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| Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash |
Does anyone make a New Year’s resolution anymore? There’s a
lot of talk about how resolutions are rarely kept, and how most people give up
on their goals just a few weeks or months into the year. For a person who wants
to set and achieve goals, it can be a frustrating dilemma. If resolutions
aren’t an effective way to a better and happier life, what is?
Here are seven alternatives to New Year’s resolutions that
just might help you make 2018 your happiest year ever:
Choose a Word of the Year
I’ve done this for eight years, and written about it several times on Catching Happiness. I choose my word to focus on an overall theme or feeling I want to carry through the entire year. I choose it to offset tendencies I want to correct, or to remind myself to choose happiness (“delight”). My word for 2017 was “deeper,” and going deeper into life last year added brilliant new dimensions to my experience. My word for 2018? Flow. For a free Word of the Year tool, click here. To explore the concept further, visit oneword365.com.Adopt a “Do More ______, Do Less_____” philosophy
For example, “Read more, watch TV less” or “Walk more, eat less junk food.”
Deceptively simple, but baby steps work.
Commit to a 30- or 90-day challenge
Choose a habit
you want to adopt or a small goal you want to achieve, and work on it for 30
days straight. For larger goals, make a 90-day plan, treating each week as the
equivalent of month (see The 12 Week Year for more inspiration and ideas
about how to do that.)
Make a list of simple pleasures and everyday adventures you want to experience
How often do we pack our goal lists with things we
want to change or have to work for? This is simply a list of things you look forward to in 2018.
Family vacations, books you want to read or movies you want to see in 2018, or
a loved one’s wedding/baby/grandchild belong on this list. Try breaking it down
like Laura Vanderkam does with her seasonal “fun lists”.
Write a letter to your future self
Include such
things as what you hope to accomplish, how you want to feel, what you’d like to
leave behind in the coming year. Open it on Jan. 1, 2019 to see how you did.
Start a gratitude journal, jotting down at least one thing you’re grateful for every day
(Read The Gratitude Diaries for
an inspiring look at how gratitude can make your life happier.)
Join the 7 Things x 2018 Challenge
Fill in the following blanks, and you’ve got some
goals for the year:
Learn how to ____________
Start ____________
Stop ____________
Take a vacation to ____________
Find ____________
Try ____________
Be more ____________
Growth contributes to happiness, so setting and reaching
goals is one way to feel happier. I hope 2018 holds plenty of growth and
happiness for you!
What do you have planned for 2018?
Note: Starting today, I’m changing the usual Catching Happiness posting schedule from Wednesdays and Fridays to Mondays and Fridays. Happy New Year!
