Every New Year so many people try to throwaway their bad habits and improve on the good ones. New Year Resolutions are individual promises to oneself and a decision to do something, especially to improve your behaviour.
The idea of listing a New Year resolution is to set goals and work towards achieving it before the year runs out. Here in this posts are best New Year resolution ideas as a guide on some self and life changes to make you a better version of yourself.
#1. New Year Goals
Set a Reading Goal
For adults, reading books is crucial to our self-development. But whenever we get busy, that good book is often the first thing we neglect in favor of more pressing tasks. This year, make a list of your must-read titles—and vow to finish them all. Subscription services like Book of the Month are incredibly helpful for finding new reading material. Pick a new book each month and it gets shipped right to your house—couldn’t be easier.
Dream Bigger
Reflect on your current dreams and aspirations and ask yourself if they’re truly as big as they can be. Create your next, positive life phase by training yourself to think beyond what you imagine you can achieve.
Cast doubt aside, concentrate only on what you love and that which makes you most fulfilled, and open yourself up to new possibilities in the coming year.
Stop Procrastinating
The biggest barrier that keeps most people from reaching their goals is the desire to relax and do something fun instead of working hard. Once you get used to procrastinating, it’s difficult to snap yourself out of it, so you’ll need to put in a lot of work to change this bad habit. Start imagining how you’ll feel if you actually tackled all the stuff you’ve been putting off.
There are many useful tips out there to find your way to stop procrastinating, but the best advice is to make a to-do list each day so that you know exactly what you need to get done.
#2. Simple New Year Resolutions
Live Happily
Many people spend a good portion of their lives saying, “I’ll be happy when…” Don’t wait to be, or get, happy. Instead, keep healthy habits, focus on staying positive, and let go of too-stringent or unattainable ambitions while acknowledging there may still be achievable goals you’d like to attain during the upcoming year.
Drink More Water
Healthy adult females and males should drink roughly 11 cups and 15 cups, respectively, of water every day. If you’re way under this amount, start drinking more water in the New Year. If you’re not a huge fan of plain H20, infuse it with cucumber and/or fruits and herbs for added health benefits and great taste.
Prioritize Your Health
Health should always be a top priority. Grab a calendar and schedule doctor’s appointments—including a physical, pap smear, dermatologist’s visit—and two teeth cleanings.
Declutter Your Space
A clean home is a happy home. Quell anxiety and stress by tidying up and decluttering everything around you. Tackle the refrigerator, cabinets, messy drawers, desks, and closets. Toss everything you haven’t used in six months, donate what you don’t love or need, and get ready to celebrate the New Year with new clarity and peace of mind.
Spend Time With Yourself
Although humans are social beings, learning to be solitary and do things alone isn’t always second-nature. It’s perfectly okay to keep yourself company and forego socializing to get familiar with numero uno, which we’re all getting a lot more comfortable with in recent. Flying solo, whether it’s to see a movie, dine out, or go on vacation helps build independence and self-confidence. This year, try forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and do something you wouldn’t normally do without your squad in tow.
Give Up Vices
While smoking, drinking, and unhealthy eating are the usual suspects, other bad habits may be festering for you, such as avoidance, self-sabotaging, or constant worrying. These can fly under the radar and rob you of your happiness just the same. Resolve to carve out time to identify and understand your bad habits, whatever they are, and finally break them for good.
Get Better Sleep
It’s not just how long you sleep, but also the quality of your rest. Vow to develop better sleep hygiene so the z’s you catch aren’t hindering your health but duly preparing you for the day ahead. Looking for a smarter way to catch some shuteye? Our editor’s tried the Hatch Restore Alarm Clock, which is a clock, sound machine, and sunrise lamp all in one—and will never go back.
Spread Kindness
A little kindness make the world a better place. There’s actually scientific evidence that being kind makes you feel calmer, healthier, and happier—and it’s also contagious. Random acts of kindness can include buying coffee for the person waiting in line behind you or paying someone a nice compliment. To help make it a daily practice, download a free Kindness Calendar from RandomActsofKindness.org, a nonprofit that invests its resources into making kindness the norm in schools, workplaces, and beyond.
#3. Important New Year Resolutions
Be More Responsible
A big part of growing up into a mature adult is the ability to think before making a decision. It is important to take responsibility for ones actions and avoid blaming everything on someone else, just as it is important to protect your family and help provide for them.
Better Your Budgeting
While coming up with a budget isn’t necessarily the most fun thing to do (unless you’re a numbers person), not knowing where your cash has gone and being unable to cover your monthly expenses is even less so. Budgeting for social gatherings and incidentals (unexpected dinners out, new clothes, a locksmith’s visit) means you won’t have to change old habits too much. Use an online management tool or app, such as Mint and Clarity Money, or use a spreadsheet template to help set short and long-term goals.
Develop Confidence
If you are confident, other people notice it, and it is much easier to have your opinions heard, ask people out on dates, and get ahead at work. A good dose of self-confidence will help you lead a much happier life overall. Building confidence involves positive self-talk, focusing on your achievements, and seeing failure as an opportunity.
Save Money
Once you have your debt under control, it’s time to start putting some money aside. A rainy day fund and some extra money that can go towards traveling abroad, fixing up the house or buying a new car are a welcome change of pace. Make use of these hacks and apps to save money efficiently.
Stay Present
Obviously, being present can be a herculean task for even most individuals. Resolve to slow down this year, practice mindfulness, and go easy on the multitasking, or you could miss some amazing things happening right in front of you.
#4. Good New Year Resolutions
Move Your Body
Keeping it moving doesn’t necessarily mean you have to sweat through a high-intensity workout. Rather, it simply suggests one should be mobile—not sedentary—to get that blood flowing every single day. Moving your body on a daily basis boosts endurance and cardiovascular health, and is even great for your mind. Next year, vow to increase movement by walking rather than driving somewhere, for example, and try to hit 10,000 steps a day. Bottom line: increase your physical activity, and you’ll experience obvious health benefits.
Get Over an Ex
It may be better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved, but it still hurts like crazy. Healing a broken heart is a process that takes time, but there are tricks to make it through this difficult time without too much pain, and it starts with self-care.
Learn to Control Your Emotions
Uncontrolled anger can get you into a lot of trouble, but things like jealousy and pride are destructive in all circumstances, so it’s a good New Year’s resolution to control your emotions. Gaining control over your feelings allows you to keep a level head and think more rationally, even during emotionally charged conflict situations.
Learn More About Music, Art, and Culture
The best way to fit in when talking to a variety of people from different backgrounds is to have a well-rounded education. Topics like art, music, history, and culture often baffle people, but they can be easy to comprehend if you spend enough time learning about them using helpful websites and online courses.
Spend Less Time on Social Media
Some people might not spend hours in front of the TV, or playing video games, but social media has become a serious addiction among a wide range of demographics. It’s fine to stay in touch with friends and family, but if you consistently spend more than an hour every day on social media, it’s time to make a change and add this to your list of good New Year’s resolutions.
Care for Something
Sure, we all need to practice self-care to live our best lives, but what about nurturing something other than yourself? If you’re not currently the parent of a plant, pet, or any other living thing, then spend the upcoming year trying it out. A 2016 study revealed that taking care of pets, for example, decreases anxiety, promotes a sense of safety, and increases confidence. Certain houseplants, too, have been shown to improve well-being, raise productivity, and lower blood pressure.
Make Time for Self-Care
If you feel like you have tons of commitments that aren’t always for you, carve out some solid “me” time in the year ahead by trying a new hobby—or resurrecting an old one—such as cooking, making art, or reading a good book.
Make New Friends
Okay, we admit that it’s not always easy to make new friends (especially in times like these), but there’s no reason to stop trying. Join a new Facebook group for a group you’re interested in, or volunteer your time to an organization in need—others may also be trying to meet new people, too, which can alleviate some of the pressure.
Manage Stress
If left unchecked, stress and anxiety can go unnoticed for some time, and later manifest themselves in physical and emotional ways. Instead of waiting for them to rear their ugly heads, learn stress management and reduction techniques now. Some meditate, others practice yoga, and many exercise to combat stress.
Catch Up With Family
Take time to appreciate loved ones via a simple phone or Zoom call. Check in with those close to you, especially older relatives, if only to say you love them and are grateful for their presence in your life. Not only will it make a sister’s, grandparents’, or cousin’s day, strong family ties contribute to happiness and physical health.
Try a New Look
A fun way to start off the year is trying out something different, right? Play with a new hair color, style or cut, as well as new ideas for your personal style.
Stop the FOMO
Despite the fact that you’ve missed out on events this past year, look within and realize that whatever you did get to experience was amazing and there are great things to experience in the future.
Take some “me” time to relax, recharge, and find gratitude for the things you have experienced, rather than harp on what you missed.
Nurture True Friendships
Having many acquaintances is nice until you realize that a super-small portion of them will have your back through thick and thin. Resolve to spend your precious energy on, and free time with, only those you care most deeply about—and those who reciprocate. True friendships are about quality, not quantity.
Give Love to Your Significant Other
It’s a worthwhile New Year’s resolution that keeps on giving all year long. Don’t lose the spark with the one you love the most. Reserve time on your calendar for several date nights per month—and don’t be too attached to what you wind up doing. Remember that staying home can be just as good (if not better) than going out.
Give to Your Community
Whether you give back once or repeatedly, taking time to volunteer, practicing random acts of kindness, and donating to charity organizations empowers us and opens us up to new experiences and opportunities. Research viable non-profits that align with skills and/or your spirit of giving, and plan to pay it forward this year and the next.
Satisfy Your Wanderlust
Get out there are see the world! Take the trip you’ve always dreamed of, as there’s no better time than the beginning of a new year. You can also consider road tripping, renting an RV, or hosting a staycation for you and a select few.
Appreciate the Finer Things
Troll museum and gallery websites to learn about upcoming art exhibitions, view online plays or ballets, take in an orchestral performance, and over the course of next year, teach yourself to appreciate the finer things in life. Cultural activities inspire creativity and teach you open-mindedness and tolerance—something we all can get behind.
Monitor Social Media Use
Too much social media can be a bad thing—especially when you start comparing your real life to someone’s seemingly picture-perfect online life. Plan to take a step back this upcoming year, whether spending a day (or more) social media-free or simply reducing the number of times you check your apps in any one day.
Practice Gratitude
All successful people practice gratitude to feel healthier, happier, and more at peace with themselves—and they do so daily.
Fostering gratitude means writing down a few things you’re thankful for and why. You could also begin your days by vocalizing what you’re grateful for or meditate on your gratitude in silence. Cultivating this habit in the New Year can even help you sleep better and be kinder to others, according to New York Times writer John Tierney, who researched the “attitude of gratitude,” back in 2011.
Keep in Touch
During the next year, especially if you’re due for a catch-up, make better efforts to stay in touch. Plan out Zoom happy hours or Face Times to keep in touch with those you love the most, and set aside time to get together with loved ones you haven’t seen in some time.
Channel Your Inner Child
Playfulness is grossly underrated. Especially if you have a particularly draining day job, resolve to make time for play. Adults who play games better maintain their social wellbeing, hone their cognitive functions, and even keep platonic and romantic partnerships healthier than those that don’t regularly engage in fun activities.
Conquer a Fear
What things do you typically avoid like the plague? Whether you loathe speaking in public, detest snakes and spiders, or you’re scared of some imaginary tragedy that has yet to happen, fear isn’t something to hold onto—especially since it will always return and prevent you from living your best life. This year, resolve to face fear head-on and release yourself from its choking grasp.
Cultivate Compassion
We never really know what’s going on in someone else’s life. Before you get mad at a friend for canceling plans or mutter under your breath when a stranger does something to annoy you, teach yourself to pause and summon some compassion before huffing and puffing—and remember that it’s probably not about you.
Practice Patience
Yes, patience is a virtue, and it’s one that can be notoriously difficult to foster and maintain. But science says that waiting for things only makes us happier.
Take the next year to learn how to be patient with yourself and others. For starters, work to identify your triggers, know why they make you impatient, and practice some deep breathing.
Quit Apologizing
Many of us have the habit of apologizing for passively uttering “I’m sorry,” even when we haven’t made an error and/or when things aren’t our fault. This year, learn to save your sorry’s for when they’re absolutely necessary—and for whenever you really mean it.
Let Others In
The existential concept of “being seen” basically enables one to harness the vulnerability in exposing our true selves to others in order to foster greater self-confidence. Shed that hard outer shell and instead, try letting friends and loved ones “in” by sharing intimate (not necessarily painful, although that’s allowed) details of your life. You’ll be surprised to find that many others have had the same experiences, and in turn, they’ll feel comfortable sharing more of themselves with you, too.
Love Yourself Unconditionally
Loving yourself just as you are, without restrictions (and not for who you will become one day) is challenging for most people. Resolve to love yourself this year and beyond by practicing self-care, healing old wounds, exiting toxic relationships, forgiving yourself for mistakes and indiscretions (perceived or otherwise), and accepting yourself in the here and now.
Get in Shape
Losing weight is the top resolution for Americans, and combined with “exercise more” and “stay fit and healthy” it is something that over a third of the population wishes to achieve. It’s easy enough to start an exercise and diet program, but the trick is to find a decent one that will give you steady results and will be easy to stick to in the long run.
Have a look at these tricks, hacks, exercises, and mistakes to avoid to make the best our of your resolution.
Eat Healthier
This is usually an extension of the previous resolution. Switching to a healthier diet can be incredibly tricky when we are surrounded by cheap junk food. However, with a good amount of determination and some basic tips, you can slowly develop healthier eating habits. Learn to control emotional eating, be aware of reasons for diets to fail, and have a look at these awesome and healthy recipes.