Everybody is making resolutions and choosing their one word for the new year.
I’m inside, trying to stay warm with temps in the single digits. Sure, the last couple years have been pretty hard-hitting.
Overall, I felt like I was pretty successful in the personal growth department.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with resolutions that seem great now, but aren’t very achievable, then getting discouraged as it all fizzles out.
It’s important to make small goals that are actually attainable.
Instead of doing less of something, let’s discuss what we can do more.
Achievable Goals
Get more sleep.
Go to bed earlier. Turn off the electronic devices an hour before bedtime. Don’t lie in bed and use your devices (at least turn the blu light off). It helps with overall better health. I’ve been going to bed along with the kids and I feel better lately.
Be adventurous.
Go on a trip. Be more spontaneous. Try a new dish at the restaurant. Meet someone new. Call up someone you haven’t talked to in ages. Adventure means something different for everyone.
Manage money wisely.
Pay off debt, but don’t go broke doing that. Start adding a little into savings or put change in a jar. Make coffee and lunches at home instead of grabbing on the go. Start investing and planning for retirement or kids’ educations. Do you know how to budget?
Minimize your closet.
Donate what you haven’t worn in a year. Don’t keep what you don’t love. Find your style and color scheme. Update with some new classic accessories or timeless pieces. Minimizing reduces anxiety.
Positive talk
Reframe negative situations. Look for the positive details in your experiences and conversations and focus on those positive details. Also, focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t do.
Use sunscreen.
Protect your skin. Use a good natural sunscreen and cover up or go into shade during the prime sun times of the day.
Purge
Who needs more printables? Decluttering is good for the soul. Minimize your stuff. If you need containers to organize your stuff, you have too much stuff.
Eating healthier
Eat balanced and in moderation, mostly plants.
Diets are so restrictive. Use smaller plates. Stock up on new seasonal veggies. Try new recipes every week. Drink green tea. Drink more water.Fitness
You don’t have to waste time and money on a gym membership. Baby steps. There’s always room for improvement. Lift some small weights. Do some sit-ups. Do some pilates on the floor. Walk around the block. There are oodles of free YouTube videos to help get started with at home fitness routines.
Read.
There are so many books and so little time.
Need some ideas?Respect
Seriously, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This goes for parenting too. Respect your kids. Have empathy. Don’t give ultimatums. Don’t use force. Don’t raise your voice or your hands.Get angry.
There’s so much wrong in the world.
So many -isms. All these government issues. So many hurting people. Poverty. Hatred. War.
What are you doing to help?
Michele Morin says
This list is so inspiring — and yet do-able!
Donna Reidland says
Jennifer, I’m definitely working on purging and minimizing! Seriously great list of do-able goals.
Jennifer says
That one is a constant battle for me. Happy New Year!
Barbie says
I can certainly work on all of these. My word for the year is “Simplify” and I’ve started with simplifying my time with God. I can tend to overcomplicate it. Thanks for sharing at #glimpses this week.
Jennifer says
I love how God can bombard us with themes! Simplify is a great one.
Nichole Goodland says
Such a great list. I don’t really do new years resolutions but things that I would like to do during the year I could say are my goals. It definitely takes the pressure off things a bit. :-) #twinklytuesday
Carol says
Such a great list of things to work on. Many of these are on my personal list as well!
Sue Donaldson says
These are good but too many for me! So I chose: walking 20 min a day and going to bed by 10:30 – not everyday perfect but it’s good having the goal!
Jennifer says
Those are great goals!
Amy @ The Quiet Homemaker says
This is great! There are so many of these that I could work on! Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks for linking up with #LiveLifeWell!
Blessings,
Amy
Jessi's Design says
100% agree – these are perfect!
ShootingStarsMag says
Great list! I know that I love reading and I’m always trying to make room for that. I definitely want to try new recipes more often – mix it up a bit while still being healthy.
-Lauren
Timberley @ Living Our Prioritites says
I love how simple this list is. Sometimes we over complicate things that ultimately lead to procrastination. Great post. Thank you for sharing. Stopping by from Salt and Light Link Up.
Jessica says
I could probably improve in all of these areas! lol. I’m still working on setting all of my goals for this year/ quarter. I want to really narrow them down to 5-6 very important ones, instead of 10-15 like I normally do. Lots of ideas. Thank you for linking up with us on Live Life Well.
Barbara says
Great ideas with no fluff and fanfare but definitely achievable!
Julie says
Goals are very important to make so that we improve as a person.
I feel so much better when I actually go to bed at a decent time and get plenty of sleep. Especially when I have to wake up early during the week to take my daughter to school.
I made my goals for the year on my blog last week!
SUSAN SHIPE says
My goal is just keep doing the next thing. Every.single.day.
Jennifer says
That is great. Progress! Onward!
Leslie says
Jennifer, these are great goals and habits and very attainable for a positive result. Thank you for sharing these! My goal is to develop a good morning routine. It starts the day off 100% better if I have one!
Jennifer says
Morning routines are great!
Mother of 3 says
I tend to prefer setting small, achievable goals myself rather than sweeping resolutions. I want to move more this year; I need to get up off the couch and perhaps that means blogging a little bit less or taking 30 minutes out of our school day so I can exercise. I’d love to get more sleep and figure out a way to sleep through the night; that’s a biggie for me. I fall asleep at a decent hour but spend a few hours awake in the middle of the night. Typically my mind is racing a mile a minute and I’ve been thinking of keeping paper by the bed to jot down all my thoughts. Hopefully putting them down will get them out of my head.
Tammie says
Great list – very doable. I don’t do resolutions, and do goals only on a quarterly basis because the whole 12 months stretching out in front of me is intimidating!
Angela says
I definitely need to get more sleep this year. And I’ve set a reading challenge (to read 100,000 pages) this year so that I will be encouraged to read more and watch less TV!
Ruth says
You’ve put forth so many great ideas!
I can relate with #1 and #5 the best. I need to work on resting and thinking more positive thoughts.
Thanks for sharing this! :)
Maree Dee says
Love the achievable goals. I see a few I can implement right now.
Meghan Weyerbacher says
I’m purging and cleaning out closets (this one “again”) woot! I am also eating healthier and stopping right when I’m full instead of doing like gas in a car where we top it off LOL.
Mary Hill says
Hi, thanks for sharing this on the #LMMLinkup this past week. I featured your post today. I really appreciate your support.
Sherry says
I am purging too. Way too much stuff! Great list for the new year! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Katie | Hospitable Homemaker says
Such a great list and so many of my goals (like closet minimizing, etc) are here!
Mummy and the Mexicans (Ruth) says
I love these goals! I struggle with a lot of these, so should definitely make them a priority. #TwinklyTuesday
Aimee Imbeau says
Hi, Jennifer. I really like your list! I need to keep purging (both physically and spiritually). Over Christmas break, I went through several boxes in my storage room and PURGED! It felt so good to get rid of stuff I no longer needed or wanted. And I came across some photos of my kids when they were little…and my high school report cards. Hmmm…didn’t do as well as I thought I had;) Oh, well. Thanks for sharing on Grace and Truth.