Each year the clock strikes midnight, marking the first of January and the start of a new moment in time. Champagne glasses clink, lips brush, and an indescribable feeling of hope reinvigorates the air. "This is the one," we assure ourselves with our unrealistic expectations and annual sense of false optimism. "This is my year." So we conjure up the new year's plans that last a week (if that). Our empty promises leave us disappointed and unsatisfied every damn time. Why? Because we set the bar too high. Instead of pledging to instantly terminate all the toxicities of life, we must start somewhere actually attainable. Here are reachable New Year's resolutions for millennials to try out this year (and actually follow through with):
1. Exercise at least three times a week.
Let's be honest, vowing to go to the gym every day when you haven't stepped foot in one since New Year's Day last year just isn't a practical goal. But this you can do. It doesn't even have to entail going out and buying a fancy gym membership. Go for outdoor runs (or walks if they're more up your alley). Buy a yoga mat and put it to good use in your living room. Make YouTube your new best friend as you burn off the calories and guilt of last year's weight gain.
2. More water and vegetables, less McDonald's.
Sure, a diet is easier said than done. And salads are no french fries. But you don't have to drastically turn the tables (or in this case the food on top of them). Cut back portion sizes. Eat less fried food. Try new vegetables. Drink water like it's going out of style. And if you can't let him go, at least try to minimize the visits to Ronald McDonald. The scale and heart doctor will thank you years from now.
3. Reduce money spent on drinking.
I didn't say to decrease your alcohol intake-- just to find financially smarter ways to go about the turn ups. Buy your priciest bottle only when it's on sale. Pregame harder to spare your credit card at the bar. And stop buying shots for the randos you befriend on the bathroom line because sober you works too damn hard to spend it on those whose names you won't remember the next morning.
4. More face to face interaction, less phone time.
This one may be the hardest for this generation, but I swear you can put down your phone for an hour to have a nice conversation with family or friends. It was done before our time and can still happen now.
5. Cut back on cursing in public.
Because the families walking by don't really appreciate your excess of f-bombs in front of their children. And it doesn't make you look all that classy, either. One or two profanities can slip here or there, but save the rest for a more discreet time and place.
6. Do more to benefit your future, health, and happiness.
Focus on reaching the resolutions outlined above for yourself. Concentrate on you. There are 365 chances to be selfish this year. Make every one count.
