We all love creating New Year’s Resolutions to motivate ourselves to do better in the new year. Promises like going to the gym and losing weight, picking up new hobbies or achieving our work goals are great, but we seldom stick to them.
This year, why not think a bit more outside the box? If you’re looking for some alternative new year’s resolutions that focus on your mind and body’s health, you’ve come to the right place. Take a look at our list of alternative new year’s resolutions for 2021.
Be More Mindful
Mindfulness if all about creating moments of joy and happiness at any time of day. It’s about paying attention to thoughts, sounds and sensations in the body and bringing our attention back whenever our minds start to wander. Mindfulness is when your mind is with your body and should become, with time, effortless.
Being more mindful can help improve your mental wellbeing, as you will be better able to notice signs of stress and anxiety and deal with them more effectively. Ways you can be more mindful include:
- Noticing the everyday.
- Picking a time each day to become aware of the sensations in the world around you.
- Trying new things such as sitting somewhere new for lunch.
- Paying attention to your thoughts, something you can do during activities like yoga or walking.
- Be aware of your feelings and be more open to them.
Create a Bucket List
Instead of setting goals that you may or may not achieve this year, set a bucket list instead. This can be a list of hopes and wishes for the new year, or even years to come. It can be a useful approach as it takes the pressure off and can incorporate more light-hearted and fun goals that don’t necessarily have anything to do with academic or employment achievements.
You can include activities that you’d like to do such as going camping, attending a parade or fete or even a volunteering goal like serving food at a soup kitchen or donating a box of food to a food bank. Rather than focus on goals out of your control like getting a promotion at work or losing a set amount of weight, write a bucket list of fun and enjoyable or fulfilling activities you’d like to check off this year.
Develop a Good Relationship with Your Body
At the start of the year, many people vow to lose weight or join a gym. But instead of focusing on goals that are superficial or are challenging to achieve, why not promise to start loving the body you’re in instead? While you make gentle changes to your diet or exercise regime to become healthier, you begin to love yourself and who you are.
Working on your body can improve your confidence, focusing on the things you like about yourself rather than the things you’d like to change. Consider updating your wardrobe so you can dress your body in a way that makes you feel great without having to reduce your calorie intake.
Set a Monthly Goal
The problem with new year’s resolutions is that you have the whole year to do them, and you end up procrastinating and not getting round to them. Instead, why not set out smaller, more manageable monthly goals for the year? These goals don’t need to be too time-consuming or costly; they can be as simple as catching up with an old friend or visiting your favourite park at least once a week.
Write down at least one goal for each month that is achievable. It will help you keep on track with your resolutions and make them seem much more doable.
Cut Stress Out of Your Life
Stress is not just bad for our mental health; it can also have serious physical ramifications like increasing your risk of insomnia, depression and even heart disease.
Working long hours with little sleep, poor diet and exercise, and not spending time socialising can all contribute to stress. So this year, cut the stress out of your life wherever possible.
This might mean asking your employer for a reduced workload, finding a babysitter for your children to take off some of the strain or just improving your sleep schedule and setting aside time for catch-ups with friends. Wherever your stress is coming from, look for practical and realistic solutions to relieve some of the pressure.
Engage in Self Care
Self-care is super important for our wellbeing. Self-care is about taking time for yourself, picking up tiny habits that will help soothe you and keep you operating at your best, emotionally, physically and mentally.
Self-care includes giving your body and mind attention, and what’s great about it is that you can incorporate it into your day little by little, so you don’t have to sacrifice loads of time to practice self-care. Some self-care ideas include:
- Spend just 20 minutes clearing clutter.
- Take a lunchtime stroll.
- Try yoga breathing.
- Plant something.
- Plan a date for yourself.
- Fix something in the house that has been bothering you.
- Treat yourself to your favourite snack.
- Write down your thoughts.
- Have a home spa day.
There are so many ways to take care of yourself this year, including on the inside. At Rite-Flex, we can provide you with collagen peptides, a natural bioactive product that will provide your body with the vital collagen it needs. Collagen is an essential building block in the body that ensures cohesion, elasticity, and connective tissue regeneration, including skin, hair, and nails.
If you’d like to learn more about our products, please feel free to contact us today.