Realistic New Year's Resolutions

Every year, January 1st rolls around and everyone lists off their New Year's resolutions. Resolutions can be a great thing; they can help you change or push you to better yourself, but they can also be tough to keep up with and frustrating if you don’t set them correctly. New Year’s resolutions can be tricky, but here is a short list of helpful and realistic resolutions to start off your 2016.

Get Moving!

Instead of saying you’re going to work out every day and dropping $30 a month on a gym membership you’ll only use six times, just promise yourself you’ll get movin’! You can do some sun salutations and yoga when you wake up, or take the stairs going into work instead of the elevator, have a quick dance party (alone or with friends!), or just go for a walk around your neighborhood. This way you won’t be wasting money and feeling guilty; you’ll just be moving!

Journey On!

Year in and year out, people promise themselves that this will be the year they will travel more, and now is the year to do so! Traveling doesn’t have to be that expensive or time consuming. The definition of travel is "to make a journey," so take a weekend trip to the beach, drive a few hours to an amusement park, or just go camping! Traveling doesn’t have to involve an eight-hour plane ride, you know. It could be something as simple as a 45-minute drive, just to get out of your home and see new things! Whether it's the town over or across the world, that is for you to decide.

Make Time for You!

I can’t stress how important it is to make time for yourself. This year, try to take time out of your busy schedule to focus on you and what you love to do. Do you like movies? Take two hours every Sunday and go to the theater; it’ll be what you look forward to all week. Always wanted to take up painting? Do it! Get together some paint and canvas and just paint! It’ll relax you and make you happy. Whatever you like to do— read, write, draw, play video games, go to plays, run— whatever it is, just block out some time for you to be able to do so.

Smile More!

One of the most common (and most commonly broken) New Year’s resolutions is to be happier. Being "happier" is a very broad statement, and can focus in on many aspects of your life. So, to make it a more realistic and more attainable goal, tell yourself you will smile more. Start with smiling at least three times a day, no matter how bad of a day it is, and, then, work your way up to five, 10, 20 times a day! Not only will smiling make you a happier and healthier person, it’ll brighten the days of those around you! This resolution is a win-win!

Help Others!

When people think about helping others out, usually the first thing they think is financially, but that isn't the only way to help. Donating money to your favorite charity is fantastic and admirable, but you can also donate time! Help out at your local soup kitchen/food pantry; food is an essential part of life and being able to help pass out food to those in need is a feeling like no other. You can hang out at a nursing home and help some cool elders with things they need done; this is also super rad because you’ll be helping them, but you also get to hear some sweet old stories and get hear word of wisdom! In general just practice being more available to helping people, whether it be your mom who needs help with figuring out her phone or maybe coaching a local rec sports team, just be happy to help!

Learn Something New Every Day!

I think this one may be the most important. Wherever you are in life, whatever age you are, or whatever milestone you’re crossing, you are never and I mean never too old to learn. Education is such a cool thing, but going to school isn’t the only way to learn things. This year, you should push yourself to learn something new every day. It can be something you learn in class that has to do with your major, or it can be something you read in the newspaper about stars, or it can be a new recipe you picked up on the food channel! Bill Nye once said “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't,” and that such a cool thing. Try to learn something from everyone you meet, everything you do, and everywhere you go! Find something you are interested in and learn about it!

Life is a crazy thing and New Year’s is a perfect time to start fresh and change the things we don’t like about this crazy life and a time to focus on the things we do like about this crazy life! Don’t be to hard on yourself, and make 2016 the best it can be! Cheers and Happy New Year!