I feel like there’s two kinds of people:
- People who love the New Year, new opportunity, fresh start type of vibe
- People who don’t.
This post is for you if you’re like the first kind of people.
(People who don’t like that new year, fresh start vibe, it’s time to move on.)
I’ve always loved Mondays, the New Year, resolutions and having fresh starts. There’s something exciting about the idea of possibility. Even if you don’t have the best track record of keeping up with your resolutions (I’m raising both hands here) it’s always a good idea to go into the New Year with positivity.
Leaning into positivity means you’ll be a happier person. Studies show happier people keep healthier when they age, and tend to have more success in the workplace. Success and health, who doesn’t need those in their lives?
5 Ways to Start The New Year With Positivity
Take Inventory
The end of the year/beginning of the new year is a great time to look back on your past wins. What went right this past year? Did you reach any of your goals? Look back at your social media posts from the year and the pictures on your phone.
My 2021 Wins/highlights
- Goal:Read 25 books. Finished the year reading 29 books!
- Completed all the pre-reqs for the LVN to RN bridge program within 2021 with A’s and B’s. (Fun fact: I cried during College Algebra and Microbiology.)
- Took a summer road trip to my hometown to see friends and family I hadn’t seen in a decade!
- I kept my mental health a priority and sought out treatment for anxiety.
- Attended a marriage conference and learned tips on how to communicate more effectively with my husband.
- Left a toxic work environment and started with a new company making more money!
What were your highlights this year? Make a list on your phone.
By focusing on the things that went right we automatically shift into gratitude for good things. Going into each day with a grateful heart means you’ll find more and more each day to be grateful for
Pick a new hobby for the year
Think of something you’ve always wanted to be good at or learn then go watch YouTube videos or buy a book to learn how to do it! I’ve always loved crochet and I’m good at it when I keep practicing. This year my hobby will be focused on learning how to crochet blankets, face towels and other useful items.
What’s something you want to learn? Why not make it part of your New Year goals?
A quick google search gave me tons of ideas of hobbies to pick up:
- painting
- candle making
- calligraphy
- photography
- at home workouts
- cooking or baking
- bullet journaling
Side note: I pay for SkillShare (Get 1 month free) There’s tons of classes on there (I love learning new things) from photography to writing to crochet, you name it, it’s probably a class on SkillShare. Check it out.
Set your yearly goals
Keep it simple and realistic. What do you need/want to accomplish this year? I recently heard of picking goals by choosing 1 goal in the categories of: Faith, Family, Finance, Fitness, and Friendship.
I love the idea of picking 1 thing to work on in each of those categories and will be using this method to make my yearly goals too.
Dry January or whatever month you’re in
If you are wanting to cut down on the amount of alcohol you consume consider doing a dry January or whatever month you’re in. No alcohol for that month can do wonders for your health. Personally I know drinking alcohol can cause me to have more anxiety and anything that lessens my anxiety can only be helpful.
I found Dry January Tips here. And this transformation after 4 weeks with no alcohol was cool too.
Evaluate who you spend your time with
If the saying “You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with” is true, what does that mean for you? What kind of people are you spending time with? What kind of people are you allowing into your life?
Choose to spend your time with people who breathe life into the world instead of complaining about everything that’s wrong with it. And if you realize it’s you that’s always complaining – evaluate yourself. Do you need a mindset shift?
Summary
There are so many reasons why you’d want to start a new year with a positive attitude. You’ll most likely end up a happier, healthier and more successful person if you choose positivity daily.
Happy New Year! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments – what will you focus on this year?
If you’re on IG send me a DM, follow and I’ll follow back! I’ll be posting daily positivity tips this year.
Do you get the Resource Page?
Each week I'll send you the latest Resource Page. In it, you'll find
- Handy tips for focusing on positivity throughout your week.
- Tricks for getting your kids to listen to your every word (just kidding,Girl-- I'm still working on getting my kids to listen!) But I will send you fun activity ideas for you and your kids to do together.
- Useful tools that I come across, like meal planning ideas and such!
Yes, I always try to stay positive. It takes way less energy!
A positive attitude is always good. My washer broke on Christmas but I was glad that I was able to buy a new one the next day and my son had a truck to bring it to my home.
I love this post! These are all such great things to do at the start of a new year. <3
I’d love to pick up a new hobby this year. Im so much into photography these days and I would love to be better at it
It’s a great idea to start the new year with positivity and to check in with yourself often!
Starting the year with positivity is the right way to go! Thanks for these great tips.
This is such a really great and very informative post thank you for sharing this five ways to start this year with positivity
This all makes sense. It is good to have some strategies to start off the new year without just making some resolutions.
These are really great tips! I usually do not “take inventory” but it really would help to remember all the good things that happened the past year. I’d love to take up a new hobby, but I’m not sure which one yet.
I really enjoyed this post, these are all really great ideas.
Positive attitude makes always the difference. It’s exactly what I need for this year!
Great tips! I’ve always been an optimistic person. Life has its ups and downs but there’s always something to be thankful for.
Two of my favorite books to read in December as I am setting goals for the New Year are called Atomic Habits and Essentialism. I also do a bunch of research and put a lot of thought into what I want to do over the next year. Thank you for these helpful tips!
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