At the end of the year, the statement “out with the old, in with the new” gets pretty popular! But, I digress. I think this is majorly wrong and it’s what sets us up to fail in keeping our resolutions. We feel the need to change everything and renew every aspect of our lives. The rush and excitement of the New Year makes everything feel possible and within reach. But come February and goes with it the satisfied glow of resolving and achieving the impossible. 

1-  Leave The Good Stones Unturned

No change

Some corners of our lives should be left unturned, meaning that we needn’t change all of our traits or routines because some of them are exactly right. Instead of listing down all the things you want to change, count all the things you want to remain exactly the same.

2- Don’t Give Up Things, Do Less of Them 

High Expectations

Giving up sugar, carbs and bad habits are common resolutions we make at the beginning of every year. Instead of saying we’ll drop certain habits altogether, we should opt for doing less of them. This way our expectations are more realistic and we won’t be signing up for complete and utter disappointment.

3- Take Care of Yourself 

Pamper yourself

The key to enjoying anything in life is to first enjoy and embrace being who you are. Take care of yourself and your needs, because if you don’t, you’ll find yourself empty even if you spend all year being busy and trying to fill all the gaps. You can easily be sabotaging your life without even knowing it, if you fill yourself with all the wrong things. You’ll use up a lot of energy and end up feeling empty and more drained than ever.

4- Keep the Promises You Make to Yourself  

new-years-resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are all promises that we make to ourselves, but we tend to break a lot of them as the year progresses. Before making promises, both to ourselves and to others, we should initiate a logical and realistic plan of action. We should be certain that we have the skill-sets and mindset needed to keep those promises.

“I feel keeping a promise to yourself is a direct reflection of the love you have for yourself. I used to make promises to myself and find them easy to break. Today, I love myself enough to not only make a promise to myself, but I love myself enough to keep that promise”
– Steve Maraboli

5- Remove the Word “bored” From Your Dictionary 

Boredom and Curiosity

The feeling of boredom is common and we all get bored, but there’s just so much to do, so much to say and a lot of life to live. If you ever sense the feeling of boredom settling in on you, kill it because you’ll definitely find something you’d rather be doing.

“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And what do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”
– Sylvia Plath

6- Trust The Timing of Your Life 

Addison MontgomeryHuman beings are selfish and impatient. We want the world and we all want it now. But, life doesn’t fulfill all your wishes nor hand you all the lemons at the same time. It throws it at you at different intervals. Slow down and trust in the timing of your life.

“I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me.”

Don’t start the year with unrealistic expectations so as not to be disappointed later on. Love yourself, treat yourself and be kind. Live a life that feels right to you, and not one that looks right to others. 2017, here we come. 

How this turns out