9 tiny New Year’s resolutions that will improve your life in a seriously big way
Every year, New Year’s Eve rolls around and we are bombarded with people talking about their New Year’s resolutions. Growing up it was so exciting to make the list, but now sometimes it feels like something we dread.
And maybe that’s because we spend so much time trying to make *big* changes, that we forget it’s often the small, totally achievable ones that we’ll actually stick to (and that therefor will actually impact our lives the most).
So in that spirit, here are 9 tiny New Year’s resolutions that will improve your life in a seriously big way. This time next year you’re going to look at your list of completed New Year’s resolutions and be so glad you kept it small — because we promise you’ll notice a BIG difference.
1 Start meditating once a day
We can tell you firsthand that meditation is a lifesaver. Not only does it help clear your mind, but it helps improve your mood and decreases anxiety. We personally recommend Madeline Shaw’s YouTube videos to get you started.
2 Express gratitude
It can be so easy to get wrapped up in our problems that we often forget how fortunate we are. Maybe that guy didn’t call you back, or you’ve been living paycheck to paycheck — but once you start making a list of the things that you are grateful for in your life — like a healthy family, or good friends — you’ll notice that you’re lucky in more ways than you often realize.
3 Stop complaining
This resolution is in complete tandem with the previous one! Once you start expressing gratitude more, you’ll notice that you’ll complain less. Sometimes it almost seems on trend to have complaining-fests with your friends, and while venting can definitely help sometimes, complaining about trivial things prevents you from seeing the blessings in your life.
For the month of January, we challenge you to make a note every single time you catch yourself complaining. At the end of the month you’ll realize how trivial some of the things were, and going into the next months you’ll probably find yourself complaining less and less. The wonderful Tamara Kalinic came up with this idea so check out her video to learn more!
4 Stop procrastinating
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNaPPjXgIQi
This one is pretty self-explanatory. The next time you have the choice between accomplishing a task now or putting it off for another day, DO IT NOW. Try to keep this up every day for a month and revel in how much more productive (and less anxious) you feel.
5 Practice self love
You’re probably thinking OMG you said tiny resolutions, right? But the reality is, it can seem hard to accomplish things if you don’t love yourself. We know it’s difficult. Some days we wake up and we hate our thighs, wish we had Shay Mitchell’s hair, Hannah Bronfman’s fitness capabilities, and Kerry Washington’s fierceness. So our challenge to you is to love yourself a little more, give yourself a break, and remember that NOBODY is perfect and people who seem perfect are faking it or photoshopped.
6 Volunteer
We can’t stress enough how beneficial it is to help others — both for the people being helped and for the person helping. The world can always use more volunteers, and you’ll be infused with a sense of purpose every time you do it.
7 Learn a new language
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOGEEIVjrHU
Learning new languages is not only good for our brains, but — as cheesy as it sounds — it’s good for our hearts! It connects us with new people and cultures and is an amazing first step in expanding our horizons.
8 Learn a new skill
Whether it’s baking, basket weaving, educating yourself on an important issue, photography, or coding, it is so important to be constantly learning. Research news skills that will help your respective fields in 2017. We guarantee you’ll be thanking us going into 2018!
9 Eat one fully raw meal a day
We aren’t pushing any type of diet changes or counting calories on this list, but there are so many benefits of making a meal a day fully raw. This is something we personally would love to implement in the New Year! Whether it’s a green juice a couple times a week and fruit smoothies on the other days, or a big leafy salad for lunch, we can guarantee you’ll notice a positive difference (especially if you’re like us and are prone to just chugging coffee for breakfast and hitting up the vending machine for lunch…).
We wish you a Happy New Year (and remember, don’t feel obligated to take this list verbatim). You could sub out any of these for small goals related to fitness, finance, or personal items. Just don’t feel jaded when making a list! It’s supposed to be fun and a way to hold yourself accountable. So are you ready for the New Year? 5…4…3…2…1 now let’s get in formation!
