At the end of each year, we see 365 new days open up before us in which to do everything we want to do. Have you already given thought to your healthy resolutions for the new year? If one of your resolutions is to improve mental and physical well-being, bear in mind that everything happens by leading a healthier lifestyle.
As always, you’ll have good days and bad days, but the key to fulfilling our 2022 resolutions is to stick to them. If you’ve got no idea where to start, today we’ve got 10 very simple goals to kick off a healthy lifestyle, but first let’s discuss the importance of setting yourself a goal and fulfilling it.
healthy resolutions: The importance of having a good goal
Exercising, giving up smoking, saving money or losing weight are some of the most common New Year’s healthy resolutions that people set themselves year in, year out. Staying on track with 2021’s resolutions and coming up with a strategy to take on new challenges for 2022 is something that motivates people. Nevertheless, the brain can play tricks on us making it difficult to achieve, do you think it is possible to get around them?
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs indicates that, as you satisfy the most basic needs, the probability of fulfilling the highest goals increases. Each of our actions stems from the motivation to fulfill needs and these are ordered hierarchically according to the importance of personal well-being.
Therefore, having a general purpose in life will help us overcome difficulties, challenges and improve our quality of life. So, setting yourself a number of goals and striving to achieve them raises our own perception of ourselves and of the obstacles and difficulties we may face.
Setting healthy resolutions at the beginning of the year makes them more likely to be achieved through small daily actions. This, as a result, gives you a positive outlook over a specific period of time: the next 365 days. However, did you know that 80% of people fail or give up before March?
To achieve our goals we need to be patient, dedicated and put in a lot of effort. We’ll not get into a three-day weekly exercise routine overnight, as it is a matter of being constant and making it a part of your life. It’ll take three 21-day cycles, in other words, we’ll finally really be in the swing of things at the end of the first quarter. If we give up early, we won’t achieve it.
New Year’s healthy resolutions that we can keep
These last few years have turned our lives upside down. Therefore, now more than ever, is the time to stop and reflect on how to take care of our physical and mental health. We suggest having a look at the following list of New Year’s healthy resolutions that will help you lead a healthy and conscious life in 2022.
1. Eat healthier
This is one of the most important habits we can get into, as it has a direct impact on our health. Eating a balanced and healthy diet does not mean eating boring and bland food. Start by giving up processed foods and ensure you eat several servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
You can start with the glycemic index, but also remember that, as well as eating healthy, you should stay well hydrated. Drink water rather than soft drinks or alcoholic beverages.
2. Quit smoking or drinking
Smoking favors the development of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, emphysema and other diseases can be detrimental to our health. Set yourself the goal at the turn of the year and enough willpower within yourself to never go near a cigarette again.
If you want to improve your health, what better way to start than by giving up bad habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol?
3. Build healthier habits
Healthy habits could be, for example, walking to work or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. However, if you already do this and want to take it a step further, take a look at the following:
- Exercise: Exercising three times a week helps keep us in shape, rest better and prevent some diseases. It also helps us to feel better and be more motivated.
- Hiking: Spending time in nature helps us to reconnect with nature and ourselves, and to be calmer. What’s more, an activity such as this allows us to exercise and restore tranquility while getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
- Take up a new sport: Sport helps us to have more energy, but if you’re fed up with the usual exercises or team sports, how about trying an electrical stimulation training program. It has numerous health benefits and helps us to get in shape while relieving stress in an original, fast and effective way.
- Find a new hobby: Doing activities that make us happy and that we enjoy the most tests our abilities while clearing our minds and keeping us active. If you don’t have a healthy hobby, you could try meditation, mindfulness or yoga. You won’t regret it.
4. Learn something new
It’s never too late to learn to speak a new language, to learn to sew or to brush up on our cooking skills. Life is a long road full of different learning experiences that enrich us and help us to keep our brains active. Pick something you’ve always wanted to learn and devote the time to doing it this year.
5. Meditate
Meditation is important and, although it may not seem like a healthy habit per se, doing it on a daily basis helps us to relieve stress and clear our minds. Stop getting bogged down or worrying about the future with mindfulness, a discipline that trains you to be present wherever you are, in every moment.
Do guided meditations and see how you progressively get into a habit that you will not be able to break.
6. Physical exercise
One of the pillars to general well-being and a healthy and active life is physical activity. Physical activity can be adapted to your level of fitness and age, so there are no excuses.
What’s more, if it is combined with a healthy diet, we’ll not only improve our level of fitness, we’ll also strengthen our bones, and, in turn, prevent diseases such as osteoarthritis or back pain. It’ll also help to strengthen our immune system, control weight and improve joint mobility. It also releases endorphins, which will give us a very pleasant sensation, freeing us from built up stress and fatigue.
7. Get more and better rest
To be able to perform to the best of your ability day in day out, you need to get good rest. How can you do this? Getting into a sleep routine in which you avoid exercising after 20:00, drinking coffee after 18:00, eating dinner very late and using screens right before going to bed.
It is very important to give our body the rest it needs, since this is when the body repairs and regenerates itself. Adults should sleep between 7 and 9 hours.
8. Switch off from the digital world
We are increasingly glued to our mobile devices and screens in general. We recommend not being constantly on your cell phone and to do other activities whether alone or with our loved ones.
Keep track of time you spend on your cell phone, computer or tablet, and gradually reduce screen time to focus on leisure time. Yoga, meditation, reading, physical exercise or other activities that we can do, will prevent leading a sedentary lifestyle, and will be of great help when it comes to stopping yourself from being constantly glued to technology.
9. Acquire environmentally sustainable habits
It’s as important to take care of ourselves as it is to take care of everything around us, as it’ll have an impact on our well-being and that of our loved ones. So, acquiring habits such as recycling, reusing or saving energy are not only good for our wallets, they are good for the entire planet.
Take care of the environment and take care of your health. Cut down on air pollution with healthy practices such as walking and cut down, as much as possible, on light and noise pollution.
Cycling, walking or using public transport, in short, changing the way we consume electricity at home and in the office.
10. Care for loved ones
We often take our loved ones for granted, but we don’t give them the time they deserve. The saying ‘’you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’’ often rings true.
Spend quality time with your partner, family and friends. Strengthening our relationships provides us with positive feelings such as peace of mind, security, while also clearing our mind. If you have no real time to spend a few hours with them, call them or send them a message
This small and simple healthy habit will help us to stay in a good mood and improve our mental health and that of our loved ones.
Even if your day-to-day life is a whirlwind in which you think you have barely any time, if you set yourself the goal of fulfilling several of the healthy resolutions we’ve suggested, it’ll be very easy. Why not give it a go? Let us know in the comments about your experience with other New Year’s resolutions and what your goals are for 2022. We’ll read them!
