The year is almost over. It’s time for New Year’s resolutions as 2019 draws near. Most people are now re-evaluating some of their life choices. The truth is it’s never too late to want change in your life.
If you started before but failed to continue, it’s OK. Studies reveal that less than 10 percent of people who come up with resolutions manage to stick to them for over a couple of months.
Don’t let this fact get to you. If you want change, just pick yourself up, dust it off, and start over.
Change is the only constant thing in this world. In most cases, change is always for the better. If you want some areas in your life to change, the New Year is there as an opportunity.
You might as well grab the chance and plan ahead of time.
Challenging yourself is a good start. To be honest, saying yes to change is already a challenge itself. You will have to start from scratch, but the thrill of taking on new activities is enough to help you keep going.
Bear in mind that the process won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.
Start Small to Come Out Strong
Don’t wait for success to fall on your lap. You can start as early as now to achieve some daily habits that will help you overcome the challenges you will have set yourself for 2019.
Here are several daily habits you can start trying out now.
Drop the “I don’t have enough time” thinking. This mindset will get you into trouble. It’s the very obstacle that sets you back from achieving self-improvement. If you want to get better, keep in mind that there’s more spare time than you think. You have more free time than what you see on your schedule.
Practice being the person you want to be. Practice being the ideal, future version of yourself that you want to become. There may be more important things to do at the moment, but you can spend time on the future by exerting your efforts now. Remember, change isn’t going to happen overnight.
Small tweaks can make great impacts. This rule applies to many areas, but it most especially touches on financial success. Now’s the time to get rid of the bad spending habits you have because they can snowball over time. Little changes, however, like practicing the “50-30-20″ rule can make a big difference in your budget.
Build a wall of happiness around you. Happiness is a first step to getting you to where you want to be. It may seem like an abstract concept, but it can result in positivity, gratitude, and eventually, success. So restructure your life around happiness, whether it’s filled with people, activities, or things.
Ask for help. The value in learning how to ask for help from others will teach you many things. For instance, if you’ve lost all motivation in doing the challenges you set for yourself, asking someone for help can get you back on track. After all, there is some truth to the saying that a little help goes a long way.
Set goals, not wishes. Cinderella may sing, “A dream is a wish your heart makes,” but wishes leave you dependent on other factors to achieve what you want in life. To attain what you want, you have to set some goals. These will create a path for you, which comes with a bit of help toward the pot of gold.
Learn how to say “no.” Saying no is hard. It will take some practice, but knowing how and when to say it will pay off. Instead of trying to do everything that’s expected of you, know which stuff you have to prioritize and which ones are manageable for your physique and your schedule. Or else, you’ll have a problem.
These small habits can look tiny at first, but it will take a lot of time and practice to achieve all of them. They may be hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to achieve them in a jiffy. All you need is the right motivation and you’re set to get the change(s) you’ve always wanted in your life.
The Challenges to Become a Better Person
Becoming a better person is a journey you have to embrace with open arms. As Bette Davis once said, “The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he’s dead.”
If you’re up for more challenges, then you’re more alive than ever. It will be exciting to come out strong against all odds. Don’t let your lack of motivation defeat you as you go along.
Doing challenges for 30 days is appealing because they give you enough time for a new goal that’s feasible yet long enough to be challenging. January 1st is just around the corner, waiting for you to face the challenges you have set.
Here are some challenges that you might be willing to take on.
- Avoid contracting words for. The challenge is here is not saying words like “don’t,” “won’t,” or can’t.” There’s a psychological impact to this since contractions tend to highlight the negative. By doing this challenge, you can flip the sentence around and focus on the positive instead.
- Exercise for seven minutes. You can try doing some forms of exercise for two minutes. The workouts can be jumping jacks or bicycle crunches per minute, or try a mixture of different sets. It’s up to you. The goal is to get rid of a procrastinating behavior and be consistent while you stay fit.
- Do a simple act of love for someone else. A simple act of kindness toward any other person will count as one step toward achieving kindness to your neighbor, literally and figuratively. You can give a cupcake to someone from work, or you can help the elderly cross the street.
- Read every day. You may think time will constrain you from doing this challenge, but thanks to technology, you have access to any reading material at any given time of day. You can download eBooks or read an article or two on a particular online magazine. The goal is to learn something new every day.
There are many other challenges that you can do. It all depends on what kind of changes you want to see in your life. What are you waiting for? Apply these changes in your life now and start seeing improvements in yourself and in your life.
