Top New Year’s Resolutions
By Jessica, January 6, 2011
It’s been 12 months since your last New Year’s Resolutions were made, are you healthier, fitter, a stone lighter, fluent in Spanish, spending more time with family and free from cigarettes and alcohol as planned? We didn’t think so. We have listed some of the most common New Year’s resolutions, and most commonly abandoned, and what you need to do to stick to them this time around.
Exercise More – Sign Up and Laugh
There is no point in resolving to ‘go to the gym’ – if you liked the gym then you would go already. The secret to incorporating more exercise in your life is to find a form you enjoy and it won’t seem like exercise at all. Try salsa dancing, pole fitness, trampolining, ice skating, rock climbing, Tae Kwon Do… the list of fun choices is surprisingly long. Rope in a friend to have a giggle with and sign up to a course of classes with set times each week. Routine coupled with the fact that you have paid for the classes will help motivate you to go.
Stress Less – Be Specific
Promising to be less stressed this year will only give you one more thing to stress about achieving. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to prevent troubling external factors in life, but we can learn how to cope with them. It is impossible to do this with a vague resolution, so choose a specific activity to help you deal with stress such as yoga or meditation and allocate set times to practice. Signing up for classes is a great way to do this and will give you some dedicated me-time to unwind each week.
Quit Smoking – Reward Yourself
Hypothetically, the health benefits of quitting smoking should be reward enough. However when you’re twitching with withdrawal symptoms, increased lung capacity doesn’t sound all it’s cracked up to be. Cigarettes cost a fortune so get yourself a savings jar and put all the money you would spend on them into it. This can then be used as a treat fund to delve into when your cravings get particularly bad. The occasional spa treatment or meal out are perfect distractions, or save up for a bigger prize of a holiday or a pair of inappropriately expensive shoes.
Lose Weight – Be Positive
Diets are usually associated with depriving yourself of the foods you enjoy most. Resolving that you won’t eat this and you’ll stop doing that sets you up for a pretty negative experience. Instead, tell yourself that you will eat more of the exotic fruits you like, you can try healthier restaurants, you’ll start to spend more time with a friend going for brisk walks and you’ll learn how to cook new dishes. Losing weight needs to be approached with a healthy and positive attitude, not one of dread that will send you running for the biscuit tin.
