Every time I say goodbye to December and hello to January, I can’t help but feel a little bit excited about what lies ahead. January always brings with it the feel of a fresh start. We get to leave behind the parts of last year that we didn’t like and look forward to the opportunities the new year might bring. It’s a time where we start to think about what we want to achieve and ways in which we can better ourselves. It’s also the time when most people make their new year resolutions.
If you haven’t set yours yet, don’t fret because guess what?! You don’t need to! I have something for you to do instead that’s going to help you achieve your goals FAR MORE successfully than making resolutions EVER WILL. What is it? It’s SETTING HABITS. Find out why I think setting habits INSTEAD of new year resolutions is better in my very first YouTube video here…
New for 2018, A Simple and Contented Life has it’s very own YouTube channel! From now on I shall be facing my fears of stepping out in front of the camera and doing a mix of blogging and vlogging! To kick things off, here’s my very first video revealing why you should be setting habits instead of new year resolutions…
Not got time to watch the video? Here’s the transcript:
“Hi there. I’m Sarah and I’m the person behind the blog A Simple and Contented Life.
Happy New Year, happy 2018 and happy Friday!
I’ve been wanting to do a video for a while now but I’ve been too scared to jump on and put myself out there. But, with it being the new year and the fact that my blog has been live for five months now, I’ve decided that it’s time to stop making excuses. It’s time to conquer my fear and to get out from behind my PC and say hello to you all. So, hi!
The reason for me being on the video today, there’s two reasons really. The first is that I want you to know that the blog is there FOR YOU.
For all you lovely mums out there whose families are their world and priority, but wish they had more time to spend with them and that life wasn’t quite SO stressful.
I want you to know that you’re not alone. That we’re all going through the same parenting struggles. The same life struggles. But, there are things, there are ways we can take back control, slow things down, make things less stressful and family life much more enjoyable. And that’s what the blog is all about really. It’s about helping you to reduce the overwhelm, to find more balance and to create – and ultimately live – a family life that you love.
The second reason is that I have a challenge for you.
January is traditionally the time of year where we make our new year resolutions. Where we take stock of what we want to do, what we want to achieve and ways in which we can better ourselves and improve our lives. Now, if you haven’t set your new year resolutions yet, I want you to know that that’s ok. And that you don’t need to set any new year resolutions…because, I have something for you, that I want you to do that is going to be far more effective and get you closer to living a life that you want. And that is setting habits.
You see, the problem with setting new year resolutions is that they are simply a statement of the things we want to achieve. They don’t come with a plan on how we’re actually gonna get there. And that’s why we give up on them! But, if instead, we set habits, little things we can do every day that slowly over time, they will help us to become the best version of ourselves.
So, say for example your new year resolution would have been to be more healthy. How are you gonna do that? The habits we would set instead would maybe be to drink four glasses of water a day. Or eat a piece of fruit with our lunch every day. Or go for a walk three times a week. When we do those day in day out, slowly, over time, those habits help us to become the healthiest version of ourselves. The person, the best version of ourselves we want to be.
So my challenge for you is to firstly ditch the resolutions!
To not feel guilty if you haven’t set any. Second, I want you to set three habits. Three daily habits that you can adopt and practice that will slowly, over time, help you to become the best version of yourself.
What are those habits going to be?
Let me know in the comments below. I’d LOVE to know. And, if you want some help in kickstarting creating a life you love, check out my FREE eBook and the accompanying workbook. You’ll find the links to these in the comments. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, head on over, fill in your details and I’ll email it to you. It’s got everything you need in there to kickstart creating a life you love.
So yeah, let me know what your habits are going to be. I can’t wait to read them. And that’s it for now. Have a great weekend and I’ll chat to you soon. Good luck with the habits! Bye!”
Why you should be setting habits instead of new year resolutions…
There you have it – why setting habits instead of new year resolutions is SO much better. If you like what you’ve seen, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! Join my tribe and kick-start creating a family life you love right now by filling in your details below. I’ll send you my FREE Daily Planner as a thank-you! And, if you know someone who’d benefit from watching this video, I’d love for you to share it with them too!
Until next time…
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I’m a big advocate of setting goals, not resolutions. I want to focus on the positive and not the negative every year. Resolutions are made to be broken, too! Habits, on the other hand, are a great place to start making small changes to your every day routine! Great post!
That’s so true…resolutions do come with that feeling of ‘meant to be broken’ don’t they?! When we focus on the positives instead of the negatives, it’s so much easier to be happy and thankful for what we have instead of wanting more. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 x
I love this post so much. Creating good habits are better than new years resolutions. A word for the year works for me too.
Absolutely Sarah! That’s great a word of the year work’s for you too…what is your’s? I’d love to know…mine is Hygge! 🙂 x
I don’t believe in resolutions too!This year I had a word of the year set of which is Intention. So the three habits related to the word that I am practicing are, weekly goal setting, daily motivation and meditation to help focus, and weekly recap so that I am on top of my progress and know what to look for in the coming week. This has helped me achieve a lot in January already. Hoping to continue the same way.
Choosing habits that fit with your word of the year is such a great way to approach it Ophira. I love it! It means you’re more likely to follow through too because they’re aligned with your why. Checking in on your progress is so important too, once you know how far you’ve come it’s a lot easier to figure out the next step. Keep me posted, I’d love to know how it goes! Thanks for sharing! 🙂 x
Three habits for 2018: Say my prayers/meditate in the morning. Repeat my affirmations and look at my vision board. Exercise daily for 30 minutes. I love the idea of setting habits instead of goals. I am a firm believer in the compound effect and setting habits that are sustainable. I also love that you are being brave and using video to share your ideas. I hope you enjoy it more and more as you do it!
They are some great habits to adopt Lucy! I love using affirmations, they’re so powerful. I have a vision board too but it’s been a while since I looked at it – I must dig it out again! I’m so pleased you like the fact I’ve used video, I was so scared to hit the record button but actually enjoyed it in the end…I’m looking forward to recording my next one now! Thanks for sharing, have a great day! 🙂 x
For this reason, I never have resolutions. They fizzle out easily. I prefer having habits. For eg. I exercise 5-6 days a week without fail. Enjoyed your post.
That’s great you go for habits too Rachna! I’m glad you enjoyed the post, thanks for commenting 🙂 x
I agree, habits are easier to set and they tend to be more attainable then resolutions.
Absolutely Anne! Habits are much more acheivable. By doing them every day we get another step closer to our goals than we were the day before. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 x
Great post! I agree. Resolutions really fizzle out quickly if you aren’t creating change to make something a habit- something more long lasting.
Yes! Resolutions are short lived…creating a habit that’s long lasting is SO much better. What habits will you set Sara? I’d love to know! 🙂 x
This post is very inspirational. I’ve set one habit for 2018 which is being more present. Often it gets hard to really stop and enjoy the moment and I’m trying to be better about stopping to smell the roses. Thank you for sharing, this was a lovely post
That’s a great habit to set Jenny! You’re so right…it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind that we forget to stop and take stock of where we are and what we have. Thanks for sharing…let me know how it goes! 🙂 x
Here are my three habits:
1. Walk 10K steps every day…I’ve gotten a little lazy, so it’s time for me to get moving again!
2. Unplug one hour before bed…I REALLY want to make it through the LONG list of books I want to read, so I’m going to try switching off one hour before bed each night and curl up with my book instead.
3. Journal every day…whether it’s for 10 minutes or half an hour, first thing in the morning or before I go to bed, I want to spend a few minutes each day with my journal.
I’m far from mastering these yet and they’re definitely a work in progress, but I know that if I keep plugging away, over time they’re going to help me become the best version of myself.
What are yours? 🙂 x
I LOVE this post! I’m working on creating habits this year too: Yoga every morning to start my day, waking up earlier (before my kids) for some quiet time to study, journal, and set my goals for the day, and exercising every day!
Hey Jaime! I’m so pleased you liked this post. And that’s some great habits to have…especially getting up earlier, I love my quiet time in the mornings before everyone else is up. I don’t always manage to do it, but I feel so much better when I do. Good luck with them – let me know how you get on! Have a great day 🙂 x