Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions

Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions

The New Year can be a great starting point to bring about positive change in your life. Whether you’re trying to quit smoking, lose weight or start exercising, the New Year can give you the motivation you need to finally start to change. Here are a few great resolutions that will greatly improve your quality of life.

1. Get Healthy. The most popular resolutions deal with weight loss, muscle gain and quitting unhealthy habits such as smoking. The reason is because your health is one of the most important parts of your life. Unfortunately for most people, it doesn’t become a big issue until they have to go to the doctor once a week or take a pill everyday. It’s never too early to get your health in order. Mistakes made when you’re young don’t show up until decades down the road. If you start eating the right foods, exercising a few times per week and kicking nasty habits, your retirement years can be spent enjoying grandchildren instead of being dependent on medication.

2. Get Organized. Most people have an endless list of tasks to complete: clean the garage, fix the sink, replace the brakes… All of these chores can seem overwhelming unless you organize them. Make a to do list and cross off each item as you finish. You can take this a step further and make two lists: one for short and another for long term goals. Keeping both types of goals on paper will keep them fresh in your mind in a way that won’t cause you to get stressed out. Seeing each completed task removed the list will give you a feeling of accomplishment and give you the confidence to tackle bigger goals.

3. Share Something. Sharing can make you happy. You can donate to a cause you care deeply about or volunteer at your local homeless or animal shelter. Giving is sometimes better than receiving.

4. Find a Hobby. You can’t have physical health without mental health. Find a hobby or bring back one that you had years ago. Hobbies can be anything from reading to racing remote control cars or playing a sport. As long as you enjoy the activity, it’s a good hobby to have. Hobbies are a great way to meet new friends and reduce stress.

5. Fix Your Finances. The New Year is a great time to sit down and finally make a budget so you can live within your means. Instead of building upon your current debt, make a plan to pay off what you’ve already borrowed. Cutting back on some unnecessary expenses can also help with some of your other resolutions (not smoking and eating out less). Mint is a great (and free) online budgeting tool that will help you see where your money is going.

The Bottom Line

Though New Year’s Resolutions are often ridiculed, they provide some people with the needed motivation to make a meaningful change in their life. If you set a realistic goal and put into place solid steps to achieve that goal, you will succeed.

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