Ready or not, here she comes: 2022. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? While technically no big changes happen when 11.59PM changes into 12.00AM, it feels fresh. And New Year’s resolutions can feel exciting. They also can be quite hard to follow through with, though. I wrote down some New Year’s resolutions that are not that hard to keep and that hopefully spark some joy while thinking about them (and while executing them, of course!).
Visit (more) secondhand stores
It’s fun to discover secondhand stores. Whenever you go to a new city to shop, just type in ‘*name of city* secondhand store’ and there will for sure pop something up. Looking through the piles of clothing in thrift shops may be a bit more time-consuming, but it can also be more satisfying when you do find that perfect addition to your wardrobe.
Find a morning routine that suits you
A nice morning routine can set the tone for the rest of the day. Create one that feels good to YOU. Your morning routine can include a meditation, some yoga, journaling and/or a workout, but it doesn’t have to. It doesn’t have to include any of the things you read on the internet about how to have the perfect morning routine. Your morning routine is ‘perfect’ when it makes you feel happy, relaxed, and ready for the day.
Whether you love reading, preparing yourself a nice, big breakfast or drawing: do it! Nothing better than starting the day on your terms. Try some things out and see what suits you. Maybe just staring into space for half an hour, no phone or anything by your side, is exactly what you need.
Do some volunteer work and/or donate some money
How is this ever not a good idea? There’s plenty of organizations needing your help in the form of volunteer work and/or money. If you have some time or money to spare, it’s rarely a bad idea to spend it on something like that.
Try out some new plant-based recipes
It’s always a good time to try out some new plant-based recipes. If you’re a hardcore carnivore who can’t imagine living without meat, switching some meals to plant-based meals already makes a huge difference. And for me as a vegetarian, focusing on trying out more plant-based meals sounds more do-able than ‘I will never eat dairy anymore’. It would be amazing if everyone would be vegan, but if it was that easy, the majority of the world would probably do it.
Take baby steps, they’re always better than not trying to move forward at all. Try some new recipes, switch regular cheese for vegan cheese every now and then and make it your goal to taste all the vegan options in the grocery stores that look or sound interesting to you. Making it fun instead of (only) seeing the downside always helps me enormously. Just as ‘I’m going to try to find the best vintage piece ever this month’ sounds better than ‘I can’t buy anything new this month’. Perspective, right?
Do more things ‘just for fun’
Play like a child, start a new hobby and don’t be afraid to be bad at something. Doing something purely for the fun of it is, in my humble opinion, one of the most wholesome things you can do.
Take some time every week to give someone a sincere compliment
I hope you’re as blessed as me with a group of nice, caring, always-there-for-you people around you. If not: they’re coming. ‘Your’ people are out there. If you’re (as) blessed: spend a minute every week to send one of them a compliment. About how they brighten every room they’re in, about how you feel so lucky that you always have him/her/they to lean on, or about something that someone did, that you feel proud of.