New Year's Resolution Ideas!
[ 21 December 2007 ]
Okay, I know it can be hard to come up with worthy resolutions for the new year, so I thought I’d give you a bit of help. Remember, goals & resolutions are totally different. Goals can be defined as “what by when“, while a resolution is somewhat more ephemeral. A resolution is light-hearted, something you do for fun. A guideline, rather than a hard-&-fast line. Here are some ideas, but if you already know what your resolutions are, feel free to post them in the comments below! I’d love to hear them.
Start wearing sunscreen
It’s never too late to start if you haven’t already. I am definitely guilty of not wearing sunscreen on my face, & I know that it’s going to start affecting me if I don’t do something about it soon. Invest in good sun protection for your face & wear it every day. FYI, it goes over your moisturiser & under your make-up, & the longer you wait, the more you will regret it! Do some research & find one which works for you.
Throw away your scales
I haven’t owned scales since the middle of last year some time, & you know what? I don’t miss them. I don’t know what I weigh & I really don’t care — it’s a very liberating feeling. Gauge your size by how happy you feel & how well your clothes fit. If your jeans are getting loose, eat some extravagant dinners. If they’re feeling a little tight, step up your exercise. That’s really all there is to it.
Stop exercising out of obligation & instead do it because you love it
There are so many people with gym memberships who just go because they can’t stand to think of the money they’re wasting if they don’t go. But here’s a revolutionary thought — exercise doesn’t have to cost anything, & it doesn’t have to be boring, either. If you’re not sure what you’ll like, take a different class every week for 3 months. Try salsa dancing, indoor cricket, taiko drumming, acrobatics, ballet, boxing, aikido, sprinting…
Live to a budget
I did a little exercise a while ago where I made a note of everything I spent money on. It was kind of scary, to say the least. I really had no idea how indiscriminately I spent my money. Well, now I know — so I picked a number, & I try to spend less than that every week. It’s made me feel a lot better about money management. I always thought budgets were terribly dreary, but it actually ends up leaving you with more money to spend on manicures, Chanel handbags, tennis lessons, gigolos, etc.!
Have a personal date once a week
Go to a movie, eat an amazing meal, go for a long meandering walk or have a candlelit bubble bath. Just take time out for you. Regularly.
Make 3 new friends
If you’ve been living in the same city for a long time, it’s really easy to just stick to your peer group & call it a day. But it’s also kind of boring. Comforting, yes. Nice, yes. But not very exciting. Go out of your way to meet new people. Be friendly to the new person at work. Strike up a friendship with your local barista. Find someone who also shares your gripping obsession with lunchmeat. It will enhance your life.
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” — Anaïs Nin
Stop eating meat
Well, you don’t HAVE to. But I know my body works best when I eat a meat-free, non-dairy selection of food. Read My Year Of Meats by Ruth Ozeki or Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser if you want to know more on the subject. Being vegetarian or vegan is a bit more work than just being a desultory meatmouth, but I think it’s worth it.
Take a risk
Every day, if you can handle it! & I don’t mean piddly little risks like “catch a plane”. I mean things like… tell people how you feel about them. Apply for a promotion. Approach a client that intimidates you. Start your own business. Taking risks helps to keep you youthful, as well as preventing your life from becoming a yawn-inducing routine.
Choose a role model & then think, “What Would ____ Do?”
Quit smoking
It smells & it makes you wrinkly. The occasional cigarette won’t kill you, but chain-smoking is pretty self-destructive… If you’re not sure where to begin, I hear amazing things about The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. & there’s always EFT!
Improve on your weaknesses (spelling, maths, etc.)
Being unable to spell or do basic maths can really kick your confidence. A lack of spelling ability can easily put you off any kind of text-based communication, while confusion about maths can lead to all sorts of financial difficulties. Fortunately, it’s something you have the power to fix! This page on improving your spelling is fantastic, as is this one on how to get smart in math.
Eat more vegetables & drink more water
I don’t need to explain this, surely?!
Master a party trick
No one knows party tricks any more! In the 70s (well, from what I’ve heard), it seemed like everyone had some strange skill that they could show off at parties — weird stomach contortion, belching the alphabet & handstand push-up demonstrations were all popular. But these days, you see nothing of the sort. (No, losing all your worldly posessions during a night out doesn’t count as a party trick!) Decide to learn some strange skill that you can demonstrate at a moment’s notice. How about juggling or complicated origami?
Or, take a page from Criss Angel’s book.
Learn the names of flowers
I think people who know the proper names for flowers are wonderful. It’s such an odd thing to master, but it’s so utterly charming that I can’t help but be impressed.
Start yoga or meditation
It doesn’t have to cost money or even take a lot of time. You can download all kinds of yoga videos & borrow books on meditation from the library for nothing. Both activities are really good for your body, mind & spirit. Make 2008 the year that you start looking after yourself holistically!
Pay someone a compliment every day
You might find this difficult some days. But there is always someone doing something worth applauding — whether it’s the barista who always makes an effort, the bus driver who is polite & smiley, or your daughter trying to cheer you up. Tell them how much you appreciate it.
Read one self-improvement book a month
I think I’m going to try this one myself. I’m naughty when it comes to books, but I’ve been making more of an effort to read recently & it has been hugely enriching. I’m currently working my way through The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield & it is rocking my world!
Extra For Experts:
Top Three Most Popular New Years Resolutions and How to Keep Them from Associated Content.
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
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I’m hopeless at keeping resolutions. But there ARE some I would like to try to keep in 2008! For example-
- wear lipstick! Though I’m yet to find colours that look right on me (and yes, Gala, I have scoured your Fashion Help For Recovering Goths colour palettes)
- RAK- Random Acts of Kindness! ie. writing fairy letters to strangers! Hee!
- eat three fruit and three veg a day
- spend a little more on quality clothes (so as to stop this weird habit my clothes have of falling to bits and warping out of shape in the wash)
- not allow the horrendous length of regrowth I’ve been putting up with since the last time I had my hair coloured (MONTHS ago)
- be a little more green. Not leaving lights on around the house, for a start.
xx
This year my resoloutions are a little different and they sound a little pesimistic but I think I will be needing them in ’08:
1. Stop making excuses for the bad things people have done to me just because they are my friends.
2. Stop calling people who are, what I call “sneaky mean” (That kind of mean where these people pay you compliments with an edge, for example “Oh, that looks great on you. I couldn’t wear it though because I don’t have a big ass like yours”), my friends.
3. Try to be more accepting of other people and smile more often.
That is what I have come up with so far. Oh, and I want to start wearing a hat! A croche hat! I am hoping there are some spectacular Croche hats in Melbourne!
I threw away my scales because I kept stubbing my toe on them in the bathroom every day! Plus nobody needs to constantly monitor themselves that closely – they’ll always tell you what you weigh with pinpoint accuracy when you give blood (haha)!
It’s funny that you posted about cutting out meat – I have been a meat devotee most of my 26 years and over the past 6 months I’ve been enjoying meat less and less, plus the ethical reasons behind not eating meat were becoming more and more apparent (not that they weren’t before) and really bothering me. I’m only just starting but I haven’t eaten ANY meat product for a week so far and already I’m feeling a little better about it. Christmas day will be a hard one, especially with a big family dinner that evening, but it’s a gradual process and I’ll be able to cut out meat totally as time goes on.
I’d really love to write more next year as well as finally put the storyboards for my children’s book into action.
Merry Christmas, Gala!
P
x
My main goals for 2008 are secure a job and stop smoking weed.
I can do this!!!!
As for resolutions?
Make a real effort to make friends and socialize.
*Floss.
*Get better at playing the guitar.
*Encourage, acknowledge and role-model the qualities of helpfulness, consideration and manners.
Oooh the Success Principles is a good book. It really helped me charge up my 2007!
Mine are simply to do a hell of a lot of revising and to enjoy & get involved with my course as much as I can. This course will be a lot less stressful than the one I just quit. Sure, learning Japanese hasn’t got any easier, but at least there’ll be more carrots and less sticks .
OH & btw, I’m moving to Oz on the 14th of January, so “wear sunscreen” definitely applies to me! YAY!
Gala, I think a list of self-improvement books is in order! I, for one, would really appreciate it.
These are really great suggestions! I totally think I am going to make it a priority to learn a party trick this year!
Hi Gala!
Great resolutions! You wouldn’t happen to have any VEGAN CUPCAKE recipes would you? Sadly, I love to absorb the beauty of cupcakes but can never eat them because they are loaded with butter (especially the icing).I have had this kind of weird taste aversion to dairy since I was born. So I am 28 and have never eaten a single cupcake! My resolution for 08 is to learn how to make VEGAN cupcakes that LOOK and TASTE good.
As far as party tricks are concerned…I have it covered. I know how to make a chicken out of a teatowel! It is a trick that never fails to impress.
Happy New Year!!! xx
Lou — I haven’t read enough to be able to make a list… but I will start reviewing them!
Sarah — None! I know there’s a book called ‘Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World’, written by the girl from http://vegancupcakes.wordpress.com as well as http://www.theppk.com/blog/... Hope this helps ;D & your chicken out of a tea-towel trick is awesome. Hee!
What a great list! I like the idea of quite a few of those!
I really need to start eating more vegetables. I like the idea of trying one new vegetable a week. And take more risks is very important!
And the quote from Anaïs Nin is so very true!
Thanks!
My principal resolution for this year is making new girl-friends; this year was really sucky because I lost my bestfriend and couldn’t make any new one in the university…but next year I’ll start a new degree, that means new people :D!
I also want to learn to sew clothes by myself!
Mine are mostly school related…seeing as 2007 for me was all about realising it’s just a stepping stone to what you want to do in life!
- Be on time for everything and everyone
- Get up early and go to bed ‘early’ every night
-cut down on meat and dairy and sweet food
-Practise my sax everyday
-Let my friends know how much I love them
-Be a better role model for my little sister
Happy Xmas Gala! xxx
Great list!
My husband and I don’t own a scale. I have a cloth tape measure that I use occasionally to check my waist size and we use the scale at the gym or the grocery store (it’s good motivation to buy healthy).
Of course, one of my resolutions is to start going to the gym more often. I can’t believe how little I’ve gone this past year.
I’ve never owned a scale jeje, it’s great jeje. I think that I’ll do the idol thing and the eat more vegetables (I’ve got the water part down)and definetely I’ll improve myself this year, that is my main goal.
Kisses.
BRILLIANT IDEAS! I’ve yet to write my resolutions yet — but I will tell you when I do :].
Oh I love the one about spelling. I often find myself changing what I am writing because I don’t know how to spell something. How very lazy of me.
I also like the compliment one. I’ll start right now –
Gala – you are a splendid and delightful creature!
xxx
My main resolution this new year is to go against my Virgo ways and try to be less critical of everything and everyone especially myself.
Other resolutions:
Get Straight A’s sometime this year only if it is once. I know it’s in me I just need to try a little harder in some areas.
Drop a few pounds. Who wouldn’t like to do this!?
Start a Dream Journal. Because I have very strange dreams that I would like to reflect on later in life. For example, I once had this dream where i was looking for liver to cook and opened up my mums skull….and lets just say I ended up putting her brain in my mouth. It was pretty gross.
I think that is about it. I know I will think about more resolutions as 2007 comes to an end.
I have been vegetarian since July 19th, 2006 and it’s great! I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s surprising how little fruits and vegetables people eat when they eat so much meat!
My goals are to make more friends, try and be more outgoing, get more organized, and get a Moleskine planner and USE IT! hahaha. :) Oh, and to drink more water and juice and drink less soda.
My resolutions are…
1. Stop eating just because I’m bored. To make it worse, I usually go for bits of chocolate. I don’t even like chocolate. I’m just bored and can’t be arsed to go out and do something. Not sure what to replace it with though. Ironically, I don’t gain weight from it, because I eat so little otherwise, but I’m worried the junk I eat is bad for my skin and is messing up the function of my body.
2. Accept my bone structure. I get frustrated often because I have kind of peculiar features and I look best in strange “runway makeup” looks instead of the typical smoky eye, smudgy liner, etc, looks. I don’t think I would trade my features for average ones, but it still annoys me when I see girls with those soft, ‘average’ faces, because sometimes I’d like to be able to disappear with them. In terms of non facial bone structure, I also have very small, childish hands and thin limbs, but I’m quite tall, and I feel ridiculous in heels because I feel like a giraffe. However, I adore towering clunky heels and I look very runway-chic in them, but they make me a good foot taller than any of the girls I hang around with, and make me see eye to eye with the boy, which he hates.
3. Stop being passive aggressive. The closest to conflict my conflict-avoidant ass will come is passive aggressiveness, and I hate not being able to be blunt.
Self Help Books For The Win!
I need to try that one.
My goals are to keep a planner and plan more events, be on top of my school work, lean all I can about computers and web design, Drink More Water, Be super productive and organized.
I’m obsessed with yoga at the moment so of course one of my resolutions is to master strange hand balancing moves.
I threw away my scales in the middle of the year as well, and my mental health has improved since! So no measuring for me next year. I agree about the gym membership, for me gym workouts with all the counting and stuff isn’t so healthy – so my resolution is to try at least 12 different, appealing activities. Despite all the allusions to raunch culture, I’m really up for my first new class being pole dancing.
I’d like to set a goal to save a certain sum of money in 2008.
As opposed to your make new friends goal, I have the goal set of really working on becoming comfortable with my own introversion. I resolve to enjoy solitude guilt free!
Oh, these are all really good!
I became a vegetarian this year and I feel a lot better! I certainly haven’t been ill as much as when I did eat meat.
And I definately need to wear sunscreen. I burn REALLY badly, and am usually too lazy to put on sunscreen.
My resolution for next year is to stop walking around and thinking people are talking about me/glaring at me/thinking that I’m a loser or whatever. It just makes me miserable.
i just bought the “quit smoking” book!
it fits well with my vague resolution to “get healthier”. i’m seeking out Thai Yoga Massage and acupuncture to start.
To Sarah who posted about vegan cupcake recipes – I can vouch for “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”. They have both basic & exotic recipes – something to appeal to just about everyone :]
I’m already vegetarian…& I love wearing sunscreen, even in winter. Hm. I have a lot of self acceptance + listening to my body stuff.
But finishing immigration & finding a job! (& being positive within that place) would be quite nice.
I would also like to ditch my ‘eating because I’m bored’ habit.
I want to be more motivated, so maybe some self-help books will improve that.
Oh, and i would love to stop picking/biting my nails :( I want nice, strong, manicureable nails
PS. Thank you Gala for you’re seemingly endless inspiration, you have helped me realise things about myself and pushed me to make goals and reach them. You also provide.. insightful, entertainment! :P
Not all meat eaters are desultory – I know I definitely couldn’t give it up, if only for my own personal health and enjoyment. And meat does not always equal fast food, so I don’t think referencing that book is quite accurate.
Also on a side note, my father doesn’t know many flower names, but he does know weed names! He did his PhD in plant science.
My resolutions:
+ Lose weighttttt… or at least a few inches, you know? Dropping a dress size would do wonders for my wardrobe.
+ Find all the local fun clubs! I just became legal over here so I haven’t yet experienced that scene.
+ Try to improve my skin!
+ Do on livejournal.
+ Keep my smoking down to only social smoking.
+ Find another dance studio/class to go to. I may end up reverting back to Highland.
emilyyy — I’m a desultory meat-eater so I’m not trying to point the finger at anyone ;> & don’t be fooled by the name, Fast Food Nation has a lot of information about the meat industry in general, which I really think should be general knowledge.
“Desultory meatmouth”, oh, that’s nice. I have to say, after being a vegetarian for six years, I’ve found that I’m much, much healthier after returning to a meaty diet; carnivorousness isn’t filthy, for some people it’s necessary.
I have mine already – stop declining invites to things for no good reason, feeling lazy is not a good reason! It’s one of my worst habits and I really want to get out of it!
I’m going to come up with a list of about 5 things and write it somewhere where I can go back to it often so that they are not forgotten. I think I will be borrowing some of your ideas Gala!
My resolution is to move on from this year. i don’t want to live in the past and plan to let go of all negative things that 2007 brang and to move into 2008 with a fresh immaculate space for me to create a fantastic piece of artwork which shall be my life. :). I will be the best person i can be. also… things i should add… i will ride my bike to school and study more. ! xx
Yes bekah you do need to study more haha eispecially with our maths haha and in drama i believe together we shall have a combined resolution to beat hannah and cathrine in marks just once we need the whole year to be documentation drama then we can do it!!
Any who my personal resolution would be
Definatley get much! fitter
save my money and try to achevie this aswell as going to as many concerts as i can
become a citizen of aus
up my grades to achevie the best i can
be the peace keeper of all
make and meet new friends
decide finally on what i would like to do when leaving school
do more paintings and artwork and read more and more books
become more adventurous and make my life more exciting
AND THE ONE THING I WILL DEFINATLEY DO NEXT YEAR EVEN IF IT KILLS ME….. I HAVE TO on the 6th of june for my birthday i want to go SKYDIVING !!! tandem of course its something i have allways wanted to do so i must
First time commenter here – but I’ve been fairly religious about being inspired by this site daily since last spring. Reading your posts always make me feel good, and like anything is possible.
I’m actually really excited about my New Year’s Resolution to create an Emergency Preparedness Kit and take a First Aid class. These are things I’ve been meaning to do for years, and I know they would ease my mind every day if I felt prepared for (hopefully unlikely) disaster.
I also want to get back in touch with myself and my relationship with words, but I don’t have a game plan for that one yet!
& I am truly planning on performing your wardrobe taming over my winter break. My boyfriend and I both are sick & tired of me saying “I have nothing to wear!”
A running resolution of mine since 2005 has been “Don’t strangle anybody.” So far, I have yet to strangle anybody, even in my most frustrated moments, so it’s still working! It’s nice to have one resolution that’s more or less guaranteed to be fulfilled. (Maybe “Don’t get eaten by a dinosaur” will be a 2008 resolution…)
In looking back, I did pretty well with my 2007 resolutions, which were things like “learn some French and travel abroad”, “take some healthy risks”, and “get a better job with benefits”.
I’m excited because while 2007 was a good year for me, 2008 is my Chinese Zodiac year — hooray for little rat me!
gala you are a goddess.
i’m sorry i’m not helping out with the resolutions.
there is just something about your posts and you of course that gets me uber excited!
you made it in my top ten fave people list!
maligayang pasko!
[that is merry xmas in filipino!]
go0dluck!
alavet.
Check out “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be” and “Whatever you think, think the opposite” both by Paul Adren. It’ll change your life!
“I don’t know what I weigh & I really don’t care — it’s a very liberating feeling.”
YAY GALA! I chucked out my scales last January when I realised how inaccurate they were, and hearing them crash into the giant wheelie bin was so much fun. For 2008, though, I plan to throw away my anxieties about my weight, not just my scales. Maybe my resolution will be to cut out completely the unhelpful things I still do, such as reading weight-related articles in the newspaper or feeling inadequate next to girls who are thinner than me. (To anyone reading this and thinking “I could never do that and I don’t want to try”, I used to think I’d be obsessed with my weight forever, and I can’t believe how good it feels to have cleared some of that nasty, limiting stuff out of my life.)
You have some great ideas in this post which I may well adopt for myself- I’m definitely going to make “learn the proper names of plants and flowers” one of my resolutions.
My new favourite party trick is this little video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1CILnVJbK0
I love it, and it’s always such a hit – plus, it encourages strangers to come up to you and insist you teach them! I suspect there’s going to be a wave of laundry-as-a-hobby soon!
I hear you on the budget idea! I’ve just started an experiment where I give myself a tiny budget each week and curb my (insane) spending. It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done! I’m blogging about it so I can SEE how much I’m spending, but it’s amazing how quickly your money runs out in London!
My main NY resolution is to moisturize every day – I get so lazy with my beauty routines at this time of year!
I made a resolution several years ago to never make another resolution.
So far, so good !
What AWESOME ideas!! :) A few of them I’m already started on (like the sunscreen!), and others I have plans to do in 2008 (like trashing the scale and complimenting someone daily)!! :) I’m so, so excited about the New Year and all my resolution-ish plans!! hehe!
I just really wanted to strongly recommend The Omnivore’s Dilemma in addition to Fast Food Nation. I actually enjoyed the OD a lot more than FFN because the writing is a bit less dense and it has more of a narrative throughout it.
I actually started the pay someone a compliment thing as selfish way to make myself feel better. It turns out that once I started I couldn’t stop, I found so much more beauty in people once I started looking for it in the simple things. Even people I once hated, by that I started meeting more lovely people! The elderly ladies at work love it, after I compliment their fingernails or hand bags they always end up telling me lovely stories about their grandchildren. Who are always wonderful, no matter what wrongs they have committed. Which is why next year, I want to get to know my grandfather better.
What a wonderful article. My new year’s resolution is to read Icing’s older articles!
Thanks for making my year so much sweeter, Gala!
My resolution? I’m buying more vegan items here!..lol I think the shoes are great! http://www.vegetarianshoesandbags.com/)
Hi gala and commenters. I have found out about a great twist on New Years’ Resolutions. It’s called 101 things in 1001 days. It basically is what it sounds like — you write a list of 101 things to complete in 1001 days (around 2.75 years). It’s great for those things you want to do but never think you can do in one year, so never make them a New Years’ Resolution. The website with more info is here: http://triplux.com/dayzero/ and there’s a link to the livejournal community on that page, so if you choose to do it, you don’t have to go it alone.
Regarding exercise: I’d recommend picking up a PS2 (or GameCube, Xbox, Wii, et cetera), a dance mat, and Dance Dance Revolution. (Bonus points for getting two dance mats and someone to play with or against, depending on how competitive you are.)
It’s fun, and if you’re in the right mood – and your friends are geeky enough – you can go on four hours without it feeling like hours, and there’s something really rewarding about getting an “A” for something that easy.
Here’s my list:
Be healthier.
Be more spiritual.
Save money.
Get a tattoo.
Travel/get out of the house.
Edit my screenplay.
Take more pictures.
Read more.
Write more.
Get better grades.
Help my boyfriend get into grad school.
Be open to new things, new people, new places.
Budget
Learn how to make cocktails
Get singing lessons
Moisturise more
Become a wii tennis pro!
First time commenter here! I love these ideas!! I would have to say
Become a “Relationship Girl”
I think i use that as an excuse in order to run away from relationships since the one man I love I don’t have. I am going to 1) Give more guys a chance and 2) Tell that guy how I really feel!
Begin Meditating
I’ve already started and it feels great!! Gala, do you know any good meditation how to websites?? I want to continue on at a deeper meditation level!
Finish my novel
I am a writer and am constantly thinking and writing the beginning to many novels. Well I hope to finish the current one!!
A fun kind of alternate New Years resolution I came across is this website http://www.triplux.com/dayzero/ instead of making resolutions for 1 year, you make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. More time and more stuff to put on your list because you can plan for some long term stuff. There a some livejournal communities about it already. Check it out and spead the link!