How to Start the New Year Off Right
There’s something so inspiring about the start of a new year. For many of us, it offers another chance to achieve our personal goals, hopes, and dreams. It also calls for a fresh new list of New Year’s resolutions and ideas for personal growth! To kick things off on the right foot, follow these life-changing tips when walking into the new year.
There are 3 aspects of your well-being that are great to take a step back and reevaluate how you’d like to see growth in these areas.
Prioritize Your Mental Health
Starting with mental health, a person’s mental health can be an essential part of how someone thinks, acts and grows.
Journal every morning and night
Right when you wake up and right before you fall asleep! Even if you have nothing to say in that moment, there are positive mental health benefits to physically writing down your words and thoughts on a page!
Organize your living space
Whether that’s cleaning out your closet, color-coding your sock drawer or donating any unused items, having an organized place gives a bigger mental health boost than you’d expect!
Meditate or improve your sleep schedule
Try to go to bed a little bit earlier and meditate in the morning before you get started with your day! There are plenty of meditation videos on YouTube and playlists on Spotify you can test out!
Pro Tip: Set up a peaceful meditation area and include an inspirational yoga mat!
Limit your time on social media
While social media can be a positive platform (staying connected with friends and seeing exciting life updates), it can also affect self-esteem, self-confidence and self-love. A social media detox will inspire you to focus on yourself and your own life!
Pick up a new hobby or activity
This is the perfect time to invest your time into a new hobby whether that be art or music or photography or cooking. You’d be surprised what trying out a new activity can do for your mental health!
Focus On Your Physical Health
Cook something new once a week
Be the chef in your household! Test out new recipes and find your new favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner meals!
Get a monthly massage
This doesn’t have to be a professional massage at a spa. You can recruit your S.O., best friend or roommate to help give you a nice shoulder massage or head rub to release some stress! If you don’t have someone willing to do this, there are plenty of massaging items and tools that are easy to use on yourself!
Create a work out plan
It can be as simple as walking every day or doing sit-ups between Zoom meetings. If you’d like to come up with a fitness goal of gaining muscle or losing weight, we suggest you use a fitness app to help track your progress!
Stand and stretch more
Standing more, especially after sitting for hours at a time, will help with the blood flow in your body. Stretching is a good way to release some stress as well!
Drink! More! Water!
Just do it!
Invest In Your Emotional Health
Reconnect with old friends
People grow and go in various directions in their life. Catching up with someone you used to share great life experiences with could help rekindle that friendship! Even just sending out a ‘I miss you!’ postcard could put a smile on their face!
Visit family more
If you’re fortunate enough to live close to your family, spending time with them can create special moments you’ll carry with you throughout your life. If you live far away, there are great communication tools like Zoom and FaceTime to visit through a screen!
Meet new people
Putting yourself out there to meet likeminded individuals as well as people with different outlooks on life can help you gain invaluable knowledge on new perspectives!
Try to learn something new every day
A part of growth is learning. Learning something new every day can be as simple as reading the news or asking more questions to friends or online forums. There is plenty of knowledge out in the world. Much of what our minds haven’t even explored yet!
Express often how you’re feeling to yourself, family, friends
Talking about your feelings can be scary. It’s hard to be vulnerable. However, opening up your heart to those you love and trust can help you recognize emotions you’ve never felt before!