16 Ways to a Better You in the New Year

By: Veronica Leighton

 

Studies show that 92% of people who set New Year’s resolutions never come to fruition. Why? Due to some external influences and disruptions that take their minds off their set goals in life for the betterment of the paths or roads they want to traverse. What to do? To make the most of them, they will have to cease listening to external influence s and embrace their intuition. It’s not as hard as it seems…

As suggested in our Editorial, there are three common resolutions amongst the long list of new year’s “I promise to do…..” to lose weight, to exercise for good health, and to save or earn more money, etc.

According to Better Living, when it comes to New Year’s goals and resolutions, not all are created equal. They list 16 below that offer simple changes that will positively transform your life and help you become a better person. While it’s very doable to do all 16 this year, if you’re daunted, just pick a few to concentrate or just commit to accomplishing one; if you adopt a single new practice each year, in a decade your life will be ten positive habits richer.

At first, a few may sound too traditional but the more you think about it and nurture the idea, they are quite simple, easy to do, and not bad to stick to, to accomplish a better life change for the new year and more years to come.

1. Get a Real Alarm Clock

Sending a potent signal to yourself as to what you think is most important by keeping your phone out of your room at night, use a regular “old school” alarm clock to wake up in the morning, and don’t touch your phone when you rise until after you’ve done something (prayer, meditation, push-ups) that represents the man you’re going to be that day.

2. Read One Book Every Week

Everyone’s got an hour a day to repurpose for reading: cut out one hour of Netflix at night; read a half hour at lunch and a half h our in the evening; read during your subway commute; Can you imagine how much better of a man you’ll be at the end of the year when you’ve read 52 books?

3. Drink Nothing But Water

Drinking nothing but water is the very easiest way to lose weight; people can often drop significant poundage and improve their all-around health profile just by making this move. You could tackle this goal while still drinking diet soda and making occasional allowances for alcohol, but you’d be better off cutting out those too in favor of pure H2O.

4. Start a Strength Training Program (for men) Strength training improves your overall health, helps you lose weight, boosts your testosterone, and makes you feel more virile in general. Not sure where to start? Begin with a simple novice linear progression program or sign up for online coaching program.

5. Call Your Mom Once a Week

You know she’s dying to hear from you.

6. Give at Least One Compliment Every Day

Train yourself to be more observant of how others excel in ways big and small, and call out these accomplishments in behavior, performance, talent, style, and character. Don’t forget to regularly compliment your own family too — who we ironically are the most likely to take for granted!

7. Host a Dinner Party Once a Quarter

Throwing a dinner party offers numerous benefits to the individual host as well, including offering the chance to practice your cooking and social skills, adding the tang of anticipation to your life, and simply motivating you to finally clean up your house! So aim to throw one d inner party ever quarter this year; it’s both easier and more edifying than you think.

8. Take a Short Walk Every Day

There’s a reason philosophers from Aristotle to Nietzsche were committed walkers: taking a stroll clears the mind, helps you solve problems, and generates insights. Walking also slows down time and makes your life feel more memorable. And of course moving your body is good for your health.

9. Journal

Journaling may not be for everyone, but many folks do find it an effective way to cognitively and emotionally process all the stuff they’re going through. Writing requires you to think logically and linearly, which makes it particularly helpful for putting things like depression and anger into perspective. Write about what happened that day; write about what you’re grateful for. Write spontaneously; Write a paragraph; write a single sentence.

10. Plan Your Weekends

Intentionally plan out your weekends, always having an idea of a few fun things you’d like to do as you head into them. (If you’re married, we highly recommend doing this planning during your weekly marriage meeting.) You’ll have an easier time facing Monday, when you truly made the most of your Saturday/Sunday.

11. Turn Off Notifications on Your Phone

If you’re sick of being distracted by your phone, but haven’t yet turned off its notifications, then you haven’t begun to fight. As author Nir Eyal said: “Twothirds of people with a smartphone never change their notification settings. That’s ridiculous. Can we really complain about technology addicting us if we haven’t taken 10 minutes to change the notifications settings?”

12. Fast for 24 Hours Once a Month

Fasting does great things for one’s health, including normalizing insulin levels, promoting the secretion of human growth hormone, and spurring cell regeneration. It’s also a powerful way to train the soul, so that the spirit becomes stronger than the flesh. Research shows that fasting even once a month produces the aforementioned physical benefits, and anecdotal evidence suggests that a monthly fast is sufficient to incur robust spiritual benefits as well.

13. Exercise and/or Commute One Day a Week Without Music/Podcasts

It’s only in silence and solitude that we hear life’s most important “sounds” — our internal voice, creative inspiration, promptings towards a calling, solutions to dilemmas, things we need to do for or say to others. Yet we are usually so surrounded by noise that these critical messages never get through. To hone in on these signals, carve out some weekly quiet time by exercising or commuting without music, podcasts, or any other human-created static.

14. Floss. For Real This Time.

Stave off gum disease. Make your dentist proud.

15. Start a New Hobby

Try to cut out device-born distractions. But if you want to avoid being pulled back by their siren song, you can’t just empty your life of time-wasters — you have to fill it with worthy pursuits. That’s where hobbies come in; find an activity that’s just as compelling, and way more satisfying, than twiddling on your phone.

16. Attend Church Each Week

Attending a religious service each week can greatly improve your life and relationships in numerous ways; even if you’re not sure you believe in an immortal soul, church attendance can be good for it. It offers one of the easiest ways to make friends, an opportunity for reflection, and a discipline- building ritual. It improves mental and physical health and furnishes opportunities to do service. At the very least, it provides an all-too-rare chance to engage in some group singing.

 

Christmas from our home to yours!

From left: Christian, Bobby, Christy and Maya

Christmastime with Lola, Maya and Christian, apos.