New Year’s Resolutions For A Healthier and Active Lifestyle
High school students enjoying a hike and reflecting on personal goals during a school trip to the Santa Monica mountains with Positive Adventures.
It’s that time of year again when we reflect on our past year and think about what we can do differently for the upcoming one. We often make resolutions with the best intentions but struggle to stick to them and make positive changes.
Focusing on creating a healthier and happier version of yourself can be intimidating, but following these seven simple New Year’s resolutions principles can make it feel more achievable. Making minor changes to your lifestyle and outlook can hugely affect your life!
Start by setting achievable goals, such as exercising more, eating healthily, and taking time for yourself. By the end of the year, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come and how much healthier and happier you feel.
So, let’s get started on these New Year’s resolutions ideas that will lead to the healthiest and happiest version of you!
Exercise more
Exercising is one of the best things you can do for your health. It can help prevent and manage diseases such as heart disease, help with high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer, so it’s essential everyone does some form of exercise.
If you’re looking to make exercise a regular part of your life, starting with short daily sessions is best instead of trying to fit in one long session every week. This will help prevent injury and allow you to exercise around your busy schedule. Start with at least a 30 minute walk and go up from there.
If you’re struggling to find the motivation to exercise, remember how good it makes you feel! Head to your local gym, try a new exercise, or explore nature trails for a fun way to move more.
If you don’t feel like getting out of your house everyday but want a more active life, you can still exercise from the comfort of your home. You can find infinite resources on YouTube, from fitness challenges to yoga classes, or you can find a playlist you like and dance to it.
Eat healthier
Making healthy eating a priority is essential for your physical and mental health. If you need help figuring out where to start making healthy eating changes, try these top tips:
Make the healthy choice the easy choice by stocking your kitchen with healthy snacks that are easy to grab on the go.
Try to avoid eating while you’re stressed or rushed. And whenever you can, try to eat at home.
Take time for yourself
Taking time for yourself is essential to prevent burnout and make the most of your life. You may already practice some of these, but making them a regular part of your routine will help you take time each day to look after yourself.
These top tips for taking time for yourself will help you feel better both mentally and physically:
Schedule a time for rest each week. This might be when you turn off the phone and laptop and focus on the important things to you.
Make time for the things you enjoy. This can be anything from reading to cooking or going for a walk.
Practice mindfulness. It is a meditation that consists of becoming aware of the present moment by focusing on one’s thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, breathing, or the surrounding environment (sounds, smells, temperature, etc.). This awareness in the present moment must be devoid of judgments. It is about focusing attention without judging, interpreting, or justifying. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, whether by breathing exercises or sitting meditation.
Spend more time with family and friends
We often put our own health and well-being last to make time for those around us. But self care and spending time with others can go hand in hand! Spending more time with the people you care about can help improve your mental health, boost your confidence, and increase your overall well-being.
Whether you make a regular date with a friend or family member or plan with people you care about, there are many benefits of spending time with people who are important to you. You’ll feel more connected with those around you and yourself, find it easier to express your feelings, and have less stress overall.
Schedule outdoor activities
Spending time outside is one of the easiest ways to meet your New Year’s resolutions and is among the most rewarding. This is especially important for those who work in office environments. If you’re a team leader and want your team to be more active this new year, we can help you achieve it! Learn more about company retreats planned and hosted by our sister company Onyx Offsites and Trainings. If you have children in your life or work in education, find out what outdoor opportunities are offered at school. Our youth programs have been bringing students and school staff outdoors since 2005.
You don’t have to spend hours outside to see benefits. Even a few minutes of experiencing the great outdoors will help you meet your goals. Some simple outdoor activities you can try include:
Going for a walk
Jogging
Taking a hike
Joining a local sports league
Paddle boarding
Cycling
Gardening
Going to the beach
Skateboarding
Walking your dog
Simply taking a moment to look at the stars.
Get outside every day
Try to get outside every day, even for just a few minutes of fresh air and sunlight. Being in nature can also help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve sleep. Getting outside daily can be as simple as taking a quick walk on your lunch break.
If you live in a place where the weather is not always conducive to being outside, try to be near nature at least a day a week. You can enjoy the views from a nearby park, walk along a river or find a nearby green space to walk through.
Set achievable goals
Setting achievable goals is important when following these New Year’s resolutions. While having high aspirations is great, it’s also important to be realistic and know your limits. If you need help with goal setting, these top tips can help you get started:
Choose an area of your life that you want to improve. This could be your health, career, or relationships.
Write your goal. Make it clear and concise, and think about how you can achieve this goal. Visualize yourself achieving your goal. This can help you stay focused and motivated when things get tough.
Health and happiness are two of the most important things in life, but they’re also two things that are sometimes very difficult to achieve. Fortunately, New Year’s resolutions are the perfect way to strive towards a happier, healthier you. All you need to do is find a couple of goals that you feel will help you improve, and then you can begin working towards making them a reality.
Don’t wait to work on improving your life. Instead, start now and make these New Year’s resolutions work for you.
If you want a more active lifestyle this 2023, we can help you and those around you! Learn more about our services here and contact us for more information.