Here’s To Getting Resolutions Right in 2016!
As the year comes to an end and a new one is already flirting with us, we all start thinking about what we could improve to make the upcoming year a successful and bright one: the (in)famous new years resolutions! We want to lose weight, find a new hobby, exercise more, stop smoking, get a new job, find love, eat more healthy, be more productive, drink less… the range is endless!
But let’s be honest with each other, we all know new year’s resolutions somehow never really work or have a permanent impact. This might also be the reason a lot of people don’t believe in them.
So how come? The explanation is very simple and secretly we all know the answer: because these kind of resolutions are all solutions for symptoms, without really changing anything about the real problem.
It’s because these kind of “big change” resolutions ask for quite the adaption in your daily routines and habits. And because habits are not easily changed, you’ll find yourself getting back to your regular routines after a couple of weeks. Well, we’ve got a new game-plan for you to be the go-getter you want to be next year!
Try to start with little adaptations in your daily life working towards your goal. Because these are small changes (calling your mom every week, giving some money to a charity) you will easily be successful, giving you a positive start and vibe to begin with and getting yourself ready for the bigger changes you’re going to make and get yourself in that nice, positive virtuous circle.
The key is taking small steps towards the person you want to be. Here’s how to make your new year’s resolutions work.
Here are some easy to-do lists to help you get started with your resolutions:
RESOLUTION 1: IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY/JOB
Remember: small steps!
Start with getting to work 15-30 minutes earlier than you normally do. Or start to leave half an hour later every now an then. Not to show off to your boss or co-workers, but to actually give yourself some extra time to get everything together for a productive day. A little glitch in your daily routine is actually going to feel good, I promise!
Enroll yourself in an online course/seminar about something in your field you’re interested in and would like to develop yourself in.
Start pimpin’ that old dusty Curriculum Vitae of yours (even if you’re just going to make a new super-professional picture to add).
Get yourself some new gear or upgrade what you’re working with: rearrange your files, clean up your desk(top), get that new keyboard you need, get rid of any old papers lying around (I’ve created a “yes” and a “no” box for any incoming papers on my desk and oooh how life got so much easier!), get a huge box for pens or any other things you always use ánd lose and free up a “stack draw”. You’ll never be hopelessly searching for them anymore.
Be that colleague you like so much: that gets coffee for everyone every now an then, plans a Friday afternoon drink or makes sure everything is taken care of during that next meeting. All without overdoing it of course.
RESOLUTION 2: EAT HEALTHIER
This is a hard one, for everyone!
Variation is key. Try to eat 30 different veggies a week (“oh my god, THIRTY?”). It’s not that hard! A lovely salad gets you easily up to 5 or 6.
At least 3 times a week, when you go to your favorite local supermarket, only make your round and buy things from the first few “outer” skirts of the store. All the fresh products are found here. You won’t even see the sugary goodies that are hidden in the mid-rows (this trick is so easy and life-saving). And cook up something nice from the stuff you’ll discover.
Don’t go shopping for food on an empty stomach. How nice is that! You get to eat before you go shopping for more food! I think we all can agree that going to the supermarket while hungry always leaves us craving and buying things our body doesn’t really get happy from.
Again: one step at the time. Don’t go and try to change every bad food habit you have at once, you’ll be back in bad-eating-habit-land before you know it;) Lay off one favorite snack at the time and be sure to replace it with a healthier variant.
RESOLUTION 3: BE A BETTER PERSON
Believe me, this one is so easy, and yet so rewarding. It’s all the little, simple things:
If you see someone struggling with ANYTHING, just help them out. A few minutes of your life can mean the world to anyone else. Get that old lady across the street, help someone carry their groceries, call your mom once a week, invite your neighbor for a cup of tea, donate some money to a charity you love and want to support, or just smile to a stranger on the street, and you will make someone’s day!
RESOLUTION 4: QUITTING BAD HABITS
Whether it’s smoking, drinking, netflix binge-watching or a shopping- or chocolate-addiction: it’s not going to be an easy task. But try to start with these:
Avoid situations that would normally cause you to indulge in those bad habits. Not going out 3 nights a week anymore might sound boring to some, but just wait til you discover the ultimate peace of laying on the couch with a cup of tea, going to bed early and waking up all recharged the next morning without the hangover of the day before. The energy you’ll have to squeeze everything out of the day!
Try cancelling out one evening a week you normally would’ve gone partying and make it a lovely you-time evening with a bath (or a long hot shower), facial mask and doing your nails. You’ll be so much happier the day after! You might feel like missing out on all the social time with your friends, but invite them for an old-school evening of monopoly, and all of a sudden the tables have turned!
Find a new, uplifting & healthy distraction. This can be a new book when you’re watching waaaay to much netflix, a new-found love for selling all those clothes you never actually wear because of your former shop-addiction, or rediscovering food and cooking while your taste buds are getting used to non-smoking.
Limit yourself a little bit more every time. That one night of not going out can become two every now and then, and if you do go, offer your squad to be the designated driver. Or when you’re still trying to get rid of your chocolate-addiction: you’re the one making dessert, WITHOUT chocolate. Try to find a new border every time, and you’ll get there.
Get set. Ready. Go! Now you’re all ready to be your best self in 2016, I hope to have helped you a little bit there with these tips to follow through on all of the good things you’ve got planned. May it be a healthy & happy year for you! Let me know if you have any comments or additions, I’d love to hear them.
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