The year 2021 is a new chapter of your life. If you are like most people, you are ready to put 2020 in the past and move forward with positive changes to your life. Making a set of New Year’s resolutions is an ideal way to be intentional about your goals in life. Setting these goals will provide a guiding framework as you set about to make lasting and meaningful changes.
Here are seven of the best New Year’s resolutions that will provide an undeniably positive impact on your life.
Find a New Hobby: There is no time like the present to pick up a hobby. The start of a new year is a great opportunity to pursue an interest that has always piqued your curiosity. A new hobby will enhance your life in numerous ways. Hobbies have the ability to engage your mind, provide a creative outlet, and give you a sense of purpose.
Depending on the hobby that you choose, it may be a good way to meet other like-minded people and provide a healthy social outlet. Or you can choose a hobby that gives you much-needed time to yourself. The possibilities are endless.
Focus on Eating Whole Foods: Many people set a vague goal of losing weight as they head into the new year. However, it can be challenging to achieve this resolution if you are not specific about how you will find success. Instead of setting a blanket resolution of losing weight, try something more specific related to your diet.
Focusing on eating whole foods will go a long way in helping you to nourish your body with what you need for a healthy diet. This form of healthy eating will help you to naturally lose weight. By making whole and unprocessed foods the cornerstone of your diet, you will quickly begin to shed the pounds.
Dive Into Reading: Being purposeful about reading more books in 2021 is a great way to expand your mind and stimulate your brain. Along the way, you will also build your vocabulary and learn more about the world around you.
Like any resolution, aim for specific initiatives. For example, maybe you want to shoot to read one new book each month for a total of one dozen for the year? If you need a little extra motivation, you may want to consider joining a book club. During this era of COVID-19, there are many online book clubs that make it easy to connect with others and share your thoughts about the book that you are reading.
Practice Gratitude: One of the biggest keys to happiness is learning to practice gratitude. Your entire mindset can change for the better if you make practicing gratitude a regular habit. While it is easy to find gratitude for major events such as a job promotion, it is also important to find these positive moments in the little things in life.
Keeping a journal is an excellent way to get your thoughts of gratitude down on paper. As a bonus, you can look back on your journal of gratitude at the end of the year to remind yourself about everything that you should be thankful for. You may also consider spreading your gratitude around. Sending letters of gratitude to the important people in your life can have a profound impact on both you and the people that you touch.
Volunteer Your Time: Being an active volunteer goes hand in hand with learning to practice gratitude in your daily life. There is no shortage of benefits to the practice of regularly volunteering your time. While you may start this activity because you want to help others, you will quickly understand how much it benefits you as well.
When choosing your volunteer outlet, try to find activities that match your own special interest. For example, if you love spending time with children, find a way that you can give back to the youth in your community. You will get more out of the activity if you choose an organization that matches up with your passion.
Immerse Yourself in Nature: For most places of the country, January is not an ideal time to spend time connecting with Mother Nature. However, the rewards of simply bundling up and going outdoors to breathe in the fresh air will be well worth your effort.
Regularly spending time outside boasts numerous benefits for both your physical and mental health. Research has demonstrated that simply being outside can naturally lower your blood pressure, reduce the presence of the stress-inducing hormone known as cortisol, decrease the level of inflammation in the body, boost your mood, fight off depression and anxiety, and help to regulate your sleep cycles.
Get Moving: You are not in the minority if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. However, many people make the mistake of simply focusing on the number on the scale. You will be better served by making it a resolution to get moving this year rather than honing in on that elusive goal weight.
Instead of making losing your weight goal, make it a resolution to feel better through exercise. It is easy to get caught up in numbers when you should really be exercising as a means of achieving better health. By setting measurable exercise goals, such as working out five times per week, you will naturally see the pounds start to melt away.
These ideas represent just the tip of the iceberg of ways that you can make meaningful improvements in your life as you forge ahead with 2021. Be sure to pick just a few specific goals and put your time and energy toward them rather than giving only half effort to more resolutions. When the calendar flips to 2022, you will be glad that you enacted these positive changes.
