As we approach the new year it’s always a good idea to make new goals to try to reach. It’s easy to say, but hard to stick with it. So here are some ideas on some simple but easy to reach goals. It helps a lot if you write them down and put the list somewhere where you would look at it every day, if it’s on the bathroom mirror, refrigerator, on the dash of your car, next to the coffee pot.
1. Exercise is always a good goal even if it’s 10 minutes a day. Staying fit helps with mental happiness and physical health as well. When the body and mind feel good, so does everything else.
2. Saving money. Grab an empty jar or can and put loose change in it. Another simple way is every time you get change back and there is one dollar bill take the ones and put them in the jar. Great way to save for a vacation you have always wanted to take or extra money as an emergency fund. That’s also a great way to teach your kids how to save their money.
3. Try something new. Most of us get stuck doing the same thing over and over. Habits and patterns are hard to break. We get so comfortable doing the same thing it’s hard to step out of those boundaries. Try something you have never done before, if it’s dancing, hiking, going to a gun range and learning how to shoot and the list could go on. Trying something new can be very exhilarating, it can also build your self-esteem and confidence in yourself.
4. Minimize the amount of TV, phone, and social media. It’s easy to get lost in our phones and the tv, you can spend hours looking at either one and not realize how much time is wasted. Have the whole family put their phones on silent and put them in another room while you’re eating dinner and also shut the TV off. Encourage your kids and significant others to engage in conversation with each other. I find the less TV and phone use the happier I am. For me personally I don’t even have a TV and I am a happier person not seeing and listening to all the negativity that seems to consume what is on the television these days. Instead of watching TV or playing on your phone, get the board games out and play as a family or do a puzzle, read a book.
5. Self-Care, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in taking care of everyone else you forget to take care of yourself. After a while it becomes such a habit you lose who you are and become depressed. Write little notes with something positive about yourself and read it every day. Take a half hour to an hour for yourself, if it’s taking a bath, reading a book, getting a massage, taking some kind of class. Doing something for yourself will relieve stress of everyday life and make you happier.