CHANGE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

A good friend and neighbour said to me on Christmas Day, “instead of a resolution to stop doing something in 2021, I’ve decided on a resolution to add something to my life.”  She is going to learn a new skill. I love her wisdom.  Thank you Denise!  I too had a similar thought two years ago, and it’s carried over into this year because it worked out so well for me. Two years ago I decided to act on my desire to write.  I took some university classes on writing and haven’t looked back.  Last year, I decided to start my blog.  I feel so alive!

Stop Denying Yourself

This year, while trying to stay safe and healthy seems to be everyone’s ultimate goal, my resolution (aside from trying to stay healthy) is to clean up my world.  My resolution is to tidy up finances, improve sleep routines and eating habits, and clean up relationship issues that have been hanging around like the proverbial elephant in the room. I also want to learn a new skill but I’m not going to disclose exactly what that is…yet!  What’s your 2021 New Year’s Resolution?  Are you still trying to stop doing something?  Is your plan to deprive yourself yet again? Will you be focusing on giving something up?  Or do you think you might switch things up, and do what Denise and I are going to do; ADD something to your life!  Make your resolution with your best interest in mind.  Do it for you.

What’s Your Resolution?

Maybe you do it every year.  Maybe you’ve never really committed to a New Year’s Resolution.  Ponder making one.  A good one.  Not some unrealistic resolution that you feel like you have to make.  A really suitable and appropriate resolution made in an effort to improve your life, heal your emotions, provide fun and create some happiness…for YOU!

DIG DEEP~

So how do you decide?  First, remember- this New Year’s Resolution is for giving yourself something, not taking something away.  What makes you happy?  Think about those times that you get so lost in what you’re doing that you lose all track of time.  No, I don’t mean watching multiple seasons of FRIENDS!  Although, could you find a better show to binge watch?  What I want you to think about are the times when you’re just lost in yourself, so enjoying what you’re doing that your cares seem to take a backseat.  You feel the creative juices flowing, or you feel relaxed or energized!  For me, it is gardening or writing and from long ago, music.  I played various instruments in school and would like to try again (a bit of a hint to my resolution).

Do What Feels Good

What if you feel or felt your best, when you played sports?  Find a way to do it again.  Even during covid, you can find a way to improve your skills. Do you love reading but you’ve let it slip over the years?  Get a good book and your favourite drink and tuck away in a cozy corner and lose yourself in the pages of that book! Maybe you want to collect music, or make some really good playlists.  Do it.

Someone I know loves to paint Warhammer figurines for the tabletop miniature wargame.  I can’t imagine the patience it takes…but for some, this is where they forget the troubles of the day, become engrossed in the details of painting and truly enjoy the hobby.  Don’t talk yourself out of doing something for fear of what someone else will think.  This is your life.  You owe it to yourself to provide your own source of happiness.

Show yourself some love.  We’re all about self-love these days.  It’s so important to understand what gives you a sense of peace and calm, or energizes you with a passion that you can’t stifle.  You owe it to yourself to discover what makes you happy and then carve out the time for you.  You are important.  Too many of us spend our lives denying our wants and needs for the expectations of others.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE~

The benefits of happiness are so often overlooked.  Happiness improves your overall health; both physical and mental health.  Physical activity is sometimes all that’s needed to boost a person’s mood.  Relationships can be much improved by one or both people taking time for fun, hobbies or physical activity.  Doing what you enjoy relaxes and/or energizes you.  Learn something new.  As I mentioned above, my neighbour and I are both planning to add a new skill to each of our lives.  That excites me!  Screw the rigid weight-loss diet that everyone else is on. Be happy first.  ADD something positive to your life and then tackle the weight-loss when you’re feeling more positive.  Don’t get me wrong, if you (and me too) need to lose weight, that’s an important health goal. Do not ignore that.  But give yourself a minute to find something enjoyable or exciting.

Keep Your Inner Child Alive

Do you ever sit and think about your childhood?  Good, bad or otherwise, there is likely something that you remember as being enjoyable.  I remember as a kid, my friend and I would lie down in the grass and pick the clover, or watch the clouds go by.  Such a simple relaxing and yet creative thing to do.  We would describe shapes that we see in the clouds.  We played marbles, or just walked and talked.  Remember the feel of sand between your toes?  Tobogganing or just walking in the snow provided hours of enjoyment.  Get a board game, play to win!

• Get outside- walk in nature.  You will feel more relaxed.  Science proves it
• Listen to some great music, classical, jazz, blues…whatever, but really listen to it, undistracted
• Here it comes again- write down what you’re grateful for
•  Do something nice for someone else; volunteer, or just help someone out
• Play!  Play a game with someone, a kid, a friend, whoever.  We have to play.

  

• Get dirty- there is a harmless bacteria called microbacterium vaccae , that studies have shown to increase seratonin in the brain.  Just breathing in the scent of soil is beneficial.  Do some gardening, whether it be indoor plants (which provide their own mental health benefits) or outdoor gardening…get some dirt under your nails.
• Do yoga –  Its benefits are amazing

Learn about the benefits of play to increase your happiness, in this article on HelpGuide.org, titled The Benefits of Play for Adults, explains how to increase your happiness through play; with a partner, friend, your child, or even co-workers.  Check it out.

My goal is to convince you to re-think your New Year’s Resolution.  Do you agree that rather than limiting and removing things from your life and your routine, maybe you could add something fun, improve mood, social skills and mental health?  With so much negativity and stress in the past year, we must pay attention to our personal needs.  And happiness is something that we all need.

Thanks Denise for sharing your positive plan for your New Year’s Resolution.  I hope it catches on!

Thanks for reading.  Check back next Sunday for another post from Parts of Ourselves.

Carol Paino