It’s the new year! And with it, brings resolutions – usually revolving around health, happiness, work, or all of the above. Sometimes, our goals are so lofty they’re unattainable and they can become more of a burden than give us freedom. Here are 13 simple foolproof ways to improve your life every single day. Happy New Year!
©Susie Lee 2017
As we’re half way through the year, I wonder how many of our New Year’s resolutions have fallen to the wayside? Now would be a good time to re-evaluate whether or not we want to pursue them instead of carrying them over, year after year. If we want to keep them then we need to stop making excuses and start working on them now. This will take time, discipline, and focus everyday. We’ll need to say ‘no’ to certain things that hinder our progress and cause distractions. We must contribute daily to our resolution until it comes to fruition.
Or perhaps our priorities changed over the last 6 months, which has affected our lack of contribution to our resolution. If that’s the case, I encourage us to adopt a new resolve – a daily resolve to love those around us by spending time with them or helping them. We’re all allotted the same amount of minutes in each day; the only difference is how we choose to use them. And what better way to spend our time then to make a difference in someone else’s life. Our resolutions don’t always have to be grandiose it could simply mean making another person’s day brighter.
Let’s make the most of the next 6 months!
©2016 Susie Lee
This year is almost over. And feelings of regret pierce your heart because you didn’t fulfill your New Year’s resolutions – dreams you wanted to pursue and goals you wanted to accomplish. I’m here to tell you, it’s never too late! You’re not stuck and you haven’t lost time. Make the most of the days you still have left in this year instead of letting ‘what hasn’t been done’ bog you down. It’s better to do something now than to do nothing at all. Action begets action – it’ll propel you forward and set things in motion. No need to wait until January, get ahead start on your resolutions before another year begins. Start now. Feel great.
©2015 Susie Lee
The New Year always brings a sense of hope and promise for the upcoming year – it helps to re-set our mental attitude, fills our hearts with expectations, and gives us a greater hope for the future. But it can also be a stressful time filled with the expectation to change that may be followed by disappointments when they’re not fulfilled. Be encouraged to know we’re given a new chance everyday – a new slate for our health, attitude, relationships, and goals. We must foster a New Year’s attitude everyday not just at the beginning of the calendar year. Everyday is an opportunity to start over, begin anew, and make necessary changes. We’re given 365 chances to make a change in our lives, not just for the first few days of the year. Instead of a New Year let’s make it a New Day, everyday.
I wish you and your loved ones all the best of 2015!
©2015 Susie Lee
Usually at the beginning of every year, I set goals. But this year, I decided I wasn’t going to set goals to accomplish but rather make commitments to strengthen my character and build my relationships.
Don’t misunderstand me, setting goals are important and have their place but I don’t want to neglect other areas in my life that need my attention and time. The most important things in life aren’t success or productivity but rather the quality of our relationships and the development of our character. This year, I want to focus on becoming a better, kinder, and more loving person – to love despite the hurt, to give without expecting anything in return, to forgive without the apology. I want to think the best of situations, not judge people by my interpretation, remain modest at all times, give kindness to those who don’t deserve it, and love where it’s not reciprocated. I want to use my time to make a lasting difference and strive to be selfless rather than selfish. Instead of pointing the finger at someone else, I’m going to work on myself, instead of blaming, I’m going to take responsibility for my actions.
This year, I’m going to make a conscious effort to live my days with gratitude, wonderment, contentment, peace and joy. I want to stop, breathe, listen, and take moments in. I want to disengage with my electronic gadgets and engage with people in person by being attentive and alert. Of course, I have goals I want to pursue but I believe they’ll naturally fall into place as I’m living out my best.
12 commitments for 2104:
Welcome to a New Year and a better you!
©2014 Susie Lee
As I set long-term goals for the New Year, I do not want to underestimate the impact of small decisions I make everyday. These positive or negative choices will either contribute to or hinder my goals. The daily choices I make will eventually form into a habit, which will then turn into a lifestyle. I want my goals to be more than just for this year but for the many years to come. To have an effective long-term goal, it must be coupled with positive short-term decisions I make in the moment. I want to share an excerpt from this book I read over the holidays that describes it so well:
“We also need to make better choices in the moment. As Nobel Prize-winning economist Thomas Schelling described, we behave as if we’re two different people: one who wants a lean body and another who wants dessert.
Even small short-term differences in how we allocate our time can result in better days. An extra half-hour of sleep or an extra hour of social time can be the difference between a great day and a mediocre day. Changing our daily routine a little can have a big impact on the quality of each day.
On a given day, we might sit around and respond to problems at work instead of initiating. We might passively watch TV rather than getting out and exercising. Or maybe we spend on something now that creates stress in a few weeks or months. We might even think about doing something to give back to our community, but decide we’ll do it later and never get around to it. Days like this start a vicious cycle.
Just one day when we eat poorly, skip exercising, are stressed at work, don’t get enough social time, and worry about money leads to a host of negative outcomes. On days like this, we have less energy, we look worse, we don’t treat people well, and we get a lousy night’s sleep. As a result, we miss the reset provided by a sound night of sleep, and the cycle continues.
When we break this downward spiral and get a good night’s sleep, we’re off to the right start. This allows us to wake up refreshed and increases our chances of exercising in the morning. If we can use our strengths at our job every day, this connects our daily activities to a much higher purpose and allows us to get more done. Between work and time with our friends and family, if we can get in six hours of social time, chances are, we’ll have 10 times as many good moments as stressful ones.
One of the best ways to create more good days is by setting positive defaults. Any time you help your short-term self work with your long-term self, you have an opportunity. You can intentionally choose to spend more time with the people you enjoy most and engage your strengths as much as possible. You can structure your finances to minimize the worry caused by debt. You can make exercise a standard part of your routine. You can make healthier decisions in the supermarket so you don’t have to trust yourself when you have a craving a few days later. And you can make commitments to community, religious, or volunteer groups, knowing that you will follow through once you’ve signed up in advance. Through these daily choices, you create stronger friendships, families, workplaces, and communities.”
-Well Being The Five Essential Elements by Tom Rath & Jim Harter (pgs. 110-112)
The New Year traditionally has been associated with new beginnings or bringing about change. Resolutions generally revolve around relationships, health, career or finances. It’s a time to start over or for second chances by setting personal goals for the New Year. Beginnings bring hope, clarity, possibilities and newfound energy. It seems easier to set goals in the beginning of the year but harder to practice as the months go by. And sometimes the newfound enthusiasm turns into complacency in the daily grind of life.
This year, AquaTerra TV wants to inspire people to live the best life they can live: To enrich relationships, thrive in career and finances, and strengthen all aspects of health. It’s a place that will offer hope, clarity, inspiration, and joy in the walk of life. Join Peter and I in this journey of wholeness and wellness through our blogs, videos and quotes.
We wish all the goodness and beauty this New Year has to offer you and your loved ones!
living your best 