Real lessons on making every day more positive and fulfilling!
Real lessons on making every day more positive and fulfilling!
Enjoying life to its fullest” is 2016’s most popular New Year’s resolution, according to a survey of more than 5,000 people by Gobankingrates, a personal finance and consumer interest rate website in the US. That was the top goal for 45.7 per cent of respondents, followed closely by goals to live a healthier lifestyle (41.1 per cent) and lose weight (39.6 per cent). If everyone acts on their plans, it looks like we’ll be seeing more people out and getting active... or not.
It’s easy to start the year with renewed enthusiasm and a bunch of well-meaning resolutions. What’s harder is to follow through with them. A recent study by the US-based University of Scranton in the Journal of Clinical Psychology revealed that only 8 per cent of people achieve their personal promises by the end of the year, with 36 per cent of all respondents ditching their plans after the first month. Now that we’re about to step into the second quarter of the year, how’s everything working out for you? If you feel yourself starting to slip, don’t feel too badly. Looking at what you need to do for the whole year can be very daunting, especially if you are a spontaneous soul. It gets worse if you’re comparing your life to those of your friends. By fretting over how far ahead our peers are with careers, relationships and families, we isolate ourselves, widening the imaginary gap between them and us. This leads to unnecessary pressure and unhappiness, which erodes our sense of self-worth and leads to further inaction. To make each day feel more rich and purposeful, we have three tips to change the way you think, give you something to work towards daily, and help assess your situation and talents more clearly. By stepping up your progress every day, you’ll not only find yourself growing more than before, you’ll probably sail through all your goals without even realising it, too.
STEP ONE
Accurately assess your current stage in life
How are you measuring your success? We all resist this thought, but we are susceptible to benchmarking our achievements against peers, or comparing their Instagrammed lives to ours. Then, there’s the nagging from family to get married, have kids or straighten out our lives. Being independent adults, we think of ourselves as beyond all these, but with constant exposure to these influences, it’s impractical to think we might be immune to the compounding expectations.
What we need to do is remind ourselves that everyone moves at their own pace. As for who determines what’s good anyway, the answer… should be YOU! No matter how free-spirited you may think yourself to be, it’s always a good idea to set down at least three rather significant things you hope to accomplish in the year ahead. That way, you’ll have your own goals to work on rather than using friends’ lives as your yardstick.
STEP TWO
Take stock of your life every day
Just as with work, looming quarterly or annual assessments never feel good. But if you turn your reflection into a daily exercise – keeping a journal, meditating or even maintaining a photo log – you’ll be able to think about things in a more objective, less daunting manner.
Not only will experiences be fresh in your mind, but you can implement the lessons you’ve learnt immediately, and use the rest of your year to develop them.
Imagine the exponential potential for personal growth here! Instead of packing away all your worries in some dark (but not forgotten) part of your brain, you’ll have the opportunity to work on your issues every day, preventing problems from building up and keeping life as uncluttered and drama-free as possible.
STEP THREE
Help others to help yourself
According to a US study, people tend to get stuck on negative emotions and events, finding it hard to think positively even if things pick up afterwards. Sure, it’s difficult to get over feelings of disappointment, failure or guilt, but if you constantly focus attention on these things, you’ll start to feel unworthy, depressed, helpless, and worst of all, nothing changes.
Use your time more productively by creating daily gratitude lists. Be specific about the things you’re thankful for, even if they seem trivial. Better yet, use your talents and resources to help those who are less fortunate.
Doing so keeps you from dwelling on your seemingly hopeless plight. The experiences will put your life in perspective, expand your horizons, and help you develop the skills and confidence needed to dig yourself out of any rut.
