Meet and Greet What’s Next
Ten Easy Ways to Begin the Year Anew
It’s January! Perhaps you’ve made some changes.
You may have joined a gym, committed to reading every morning, or rearranged your schedule to accommodate a new interest.
January is the perfect time for beginnings. show that people are more likely to form lasting habits and achieve goals when habits and goals are associated with calendar-specific milestones such as a new year. This is called the Fresh Start Effect . Research shows people are more likely to take action towards habits and goals when habits and goals are associated with temporal landmarks that represent new beginnings.
Translation? It’s easiest to make changes at natural transition points. With the new year comes a prime, best time to take big-time action toward the habits you seek to adopt, the shifts you seek to make, and the goals you seek to accomplish. The motivation provided by the start of a new year is palpable and real, and you and I can take advantage of the Fresh Start Effect beginning today.
January Encourages Big-Picture Thinking and Positive Change
Is this the year you will travel abroad? Go back to school? Start running? What steps will you take today to move toward goals that holds meaning for you? Progress in any amount is progress!
Make today the day you shift your mindset, in any measure, toward positive action and growth. Make today the day you’ll take one step that will turn you toward the people, experiences, causes, and ways of being that mean most to you.
We can set ourselves up for a refreshed, exciting present and future beginning this day now. Actions we can take include:
- Greet the morning. When your feet touch the floor, tell yourself and the world that today will be a great day. underscore the benefits of beginning the day with gratitude and optimism, whatever our challenges. Default to enthusiasm and opportunity-thinking every morning, and to the extent possible, in all that you do.
- Commit to fitness. There’s no way around it. Exercise brings energy, enthusiasm, youth, and health. Find something convenient that you’ll actually do, and move three to four days a week. Commit time and begin. Physical fitness can have great effect on our mental and emotional health, and on how we show up in life.
- Create a powerful vision — a vision of what’s truly important. A vision of what and who you aspire to be and do is of paramount importance. What is your north star? What can you contribute and do that is bigger than yourself? A destination with a roadmap to get there gives energy and purpose. Find a mission, a raison-d’être that draws you forward.
- Mind your language and self-talk. Words and language matter. Talk to yourself as a friend, not as an annoyance. Part ways with self-consciousness and naysayers. Who you are is of far more importance than what you have, your network, or your bank balance. Be measured in your speech, stand tall, and cultivate character and positive mindset.
- Expand your thinking and horizons with diverse experiences. Commit to doing something new that you have long thought about doing. Are you going to climb a mountain this year? Are you ever going to climb a mountain? Don’t wait. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. It’s time to do the things you’ve long considered, the things that hold meaning for you.
- Be free of people and things. Don’t be ownedby naysayer opinions, and don’t be owned by possessions. Being free of people and things that weigh us down brings lightness and clarity. Part ways with people, things, and ways of being that do not serve you in positive, growth-minded ways. Declutter and lighten up.
- Say no when it’s best to do so. Don’t say yes when you shouldn’t, can’t, or truly don’t care to say yes. Time is gold. It’s currency that can’t be replaced or replenished. How will you spend your currency today? Determine what works for you, your family, your work, and politely decline invitations and requests when it’s appropriate to do so.
- Focus on what’s good and excites you. The world is grand and diverse. Live life fully while you’re here. Take chances, say yes to what’s positive and new, and experience everything you can. Take care of yourself. Take care of your friends and family. Delight in what’s good and working. Cultivate beauty and kindness in your life and in the world.
- Commit to rest and renewal. Sleep is essential to every process in the body, to cognitive function, to happiness, health, metabolism and our immune system. Sleep is a vital, often-neglected component of our mental, physical, and spiritual selves. Make this a great year by showing up and working hard, and also stepping back when it’s time to do so. Prioritize rest, renewal, and quality, consistent sleep.
- Decide, then live your true priorities. Fleeting pleasures wax and wane, but values last. A clear sense of what counts is the best foundation from which to decide and act. It is our actions, not words, that reveal our true priorities. How do you spend money and time? How do you speak and carry yourself? What do you believe is true and important about people and the world? Decide what matters, and delight in what’s next by aligning your focus, time, money, action, language, and mindset with that which truly matters most.
January is the perfect time for refreshment and beginning. Research shows that people are more likely to form lasting habits and achieve goals when they are associated with calendar-specific milestones such as a new year, which makes January prime time to refresh and energize our lives and stories by taking action toward our goals and highest aspirations.
Happy New Year. Be well and Be glad. Welcome January and what’s next!
Originally published at https://www.merikrueger.com on January 2, 2024.
