Instead of Setting New Year's Resolutions, Do This

Towards the end of each year, we're all accustomed to thinking of ways to better ourselves in the new year. Maybe it's a human thing, perhaps it's an American thing, I don't know where it started, but it's kind of silly if you think about it. Why should you better yourself at the beginning of each year and not at the beginning of each month, or each week, or each day? Who defined the frequency here? Anyway, it doesn't matter because I'm here to tell you, the frequency doesn't matter. In fact, I challenge you to make your New Year's resolution to better yourself every month. Let's start small since these COVID years only seem to get longer. 

So we're now bettering ourselves every month. What are some ways that you can better yourself each month? Habits are created with practice! Here are a few I'm thinking about to get you started:

Be More Optimistic (Or A Goldfish) Like Ted Lasso

The world is ever-changing, and more often than not, it seems to be in a negative direction. So I'm challenging myself to be more optimistic. Or just be a goldfish and forget the negative things quickly. In 10 seconds! 

Celebrate The Little Things Like Personal Records

Just setting the goal to better myself every month will be a personal record! So I'm starting off strong with that one. I am also challenging myself to write more each month. Practice makes perfect! What better way to write more than to send notes to friends to celebrate them more often? 

Give Thanks Every Month

This is a great one to start in January as I'm sure every work team gave it their all through the holiday season. A simple thank you note over email, text, or even a written card goes so far. I would like to think that I thank my team all the time, but it wouldn't hurt if I put a little more effort into it and wrote out a quick card like the one below. 

No matter what your goals are for the new year or what you plan to accomplish, I think it's important to remember that doing something continuously is how you create a habit. So remind yourself at the beginning of each month to look back at your goals and challenge yourself to stick to them! I will set reminders in my phone for the first of each month to look back, see how I did the month before, and make adjustments as needed to ensure I'm sticking to my new habits!