After a rollercoaster couple of years, 2024 is the best time to get things back on track. Often people set aside new year’s resolutions in finance, work, and relationships, without focusing on their well-being first.
Instead, consider our 5 points on how to kick-start this year on a positive note, and help avoid this January’s blues.
Incorporate Exercise Into Your Daily Routine
Noticed a lot more runners out and about recently? Has your local gym got much busier this January? One of the most common new year’s resolutions people tend to make is to do more exercise.
While we agree that this is a great opportunity to better your well-being, we’ve noticed that the steam tends to fizzle out as the year goes on. To make sure this is not the case for you, start to include a healthier lifestyle within your daily routine.
Your day-to-day activities can vary, however, there are some good ideas you can try out. Firstly, start your day with a morning stretch, and on days you have a little more free time, try extending to a yoga or pilates video.
This will help boost your energy throughout the day. Your lunch break is also a golden opportunity for you to stay active. If you find yourself mainly at your desk, consider going for a walk during it, and use this time to refresh your mind.
Most people in their evenings want to unwind and relax, by pursuing a hobby of yours you can do this without relying on sedentary TV watching and make the most of your evenings instead.
Study a Language that Benefits You
There are many reasons why you should learn a new language. You will be able to uncover new experiences, people, and ideas. Also, If you are searching for a job or want new career opportunities, learning a language can open this door as well as help you uncover new levels of confidence you didn’t have before.
However, you need to start off learning a language that benefits you. Many different driving forces can lead you to pull in a certain direction. Are you looking for a challenge or do you want to gently ease into things? Is there a particular work or travel opportunity that makes sense for you to learn a certain language? Follow your heart on this one and you’ll find it easier to get started.
Organize Regular Meet-Ups with Friends
Mention to your friends you would like to set time aside for each other instead. Tell them when you have free time and see if you can match up an evening of the week for regular meetups. Whether that’s just a cup of coffee around each other’s homes, dinner out, or joining a club to meet others too. It will help keep all of your spirits high.
A good way to do this is to schedule regular meet-ups. Suggest a time and a day that suits you and your friends, whether that’s daily, weekly, or monthly. You can keep it simple and enjoy each other’s company over a cup of coffee or dinner out.
If you want to meet up in a larger group you can join a club together, the shared interest may also tighten your bond and make it easier to maintain regular meet-ups.
One Book per Month
Reading relaxes your body and lowers your heart rate, which can help improve your stress levels and mental well-being.
Not only this, but you can gain valuable knowledge through reading and exercising your brain’s memory and focus. If you found yourself struggling to keep up with it as much as you had hoped in 2024. Our one book-per-month rule might be just what you need for this year.
One book per month is a good starting point and it wouldn’t leave you feeling too overwhelmed with choices. You can either pick out your top 12 must-read books at the beginning of the year and slowly go through them or see what’s new or interests you that particular month instead.
Joining a book club can also help you organize this. Where you can discuss the books you love and find friends with common interests along the way too.
Try out Positive Affirmations
We all experience negative thoughts from time to time, however, if you find yourself frequently going down a negative spiral, this can have a major impact on your mental well-being and lead to anxiety and depression.
How then do we make these thoughts positive? Try to channel unhelpful and negative thoughts with positive affirmations. This will help boost your self-esteem and keep you motivated.
Through positive affirmations, you can recall what’s currently happening in your life, what frustrations you have, and what you are grateful for, and recite out loud positive ways to help take the best course of action and next steps to what you want.
Start your sentences with either “I can…” or “I am…”. Say them in your most frustrating moments, before bed and when you wake up, for the best results. It can take time to adjust but keep preserving to see the difference it can make.
What Will You Try?
There are lots of ways you can put your well-being first this year, and hopefully, our five ways will help you be able to do it. However, if you do find some challenges this year, don’t let them get you down. As Roy T. Bennett best puts it “Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.”
Written by Sadiyah Zaman, the Senior Content Writer at Tutor House
