Many of us take the new year as an opportunity to start anew. ‘New year, new me’ and all that. The resolutions and promises we make to ourselves as we enter the next 365 days often include things like starting a hobby, reducing waste, eating a healthier diet, spending less money, and saving more.
But many of these resolutions are presented as negative. For example, your goal might be to reach a certain weight by the end of the year, but the focus will be on weight loss, rather than gaining health and fitness. Another solution might be to stop being so late for things, but it might be more effective to think of it as starting to be on time more often. Okay, I admit, it’s personal for me.
So instead of making half-hearted New Year’s resolutions that are hard to keep, why not try making ones that are more positive and kind to yourself? They can still include achievements in your career, health, finances, and lifestyle, but they don’t have to make you feel like a failure.
Let’s face it, we’ve all suffered enough hardships over the past few years. 2025 is the year to celebrate what we already have and thank ourselves for making it through another year.
Here’s a list of positive New Year’s resolutions to give you some inspiration for 2025…
- Exercise and eat a balanced diet to respect my body and feel better physically and mentally; This could also apply to purposes such as drinking more water.
- Consciously recognize at least one thing I am grateful for every day; try to make it different every day.
- Give yourself time to take up a hobby, whether it’s reading, knitting, learning a language, playing a sport, or anything else; Start by spending time on the activity instead of spending it when you can. This could be as frequent as once a day or once every few months, which might be more realistic for you.
- Celebrate and recognize all my achievements, no matter how big or small.
- Show and tell my loved ones how much you appreciate them more often.
- Take more time to think about what I really need before buying something, to try to reduce waste and save money. If you tend to buy items on impulse, like clothes or makeup, bookmark them and come back a few days or weeks later. If you had forgotten about them, you probably didn’t want them in the first place. Plus, the price may have already been reduced by then. Whether it’s food or household items, make an effort to be aware of what you already have to avoid buying surplus and letting things pass their sell-by date.
- Give back when you can, whether through charitable donations, volunteering, or simply helping a stranger in their time of need.
- Talk to myself as I would talk to a loved one.
- Help me be less stressed by making a list of the things in life that really matter, so that when I get nervous, angry, or upset, I can remember what is important and what is not worth stressing about.
- Don’t feel bad about doing things to take care of myself, like making time to go outside and get some fresh air or taking a proper lunch break.
Remember, whatever resolutions you do or don’t make for 2025, the most important thing is not to be too hard on yourself if they don’t go as planned. Life is unpredictable, things happen and it’s okay to take a break… Here’s to a happy and positive new year!