Monday, January 09, 2017

2017 New Year’s Resolutions



What is our society’s fascination with making New Year’s resolutions?  To get a better idea, let’s consider some definitions.  The Oxford Dictionary defines a New Year’s resolution as: “A firm decision made on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day to do or refrain from doing something over the course of the coming year.”  Similarly, the Cambridge Dictionary suggests: “A promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year.”  Lifehack further clarifies what it’s all about for most people: “re-evaluating some of their life choices.”  Therefore, it is evident that the intent is to make some type of positive change in one’s life.

Most of us would say that we have a good sense about the things that we should work on or change, but some might benefit from a nudge or some ideas.  With that in mind, the following are my favourites from Lifehack’s article.  I hope that one or more of these will prove helpful and provide you with some direction.

- Stick to the good healthy habits you’ve developed—not everything you’re doing is bad; make note of and give yourself credit for the things you’re doing right
- Get more quality sleep—better sleep leads to better performance
- Start eating healthier food and less food overall—a better diet leads to better health and performance
- Get in shape
- Give up cigarettes and start drinking in moderation or quit drinking altogether
- Go see your doctor more often—be preventative rather than reactionary
- Spend less time on social media and watch less TV
- Face your fears and insecurities
- Learn to control your emotions—if you pull the emotion out of things, decisions can be a lot simpler
- Reduce stress—stress is bad for your health and performance
- Learn to be happier with your life—everyone has their own struggles, so be happy for what’s good in your life
- Spend more time with the people that matter—being around the right people will make your life better
- Become more organized—if you aren’t organized, how are you supposed to get anything done?
- Learn how to be more self-reliant—the more control you have, the more you can influence your situation
- Learn how to defend yourself—gives you one less threat to worry about
- Pick up useful skills or fun hobbies—better yourself!
- Read more and learn more about art, music, culture, etc.—enrich your life!
- Earn more money, get out of debt, and start saving money
- Turn your hobby into a career—make money off of what you love and are already good at!
- Start expressing yourself artistically


So, now it’s up to you to take action and make the necessary adjustments/changes.  Of course, if any number of these resolutions don’t quite work out, you can always…blame it on fast foods!


- B. J. T. Pepin