[Amazing] 25 New Year’s Resolutions That You Can Actually Keep
With the New Year approaching, now is the best time to think about some cool resolutions for the next year. Unfortunately, almost 90% of people who make New Year’s resolutions fail to keep them. One of the reasons why the success rate is so low is that people often resolve goals that are very difficult (if not impossible) to achieve. To help you become more successful with your plans for the New Year, we compiled a post with resolutions that are not so hard to keep. If you want to stick to what you resolve, check out these New Year’s Resolutions That You Can Actually Keep.
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Social life
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Instead of trying to reach out to all your friends from high school, college, former jobs etc., pick just one person you lost contact with and refresh your friendship.
Reading
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People often resolve to “read more,” but this is a very broad and vague term. It is better to set several specific books that you want read during the next year.
Debts
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Getting out of debts is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions people make. Instead of resolving to pay off your debts completely, resolve to create a reasonable and doable debt reduction plan and try to follow it.
Traveling
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Again, “travel more” is too vague. Chose one place or country that you have always wanted to visit and promise yourself that you will make the trip during the next year.
Learning a new language
Don’t resolve to master a new language completely. Make the resolution more realistic and attainable. Resolve to reach a certain level (for example B1) in the language.
Family time
Many people want to spend more time with their families. Be specific about this resolution, and try to set a particular number of days or family trips you will spend with your loved ones each week or month.
Volunteering
Have you ever wanted to try volunteering? There are hundreds of interesting volunteer programs these days, so pick the one that suits you most and put it on your New Year’s resolutions list.
Procrastination
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Stopping procrastination is an increasingly popular New Year’s resolution, but it is very hard to keep unless we set specific and measurable goals, such as the number of hours you can spend on social media daily/weekly etc.
Losing weight
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Weight loss is an absolute New Year’s resolution evergreen. The key to success here is to break the resolution down to smaller and more realistic goals. If you resolve to lose 2 pounds each month, and you follow this plan, you will end up losing 24 pounds in year, which is still a great achievement.
Cooking
Many people resolve to “learn to cook,” but it is very difficult to keep this broad resolution. Instead, try to learn how to prepare one (or more) specific meals you have always wanted to be able to prepare.
Fitness
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It is ridiculous how gyms get crowded at the beginning of January and then go idle by as soon as late February. Make a better resolution than just “work out more.” Taking the stairs instead of using the lift is a good example.
Does this one seem familiar? Wait until you see number 8!
Healthy food
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A drastic switch to a healthy diet can be very hard to manage in the long run, so make it more sustainable. Eating one healthy meal (or snack) per day is a reasonable resolution.
Stress
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Millions of people all over the world resolve to reduce their stress levels, but the problem is they don’t actually know how to do that. Taking a hot bath, going for a walk every day, or just laughing more are great ways to reduce stress, and they are definitely doable.
Curious as to what other people resolve to do? Take a look at 25 Of The Most Popular (and Commonly Broken) New Year Resolutions.
Saving money
Set a specific, reasonable amount of money you want to (and can) save every month and open a saving account to send the money to.
Charity
Stop making vague resolutions about donating and go ahead with at least one particular action working towards something you are interested in. You can choose anything from donating to a dog shelter to supporting cancer research.
Sleep
Instead of resolving to just “have a better sleep,” be specific and set a number of hours you will be gunning for every night. You can also try to keep a regular sleep schedule.
Taking class
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Is there anything you have always wanted to learn? Take advantage of classes and programs offered by community centers and colleges to develop the skills you desire to have. Some classes can be taken in just a few sessions, which makes this resolution easy to keep.
Smoking
Quitting smoking is arguably the most difficult resolution to keep. It takes enormous dedication and willpower to succeed with this resolution. Therefore, break it down to several steps. For instance, the first one can be switching to electronic cigarettes. They replicate the sensation of smoking while being less dangerous as they contain fewer carcinogens.
Biking
Every year, many people resolve to use their bikes more than they did the year before. To avoid breaking this resolution, set a specific number of miles you will ride each month. Again, being reasonable is the key here.
Relaxing
Relaxing should be an important part of our hectic lifestyle. Reserving just some 30 minutes for pure relaxing each day can make a huge difference in your life.
Drinking
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Another New Year’s classic, quitting drinking is probably just as difficult as quitting smoking. Make this resolution more manageable and start your journey to an alcohol-free life with just reducing your drinking. Give yourself a limit on how much you can drink daily or weekly.
Writing diary
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There are many people who want to start writing a diary, but they are afraid to give it a try because they think it would be too time-consuming. However, writing a diary doesn’t have to involve hours of writing every day. Even just a few random thoughts scribbled daily can be a good start.
Job satisfaction
Finding a better job is another common New Year’s resolution people make. Unfortunately, the success rate is not very high here. However, you can also resolve to just be more satisfied with your current job. That might include new benefits, pay raise, moving to a new division etc.
Tidiness
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Instead of resolving “to be tidier,” set a certain day in the week (for example Saturday) for a house clean-up. Since a chaotic home negatively affects your productivity and mood, this resolution will also help you live a happier life.
If you’ve found this list helpful, be sure to check out 25 Things You Will Need To Help You Keep Your New Year Resolutions.
Making resolutions
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Some people actually resolve not to make any resolutions as they think they would break them anyway, but as we just showed you, realistic and reasonable resolutions can totally be kept. So go ahead and make your list of New Year’s resolutions for 2017. Good luck with keeping them!
Photos: 21. The LEAF Project via flickr (public domain), 20. Steve Polyak via flickr, 19. Daniel Thornton via flickr, 16. Erich Ferdinand via flickr, 12. Pictures of Money via flickr, 11. Evstafiev via wikimedia commons, 10. Hobvias Sudoneighm via flickr, 8. Lindsay Fox via flickr, 7. US Embassy Canada via flickr, 6. Joakim Berndes via wikimedia commons, 3. reynermedia via flickr
