Give Yourself a Break: 3 Resolutions that are Simple AND Significant
Cookie Jar tips for making the most of 2021.
While the rest of the world dives headfirst into the New Year with a fresh gym membership, an alternate diet plan, or a new business idea, I spend the first week of January reviewing last year. This gives me the mental break needed to reflect and appreciate another year in the books. I’ve tried to do this exercise in December, but have never been one to count my chickens before they hatch. Plus, Christmas is for appreciating family and cookies, not devoted self-reflection. So in light of a relatively quiet holiday season, (2020 is finally over WOOHOO!) here is a review of my three SIMPLE & SIGNIFICANT goals:
1. DRINK MORE WATER
The train has already left this station on this one: everyone knows water is good for you. I’m not a doctor so I won’t advise HOW MUCH water you should drink; nonetheless, most of us should DRINK MORE water.
The key to this resolution is substitution. By drinking more water, you’ll drink less of everything else (i.e. soda, alcohol, sugary juice).
Of course, you CAN drink more water while still drinking just as much of everything else—but you probably won’t want to run to the bathroom every hour during the workday to drain the dragon. Plus, overly increasing your fluid intake may result in electrolyte deficiencies.
Actionable Advice: drink a large glass of water before every meal and chase it with a teaspoon of salt.
You don’t need to be perfect to see a change. I still drink beer on Saturdays and orange juice on Sundays. However, since I focused on increasing my water intake, I drastically reduced the consumption of negative substitutes.
2. PRIORITIZE SLEEP
It’s easy to stay awake. It’s hard to sleep. For too long, society has undervalued the need for sleep in everyday life. Overworking and all-nighters shouldn’t be a badge of honor. Mix together addicitive social media, the new work-from-anywhere environment, and online schooling—it’s no wonder that most of us are on a fast-tract for sleep-deprivived burnout! A realistic evening for most of us may look like this:
- 8 PM: Finish emails
- 9 PM: Eat dinner
- 10 PM: Watch an episode of The Mandalorian
- 11 PM: Journal
If I manage to turn my notifications off (no small task), I may even get 6 hours of sleep before morning yoga at 5:30 AM… does that sound healthy?
Don’t just take my word for it. Get enough sleep or you may act drunk. Research has shown that staying awake for 17 to 19 hours reduces performance to that of someone with a 0.05 percent blood alcohol content; which is like having two beers in an hour. I don’t know about you, but I’m not very efficient after two beers.
Of course, there will always be outliers. I’m not Elon Musk (working 120 hours a week), and neither are you. He’s a robot. He doesn’t need sustenance. He doesn’t need sleep. He can skip this resolution. For the rest of us, here’s some advice.
Actionable Advice: create an evening routine with a “sleep” alarm on your phone at the same time every night.
Most of us aren’t professional athletes. Michael Phelps gets 10 hours of sleep EVERYDAY! For us mere mortals, prioritizing 7 to 8 hours a day can make a world of difference. This last year I prioritized my beauty sleep and more than my complexition improved.
3. SAY NICE THINGS
This last year, I stopped swearing. This resolution may be my all-time favorite and must be personalized to fit your communication style.
After stubbing a toe, you will no longer hear me yell “#$%$,” or “&#$@” but instead “Oh my goodness,” “Good Heavens,” or “Jeez Louise!”
Don’t just stop saying mean things, but make sure to say nice things! Research has shown that not only does receiving compliments improve your mood, but giving compliments does as well! Furthermore, by giving praise you may improve the learning that occurs during sleep (see resolution 2) in a process called “skill consolidation.” In other words, by being nice we improve our moods and even help ourselves learn more.
Besides the daycare insults from my closest friends, the improved mood, and enhanced learning during sleep, I found that saying nice things generally improvement my vocabularly. The same mean phrases are often repeated in society as an emphasis, but finding unique adjectives can be quite difficult.
Actionable Advice: replace one swear with a funny phrase. You’ll find yourself in a much better mood after screaming “son of a nutcracker!” instead of something nasty.
Start with saying less mean things and then transition to more nice things. You don’t need to be a saint, but get rid of those extra cusses and exchange them for something more creative!
Too often we try and change everything at once in the New Year. This year, give yourself a break and make small and significant improvements that’ll last. This year drink more water, prioritize your sleep, say nice things, and enjoy the #momentsthatmatter. You may even find more genuine happiness than the newest exercise fad, trending diet, or fancy hobby.
