We want to enjoy our life. Whether last year was the best year of your life or the worst, you can take action to make this new year be better. How many people really focus on making each year a happier year? I don’t think many of us are intentional about adding more happiness to our life. Lucky for us, it doesn’t take a lot to have a good year filled with more good memories and fewer annoyances. Start small and experiment with ways to add more happiness to your days.
Make this year better than the last with these 12 strategies:
1. Make your wellness a priority.
When you make the decision and set the intention to improve your wellness and health, you are priming your mind to see more opportunities to improve how you feel. Follow your intention with action and new habits and you can see a difference in your wellness.
- Small actions you can take:
- Set a new small habit to improve one wellness area in your life.
- Block time in your calendar for movement or mindfulness.
2. Improve your environment by limiting clutter.
Clutter is stressful and annoying. Clutter can be embarrassing, and it makes things harder to find when you need them. Clutter also makes you feel like your life is out of control. With effective routines, clutter can be easy to avoid.
- Small actions you can take:
- Get rid of things you don’t need.
- If you use something, put it away when you’re done.
- Spend five minutes tidying up any area of your home before you got to bed.
3. Address things that you’re tolerating and annoy you.
Fix, address, or get rid of everything that annoys you and that you are unnecessarily tolerating. Avoid allowing these things, people, and situations to stay in your life.
4. Limit the amount of time you spend in negative emotions, criticizing, condemning, and complaining.
In the book, “How to Make Friends and Influence People,” one of the cardinal rules is “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.” This is a simple rule, that can be challenging to put into practice, but you’ll reap benefits from having fewer negative emotions.
5. Mind your finances and spend wisely.
Treat your money with respect. Money that is spent wisely can do wonderful things for your life. Money spent unwisely is a wasted resource. Think of all the things you’ve purchased, but later regretted. It would be nice to have that money now.
6. Avoid additional debt.
This is another aspect of minding your finances. Debt is stressful. Avoid adding more stress to your life by having additional debts.
7. Use your brain for thinking, not remembering.
- Small Actions you can take:
- Write things down
- Record lists on your phone
- Use reminders and timers.
You will have more brain power available when you free your brain from remembering things you can set reminders for. Free up your mental resources by writing yourself a note and putting your attention on more important matters.
8. Have a plan for each day.
Make the most of each day by having a plan in place before you go to bed. You’ll accomplish more, and what you accomplish will be more meaningful.
9. Eat at least one super healthy meal each day.
Even one extremely healthy meal will boost your health and sense of well-being tremendously. It also provides the opportunity later to step up to two healthy meals per day.
10. Make some exciting plans.
You’ll experience a better year when you have something positive to focus on in the future. It doesn’t matter if it’s a trip, a new canoe, or plans to reconnect with a dear friend that you haven’t seen in a while.
11. Consider the mistakes you made this past year and avoid them this year.
Look over the last year and identify your mistakes. Develop a strategy to ensure that you don’t have a repeat performance.
12. Find your community.
Spending time with people we share common values and goals can boost your wellbeing and enjoyment.
The first step to having a good year is to set an intention to have a good year. Remove the annoyances, get rid of the clutter, and make some plans that put a smile on your face. It doesn’t take a lot to have a better year than last year. Repeat this process each year and you’ll be surprised by how much happier you can be.