Forget resolutions – these five top tips will change your life!
How many times have you determinedly made a New Year resolution only to break it a few days, weeks or months after? (puts hand up). Whether you swear to lay off the junk food or task yourself with learning a whole new language in just six weeks, there’s a reason why New Year resolutions almost never work… spoiler alert: it’s not always our fault.
Why Are New Year Resolutions So Hard To Keep?
Despite genuinely best intentions, we often set ourselves up for failure from the get-go. Why, you ask? Our goals are usually too huge, our expectations too high. We then fail to achieve our goal and spend the rest of the year beating ourselves up about it and feeling, well, like a complete loser. It’s a predictable and lousy pattern that rolls around almost every year.
Not this year, it doesn’t. We say, NO MORE. Forget those flimsy, flash-in-the-pan resolutions. Instead, try setting achievable mindfulness goals to make small but important changes that will genuinely improve your day-to-day life and your mental health and wellbeing. Ready? Let’s do this!
Make Five Small Changes
- Practise Gratitude
Learn to stop for a moment to reflect on all the things you have to be thankful for. Invest in a gratitude journal to help you track your gratitude journey or keep a notepad specially for jotting down your thankful thoughts. Focusing on the things we are grateful for helps us see the value and love in our lives and the importance of the people and places around us. It helps us to see the light when everything else seems dark.
Read more about the power of positive thinking here.
- Do What Makes You Happy
This one is really as simple as it sounds. Indulge yourself. Do the things that make you feel full of joy. Wear the clothes that make you smile. Spend time with the people who make your heart sing. Surround yourself with all the things that make you happy and rid yourself of the things that don’t. You don’t need negativity in your life.
To discover more ways to make yourself happy, click here.
- Be Creative
You don’t have to be Van Gogh to reap the benefits of creative activities. Drawing, colouring, painting, modelling, sewing, knitting, building LEGO and even finger painting all help to reduce anxiety, depression and stress. Find yourself a new creative hobby or pick up a favourite pastime to indulge your inner artist through 2022 and beyond!
Looking for ideas and inspiration? Click here to find 10 new things you can try today!
- Get Better Sleep
If you aim to do just one thing this year, make it this. A lack of good sleep can affect your concentration and problem-solving skills, as well as your general mood and ability to deal with stressful situations. By getting a good night’s sleep, you’re giving yourself the best possible start to every single day. Try to have an hour or two of screen-free time before bedtime and aim to get your recommended 8-10 hours every night.
For more tips and advice on improving your sleeping pattern, click here.
- Daily Self-Care
Get into the routine of practising self-care. Aim to do at least one lovely thing for yourself every single day. Self-care is doing anything that benefits your wellbeing – a long bath, a trip to your favourite restaurant, a run through the park or even an extra ten minutes in bed. Be as kind to yourself as you are to others and don’t put too pressure on yourself. It’s OK to say no to things now and again or to skip a party in favour of a cosy night in. Learn the art of self-care and you’ll learn how to self-love!
To plan your perfect self-care day or to find more tips and ideas for self-care activities, click here.
