With the turn of the new year comes the setting of new goals and resolutions. Read on to find out the 3 resolutions I think everyone should be making this year…

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Asha the Label floral jumpsuit | Zara slides | Quay sunglasses | Vintage bag

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Photos: Ryan Ammon

 

I guess I should preface this post with ‘it has been a pleasure 2016’. Honestly, it really has!

Sure, 2016 may have decided to deal a fairly crappy hand a few times, but it is not unlike the crappy hands that were dealt in between all of the good times in 2015, 2014 and all the years before. For the most part, my year has been one of progression, learning and letting go. If, by the end of the year, you can say that you are at least one step ahead of where you started, your year has been a success, right?

I started 2016 with a long list of goals and resolutions for the year, only half of which I think I actually managed to achieve. I probably aimed too high with a lot of them, and expected the course of my year to go a little differently than it actually did. Not to worry, this year I am looking at my new year resolutions a little differently.

This year, my 3 resolutions are ones that I believe anyone can achieve. They are overarching ideas that will assist you to live a happy, fun and fruitful year.

1. Stop letting what others think get the better of you.

There was a good portion of 2016 where I got really confused. The person I am, and the person that I strived to be, was challenged by the way that I thought others saw me, and my ideas of what I thought people wanted to see from me. Yep, it sounds crazy confusing, and that is because it was.

How did I fix my confusion? By not giving two hoots what anyone else thought of me. It may have taken some time, adaptation and turmoil, but in the end it worked out for the best.

A few years ago, I had a friend who was continually reminding me to not care what anyone else thought, and it seems like his message is finally getting through to me. You are never going to be everyone’s cup of tea, nor best friend, and being at peace with that allows you to be at peace with yourself. Forget what others may think of you, and focus on just being the best version of you. After all, the quirks and imperfections are what makes you so uniquely you.

2. Make a promise to yourself to form/keep forming healthy habits

Let’s face it, we have all made some sort of radical fitness resolution over the years.

‘In the new year, I am going to go to the gym every day, quit eating sugar and go 100% alcohol free’…

… any of that sound familiar?

I have definitely told myself many of these things, and most definitely failed at almost every single one of them. It isn’t easy to go straight from a moderately regulated lifestyle into a strict health regime, but unfortunately it is so easy to set unrealistic health and fitness goals for yourself for the new year.

Don’t yet throw the idea of a healthier lifestyle out of the window all together though…

Instead, just promise yourself that in the new year, you will make a conscious effort to make healthier choices. Be more aware of what you are ordering when you go out to eat, take the stairs instead of the elevator and schedule your bed time so you know you are going to get a full 8 hours of sleep. Understand what choices you are making, and what they mean for your health, so that you can continue to make more educated choices for your body.

3. Learn something new every day, every week and every month

Make a point of learning as much as you can.

You don’t have to go and enrol yourself in a sewing or language class to learn something new. Learning is all in a state of mind – the more open minded you are, the more likely you are to learn something new. Everyone deserves to learn, and you can find new knowledge almost anywhere. Sit down and have a cup of tea with your elderly neighbour, meet with the locals at a new destination you travel to, or pick up a new cookbook… be open to accepting the information someone is so willingly giving up to you, even if it isn’t necessarily something that you agree with (you are allowed to have different opinions! Sometimes learning from someone with a differing opinion is a very humbling experience).

I have promised myself that in 2017 I will be doing a lot of learning. I want to learn through travel, through reading more and by continuing to engage in conversation with people I don’t already know very well. Heck, I have been wanting to re-enrol at university for a few years now, maybe 2017 will be the year?!

What do you have planned for yourself in the new year? I would love to hear everyone’s grand plans!

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