Resolutions We Can Stick With

New Year, new resolutions? Blah, blah, blah. Instead of one giant resolution like losing weight or joining a gym (that comes with major guilt if you break it), how about setting a few smaller ones? Make your own list and practice them daily. Here are some ideas:

Eat Good Food

Buy fresh fruit and skip the manufactured snacks. Try to eat something every day that you don’t have to turn over to see what’s in it: bananas, carrots, blueberries, almonds, dried apricots, celery with peanut butter, apple slices. You’ll feel healthier when you eat healthier. It takes time to cut up celery or an apple to eat later, but TAKE THE TIME! And cut out sugar! Or at least cut back. Sugar causes inflammation—in your sinuses and your aching muscles—and it feeds bacteria. Realize how harmful it is for you and turn it down more often than you are doing now. Cut out seed oils like canola and sunflower. Read labels and use products made with olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil instead. We never realized how unhealthy those are until now. If the package says, “Made with bioengineered ingredients,” don’t buy it! Our bodies need natural ingredients, not fake food. Order iced tea instead of soda. Drink water with fresh lemon. Baby steps!

Improve Your Relationship

Since our partners are our “safe place,” and we know they love us unconditionally, we often treat them the worst! Make a conscious effort to FOCUS ON WHAT YOU LOVE about your spouse or significant other and acknowledge every nice thing they do for you and your family. They might make coffee in the morning, cook great meals, take the trash out, work hard, go to social events they’d rather skip, feed your animals, laugh at your jokes, pick up something from the store, gas up your car, etc. We often take these things for granted, but our gratitude goes such a long way, especially when we say it out loud! Take more time to make them feel special…like you did in the beginning. It takes effort to have a great relationship, and you are both worth it.

Exercise

Do some squats each morning while you wait for the shower water to heat up. Do simple stretches while brushing your teeth. WALK - Just walk! Get a buddy to walk once a week with you. Park farther away at the store, take the stairs instead of the escalator. Those extra steps add up after a year’s time, and they get you away from your cell phone and the television. Stretch your feet and ankles before you put your shoes on. Get into the habit of stretching as you reach for something. Take slow, deep breaths through your nose, hold it, and exhale slowly. Your body listens to your mind, so tell yourself you feel good!

RAK

Random Acts of Kindness can be as simple as letting someone go ahead of you in line, holding a door open, paying for someone’s food at a restaurant or a drive-thru, painting rocks and leaving them for others to find, picking up trash, driving someone to the store or sending a greeting card “just because” so someone knows you are thinking about them. Bake some banana bread and deliver it to a friend. It feels good to be kind.

Love Yourself More 

Compliment yourself. Notice when you accomplish something and allow yourself to feel good about it, even small things like clearing junk mail off the counter. When you help a neighbor, tell yourself it was a nice thing to do. You are allowed to feel good about yourself! We tend to be our worst critic. Give yourself positive affirmations; “I feel good. I am happy because I choose to be. I am thoughtful. I am caring. I make people laugh. I am a hard worker. I am a great friend.” When you look in the mirror, notice what you like: the great hair day you’re having, your perfect chin, your handsome face, that inner light that shines through your eyes. We are too quick to find fault with ourselves when we should be our biggest cheerleaders! Buy that thing you’ve been eyeing. You work hard; treat yourself! Get the one you want, not the one that’s the cheapest.

When you climb into bed and make a mental checklist, do not beat yourself up for what you didn’t get done! Focus on what you DID get done, including the little things. You did a great job at work. Maybe you’re retired, and you pulled weeds or made coffee for a neighbor. If you’re an at-home parent, you kept your kids alive. You did a load of laundry. You got rid of half of the junk mail. You called your mom. You blessed someone with a compliment or a kind deed and probably made their day. Now compliment yourself for that!

Be Grateful

Gratefulness is the key to happiness. Count your blessings every day. Put a Post-It on your bathroom mirror that says, “What are you grateful for?” Your family. The sunshine. Good food. A working car. The love of friends and family. Caramel salted toffee. Real grass. Laughter. Your dog. Great neighbors. A fun co-worker. Chicken Tortilla soup. Caution: your mindset might switch from unhappy to happy. Try it!

Happy New Year! And Happy You Year!