You don’t need to wait until the new year to change yourself for the better. In fact, the best time to start is now!
We all have our fair share of New Year’s resolutions — but we often find ourselves in a situation where we break these promises to ourselves early on in the year. That's why it's important to remember that this year is not over yet and we can still do our best to end 2017 on a high note.
Here's how to make the last months of 2017 your best yet.
Prioritize your mental health above everything else
When was the last time you set aside time for your emotional well-being? Hopefully not too long ago. With the inevitable busyness that life sweeps us up in, it’s easy to neglect your mental health in exchange for pushing yourself to get ahead in work or be a super-parent 24/7.
You are important too, so make it one of your year end resolutions to tend to yourself! It’s imperative that you take care of yourself most of all on the daily, whether that be by setting aside five minutes to meditate, detoxing from technology for a while, or even sleeping for an extra hour. With a sound mind - your waves of stress won’t hit as hard, you'll be able to stay in the moment, and you will genuinely feel more prepared to take on life and its punches with grace.
Similar to how the body needs healthy food and exercise, your brain needs some love and an occasional break from the outside world.
Eliminate a bad habit - for good!
We’re all guilty of having a few bad habits - some of which we would rather not acknowledge. However, if we are to be honest with ourselves, we can find no good excuse to have them, especially since they only exist to bring us down.
Instead of attempting to eliminate a bad habit all at once, take baby steps towards breaking it and replace it with a good habit that positively contributes to your life.
For example, if you have a problem with procrastination, practice completing a task the moment its assigned, or automatically finish that chore you’ve been putting off. This prevents you from taking any opportunity to waste precious time. Also, don’t be hard on yourself if you falter or accidentally fall back into the bad habit for a brief moment - you’re human and it happens.
Follow through with your on-going resolutions and goals
No matter your goal - whether you’re refraining from cheating on a healthy diet, learning to love yourself, or even maintaining sobriety from past alcoholism and drug addiction - remember that succeeding in these goals can only add value to the life you're living.
During your journey towards completing a goal, you're bound to get sidetracked or discouraged if our efforts don't seem to bring visible results. We can’t let ourselves think that way. Goals are not meant to be instantly gratified, and we should not expect them to be. Our sacrifices towards a goal enable us to build character, develop discipline over ourselves, and see that hard work always pays off in the end. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world to accomplish a goal, and you will experience it soon.
Find a new hobby or pick a previous one back up
With all the responsibilities life demands of us, it’s natural to cast aside hobbies or activities we enjoy doing. Every now and again, solely focus on an activity that gets you excited. Ask yourself: what gave you joy in the past, what you can you do now, and what have you always wanted to do? Hobbies are meant to be positive outlets for us - they help us decompress from a bad day or simply just make a good day even better. Find a hobby that makes you happy, just for the sake of experiencing happiness.
It’s never too late to improve ourselves or change. What really matters to our personal growth is that we ambitiously take action to achieve our goals, embrace the mistakes we make, and gain as much as we can through our unique experiences. We can only go up from there.
With these tips in mind, you’re on the right path towards launching yourself into your best year yet. And remember, you've got this!
