Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2014, on the last day of that year; the introduction, the New Year greeting to readers and the closing line of item 15 refer to the start of 2015.
In a few hours we will go from 2014 to 2015. Although you can make changes at any time, New Year seems to be when people set themselves resolutions to improve their lives and become happier. So here are some “resolutions” you can add to your list.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a happy 2015. I hope you find the energy you need to fight for your goals. Happy New Year.
1. Take control of your life.
When you notice that you are not living the life you really want, all that has happened is that you have lost control of your own life. Take it back.
2. Spend more time with people who add value to your life.
In your personal and professional life you will find exactly the same kinds of people: subtractors and adders. Surround yourself with people who give you something (who add to your life).
3. Tell the subtractors to get lost.
It’s time to start the New Year with a clean slate. Clean your house and your furniture, and also clean up your list of friends and your circles. Not everyone has a place in your life, not when they bring more problems than benefits.
4. Cut out the noise in your life.
We tend to listen to too many people, and some of them seem to have a louder megaphone than the rest. Start listening to the more sensible people, not the ones who seem to talk the loudest. Filter out the noise.
5. It’s time to take steps towards your aspirations.
Don’t be afraid: stop talking and start chasing your aspirations and dreams. It’s as easy as taking the first steps. It doesn’t matter if you have doubts; keep walking.
6. Don’t obsess about the future.
Someone once said that the future is one of the few things that will arrive no matter what, whether you like it or not. What your future looks like depends on what you do today. But don’t obsess about it. Keep walking.
7. And let go of your past.
Forget that past of better times, or that past of traumatic memories. You can’t move forward with your eyes on the rear-view mirror.
8. Stop seeking other people’s approval.
Look in the mirror. That is who you are: what you see, not what others see. Look at your future; that is what you will be. What you are willing to achieve, not what others expect you to achieve.
9. Take care of your health.
If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to get into the habit of exercising every day and eating more healthily. Your body and your mind will thank you.
10. Make a financial plan.
The time has come. Build a financial plan and set yourself financial goals. Most people don’t do it because they think they can’t save money. Which brings us to the point: start looking after your financial future, and look for ways to earn more money.
11. Enjoy life.
Life is a gift that, once you unwrap it, you may or may not like; you can enjoy it or not, and that depends only on your attitude. Enjoy every day of your life. If you can’t enjoy each day, maybe you need to make some changes.
12. As for changes…
Don’t focus on trying to make a clean break with your old habits. It’s much easier to add a new habit than to stop an old one. Let the new habit gradually push out the old ones.
13. Focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses.
If you focus on trying to shore up your weaknesses, you will probably end up frustrated. Build on your skills: after all, that is what people will pay you for professionally, and what they like about you.
14. Face up to difficulty; don’t turn your back on it.
Success comes from doing the hardest tasks, the ones not everyone is capable of doing. That is why most people never achieve success. Don’t run away from difficulties. Embrace them.
15. Start looking for ways to make other people happy.
If you make the people around you (family, friends and company) happier, you will be sowing your own happiness. It takes very little to make people happy. Only a real idiot would be unable to find a way to do it. And you don’t want to start 2015 as that idiot, do you?
16. Grow, personally and professionally.
Don’t think your learning is over because of your age. Keep acquiring knowledge. Young or old, never stop learning and reading.
17. Stop making excuses.
You have the time and you have the means, whatever your goal or objective. Remember: those who want to get there look for ways; those who don’t look for excuses.
18. Strengthen your personal relationships.
Facebook is fine, but human contact is better. I believe Facebook’s original idea was to connect people and widen your circle, not to shrink that circle down to the virtual world. Use social networks to enlarge your circle of personal relationships. Don’t do the opposite.
19. Drop the envy and look for people to admire.
Drop the little speech about luck. Put envy aside and start fighting for what’s yours. To do that, if you don’t have them yet, you need your own “heroes”, people you would like to be like. And to become like them, you will have to learn about their lives and how they did it.
20. Focus on a few things.
The problem for many people is that they focus on too many things at once, so they rarely achieve almost any of them. Learn to focus 100% on a few things. That is how goals get met.
21. Be grateful for what you have.
They say the path to success and happiness is: 1. start today, not tomorrow; 2. start with what you have, not with what you would like to have; 3. do what you can without forgetting to be grateful for what you have (read: 11 things we should all be grateful for and sometimes forget).
Further reading
- 20 life lessons from a 99-year-old man
- 10 things you should know in the pursuit of success
- 3 toxic beliefs that make you miserable
Featured image: David Berry, Public domain, via Flickr.
