Ever wonder why your New Year’s resolution seems to only last two or three weeks? It’s usually because the idea of changing something is much less complicated than actually changing a behavior or habit. The other half of the time, resolutions fail because they involve extremes. So forget the whole New Year, New You ridiculousness and try doing one small thing differently. And if you need a little inspiration, be it mind, body or soul, we’ve got your New Year’s resolution covered.
Create a Vision Board
Use the old Law of attraction to achieve your goals, objects or wishes this year. We found these awesome little Vision board kits for under ten bucks at Etsy. Choose from travel, love and money vision board kits or select the general kit that comes with things like a faux diamond ring, a blank check, charms and inspiring quotes and pictures. Once you’ve assembled your dreams and aspirations on the board, display it somewhere you will look every day.
Track Down an Old Friend
Have you lost touch with someone who you once considered to be a huge part of your life? Take 20 minutes to do an online search for them. There’s obvious social media tools, like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter that most people will have a profile. However, if your old friend was always a little paranoid and stays off the grid, so to speak, you may need to run a people search. Applications like TruthFinder.com and ClassMates.com are a great source for searching for long lost buddies.
Discover Yourself through DNA
Ever wonder why you have dark hair or a different complexion than the rest of your family? Discover something about your roots, that would be impossible to research with an ancestry search using your own DNA. There are a number of kits, easily available online that provide an ethnic composition, genealogy and ancestry reports. While the average kit runs between $100-$200, 23andMe, Ancestry DNA are the two most popular brands. The results can take about six to eight weeks to arrive, but it’s well worth the wait. Learning if you’re related to Ben Franklin, Einstein or an iconic composer like Mozart is always intriguing… but searching for new relatives can be an even greater adventure!
Save for a Rainy Day
Have you ever wanted something but never bothered to splurge on because it wasn’t practical? Do you keep putting off a day at the spa or stare at something new in a shop window? Maybe you just want to spend an evening in a luxury hotel with your significant other… Whatever your wish, print out a photo or make a sign and stick it to a large jar, with a lid. Put a $1-$5 dollars in a large jar each evening after work. After a few months (or next years resolution) take the money and spend it on something that you’ve always wanted. If you can’t think of anything you’d like to buy, put your year end piggy bank into a stock or a fund. Watch your money grow after a year of putting a few singles away each day.