your calendar app (or planner!) and make all of your appointments for the year in one sitting — not only will this relieve the anxiety, but exams will be less likely to be squeezed out as life gets crazy. Begin by asking your primary care provider which screenings (e.g., mammogram, colonoscopy) you are due for. Schedule those, and then proceed to the dentist’s office and your ophthalmologist.
Invest in a Plant
This weekend, stop by the garden center after brunch. According to research, the mere presence of indoor plants can reduce human stress levels, and one study discovered that actively caring for plants calmed the autonomic nervous system and lowered blood pressure. People who work near plants report higher concentration, satisfaction, and perceived air quality.
Whatever your resolution is, you most likely chose it because the end result will improve and enrich your life. Such ambitions deserve to be realized. Make your life a priority and use each year to improve it! We wish you a prosperous New Year full of possibilities, hope, and accomplishment!