As we ring in the new year, many of us will be sticking to our favorite New Year's resolutions. From getting more exercise to eating better, there are plenty of common goals people set for themselves each year. But what are the most popular resolutions? We asked around and gathered up 15 of the most common New Year's resolutions people make. Take a look and see if you can find one you want to try this year! Afterward, we’ll give you tips on sticking to your resolutions and highlight reasons why people abandon their resolves.
Stop Checking Your Phone at Dinner
Cozy up with your significant other this winter break by doing something incredibly 2000: putting your phone away. By now, you're probably used to looking at Instagram about 20 times an hour anyway—why not take 2022 as the year that you stop? You don't need your phone for entertainment when actual humans are right in front of you. This resolution has double the incentive because it will make your family dinners more enjoyable and improve your relationship with whomever you're eating with.
Eat Healthier
It appears that the mark of a responsible adult consists in eating more greens and fresh fruits. So, go ahead and pick up some organic apples or oranges at the grocery store. Pay attention to what's going into your body throughout 2022. If there ever were a time to eat healthier, it would be now. Not only is this good for taking care of yourself, but being healthy can also help you save money down the line.
Learn to Cook
Cooking may not be everyone's specialty, but 2022 should change that! The number one reason people don't cook is that they lack confidence. But the best way to gain confidence is to jump in headfirst, so try out different recipes this year, even if you consider yourself to be the world's worst chef. My parents always told me that cooking isn't an exact science anyway.
Spend More Time Outside
There's nothing like some fresh air to get you pumped for the new year! Try not to feel too guilty about spending time outside (or even taking a mini-vacation) in 2022. Rest is essential, but it should be balanced out by physical activity too.
Learn Some New Skills
You might think this sounds daunting, but it doesn't have to be. If you're creative, try painting or drawing. Or, why not learn a new language? 2022 is your year to try something new and make yourself useful. This resolution will be good for personal growth as well as professional development—plus, it's always better to have additional skills under your belt anyway.
Speak Your Mind
Did you ever think that 2022 would come out of nowhere and convince you to work on becoming a more confident person? It seems that this year has been full of surprises! If something is bothering you about someone else's behavior, try saying something about it rather than stewing silently in anger. Chances are this won't be easy at first, but with enough practice, speaking up will become second nature.
Listen More
We all know that 2022 will have its fair share of frustrations, but don't let yourself get carried away by your emotions. It's essential to recognize when someone else is trying to tell you something and then listen without interrupting or judging their message. Not only does this resolution apply directly in your interpersonal relationships, but it also comes in handy when listening to the news or even reading an article online.
Take More Risks
How much are you willing to change? Try taking a few risks this year so that you can expand your comfort zone and discover who you really want to become. You might totally tank (or at least feel like you're about to), but don't let that stop you. Take the chance to learn what it's like to play outside of your comfort zone in 2022.
Check Your Privilege
Checking your privilege means looking at yourself critically and recognizing where you have power in certain situations—and seeing how your behavior might unintentionally affect others with less power than you do.
Spend Less Time Online
We all know how addicting it can feel to scroll through social media, and you probably love the way it makes you feel less alone in this world, but there's no need to spend all of your time trapped within a glowing rectangle. There's plenty more to life than the Internet—try getting out and doing something instead.
Apologize MoreIf you've done something wrong, you should always apologize (unless it seriously isn't your fault). It doesn't matter if someone else has forgiven you or not; what matters is that you attempted to clear up any misunderstandings and that you took responsibility for your actions. Even better, if someone else seems like they're about to apologize and doesn't follow through, be brave enough to say, "No, I'm sorry—I was wrong too." There's nothing worse than regretting things you didn't say.
Take a Class
Take a new dance class or learn how to paint using watercolors or acrylics. Now is the time to see if you have what it takes to become an artist, so pick up your supplies and get going! Painting has been proven to be one of the best ways to focus your energy on something creative and stimulating. You will feel refreshed by the experience and be able to start with a fresh perspective.
Watch Less TV
Studies have proven that people who watch too much TV tend to be obese, drink too much soda, eat tons of fast food and don't exercise enough; sound familiar? So try replacing one hour or two hours daily with some physical activity like jogging, rollerblading, playing tennis etc. Not only will you benefit from this activity, but you will also have more time to read or do anything else that interests you.
Quit smoking
For those unfortunate people who are smokers, quitting smoking can make all the difference in their life. Quitting now might even help prevent lung cancer from developing later on in their lives! So now is the time to quit smoking and start a new healthier lifestyle.
Start a Business
How about starting a business that might bring in some extra cash for those daily expenses or even help pay off some debts? It might be challenging at first, but this is also an excellent opportunity to eliminate your fear of failure or success by learning something new in the process.
Guidelines When Making Resolutions
“Goals without rules are dreams, but goals with plans are resolutions!”
Don’t Make Vague and Unstructured Resolutions.
After several failed attempts, making the same resolution calls for a reexamination of that goal. For example, "exercising more" is a popular resolution many people make, but it doesn't provide enough guidance on how much exercise is needed to make a difference in your life. It also fails to specify what you should be exercising–should it be running or weights? Furthermore, if you haven't exercised regularly for a while, it can be difficult to determine where to start from. Vague resolutions don't give us enough information about what we need to change and leave us feeling unfocused and confused.
Alternatively, try using implementation intentions to structure more specific goals that are your first step toward big-picture resolutions. Implementation intentions are action-based plans that connect the motivation for change with a specific situation in which you're likely to act on this motivation. For example, if your New Year's resolution is to go running more regularly, an implementation intention would be something more practical like "after I finish my breakfast each morning, I will immediately put my running clothes on."
Plan For The Future You Want
It can be difficult for people who want to make significant changes in their lives when they don't have a clear picture of what aspects of their life need improvement and how these improvements will affect other aspects of their lives. They may plan out the first month or so of change but fail to take into account what might happen further down the line. It's important that when planning changes in our lives, we also think about the future consequences they are likely to have, not just how they will benefit us now.
For example, if your New Year's resolution is to quit smoking in the new year, you should consider the effects that not smoking will have on your energy levels, your social life, and so on. Future consequences play a significant role in what we choose to do in our lives. Research has shown that our ability to resist immediate gratification for greater rewards later is significantly impaired when imagining future scenarios.
Use Your Failures As Stepping Stones To Success
People tend to look at their past behavior negatively because of all their mistakes in the past year. If we focus too much on our failures and not enough on how we can use them as stepping stones for success, we end up feeling like we're doomed, and our resolutions will never happen. Research consistently shows that although perfectionism leads us to set higher standards for our performance, it also holds us back because it makes us not want to try to achieve things beyond our abilities.
Start Small
One of the best ways to stay motivated is by setting short-term goals rather than all-or-nothing resolutions. Don’t try to reinvent yourself in one grandiose gesture. Incremental changes work much better because they don’t create such a massive upheaval in your life at once. So, don’t try and go from being a couch potato to running a marathon. Instead, start small by walking around the block with your family or going on a hike with that special person. Do that consistently and then move up to jogging one mile before moving into a full-fledged workout regimen.
Make Your Resolution Attainable
Instead of setting out to lose 50 pounds in the next year, try a more reasonable goal, such as losing one pound each week. By making small changes over time, you will accumulate large results.
Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself
If you have not met all of your resolutions for the month, do not beat yourself up about it. Give yourself room for mistakes, and don’t let them affect your motivation or self-esteem. Setbacks are part of life, so if you happen to fall off track once or twice, that is ok.
Post it Where you Will See it Everyday
By writing down your goals and putting them somewhere that you will be forced to look at them multiple times throughout the day, it will make reaching those resolutions easier. Try taping your list on your bathroom mirror or even on your fridge. This way, every time you brush your teeth, eat dinner, etc., you are reminded of what is important to accomplish!
Conclusion
The end of the year is a great time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and those things that didn’t go as well. It also serves as an opportunity for us to set new goals and resolutions for next year. We all want to make 2022 our best yet, so here are 15 popular New Year resolutions you might consider making this January!
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