Practical New Year's Resolutions
Resolutions to Improve Lifestyle, Comfort and Organisation
New Year's resolutions can bring positive lifestyle changes. With a practical approach to making decisions, it is possible to avoid the guilt of broken resolutions
Many people take time at the end of the year to reflect and reassess their achievements and aspirations. The result of this introspection is often a long list of goals as well as some life-improving changes known as New Year's Resolutions.
On New Year's Day enthusiasm is high and motivation is strong. By January 3rd at least half of the resolutions have generally fallen by the wayside and by the end of the first week only one of two of the most tenacious (or easily achieved) goals remain. To avoid the guilt and sense of failure that comes from broken resolutions, it is important to be practical when setting major goals.
Giving up Cigarettes and Alcohol
When deciding to kick a bad habit such as smoking or excessive alcohol consumption, it is important to connect with the appropriate support network. Support and information groups will be able to provide the tools needed to follow through on a commitment to ‘give up’ a bad habit. Organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Quit for Life can help to set up a productive plan of action. If the problem is significant or if there are other health issues, it is important to seek the advice of a family doctor.
Dieting
Losing weight is a long-term goal that needs careful planning and support. The resolution to lose weight is easily made but not so easy to maintain when there is a box of chocolates left over from Christmas sitting in the pantry. A family doctor will be able to provide the general health information and support needed to make sure that weight is lost in a healthy way. A dietician or nutritionist can help to set up a healthy eating plan. Organisations such as Weight Watchers or other weight loss programs or organisations will also be able to help. Do not give up if the siren call of the box of chocolates becomes overwhelming. Just resolve to try better tomorrow and keep moving forward.
Being More Organised
Like most other major lifestyle changes, this requires more than simple determination. For those not naturally organised, a personality change is unlikely to occur overnight simply because a decision has been made that it should be. There is a huge range of very useful books and websites to help with advice and tips on how to set up systems to declutter and organise. This is not a short-term goal. Months or years of disorganisation cannot be corrected overnight. Pick a method or system of organisation that suits your lifestyle and personality and stick with it.
Spending More Time with Family and Friends
Busy modern lifestyles do not make it easy to find time to just relax with friends. When it is difficult to find a few minutes to phone a friend to simply catch up, it can help to actively schedule time to devote to these relationships. Set aside one Saturday night or Sunday lunch each month to invite friends over to visit. Make every Friday night an ‘open house’ coffee night where friends can just drop in to say hello. Have some DVDs and board games available to keep kids occupied and keep things casual. Set aside one night a week or fortnight to make a phone call to a friend. It isn’t as calculated as it sounds. It is simply a matter of making friendships a priority.
