Now that 2014 is officially over and the new year has begun,  everyone (well maybe not every one) is beginning to start the road towards accomplishing their new year’s resolutions. But should our new years resolutions be about making these drastic changes that we feel will make our lives better or should we tweak things that were not successful or working for you before (this could be changing a mindset, or maybe learning how to become a better worker; whatever it may be). When I think about the idea behind new year’s resolutions, it almost makes sense to me why many of us do not accomplish them by the end of the year. Usually these resolutions revolve around us trying to change our lives by doing something completely different – loosing weight by going on a more extreme diet and exercising more, making more money, etc. But maybe the way to accomplish things like being in better shape or more prosperous financially is more than making drastic changes in our lives, which are harder to stay committed to. Maybe, instead, it is about modifying what hasn’t been working for us previously and by doing this allowing our lives to become better on their own, without force.

So if you were to solely focus, or make it your main focus, to modify aspects of your life, like you work ethic and motivation, your morning routine to make you happier at the start of the day, or maybe even getting rid of negative people in your life. Any of these changes in your life may not give you the best body or feel like large resolutions to accomplish, but they would have a major impact on your life. The changes may start off small, but overtime these changes can help you live an enjoyable and happy life.

There are a ton of ways to change your routine, on top of the many routines you have in your life. Think about it, when you look at your life there tends to be a pattern in your behavior. As humans, we often like consistency which can help keep our lives stable but can also cause us to get too comfortable which can lead to mistakes or errors. I found a few different articles on changing your routine for 2015. They may not fit what you’re looking to change in your life, but they can still inspire some insight into what you could better.

The first article I found was “4 Habits That Are Making You Unhappy.” I added this article to simply get your mind to start reviewing your own life and see what makes you unhappy. The author, Tina Williamson, explains that these 4 habits she believes are making you unhappy include

1. Overindulging on good things
2. Clinging to relationships
3. Resisting change
4. Buying things we think will make us happy

I think each of us has or is currently doing one or all of these things in our lives. Like I said previously above, as humans we often desire and gravitate towards comfort and consistency – which is us resisting change – and it holds us back. I even think the last one, buying things we think will make us happy, could even be more general and include things like being thin or having the nicer clothes and possessions, as not all relate happiness with buying, but rather more in relation to material items in general including the ideal body image. To read more about each of these 4 habits, click on the article title or this link.

Once you have decided what habits have caused you unhappiness in 2014, maybe think about starting your days off completely different – having a “change” in your days (routine) may allow more change in you life. The other article I found was “8 Things Happy People Do Every Morning.” Beginning each day in a positive way can not only allow you to not feel as cranky in the mornings, but also cause a ripple effect in your life – you can begin to see your days become more positive and soon, your life. The 8 morning habits of happy people are

1. They wake up with a sense of gratitude
2. They begin anew each and every morning
3. They take part in prayer, affirmation, or meditation
4. They read
5. They keep things simple and don’t rush out the door.
6. They exercise
7. They get some fresh air
8. They savor the beauty of their surroundings and practice being present in the moment

Now look at that – these 8 things include incorporating exercise into your life; so if you were looking to become healthier and loose weight, exercising in the morning will help you reach that goal and allow you to become happier. All 8 of these things allows us to slow down in this crazy, hectic, fast-paced world. We often get so caught up in keeping up with it, that we forget to take a step back. This idea of taking a step back in our lives is a topic I have previously written about. When we do this, we are able to become more relaxed and relieve a lot of the stress that we have. Enjoying our mornings can be one way of allowing ourselves to catch up with life without stressing ourselves out; we can do it our way and as slow as we want.

As I said before, there are many different routines that we may want to change and different ways of going about changing them. Ultimately, it is up to you to find that motivation and remind yourself what needs to be improved.

If you or someone you know is finding it hard to motivate yourself/themselves to change life’s routine, talking with someone, such as a Life Coach can help. Please visit us at Life Skills Resource Group Orlando or call us at 407.355.7378  to schedule a free phone consultation. Our Orlando Licensed Mental Health Counselors for Individual Counseling in Orlando, our Orlando Life Coach or our Orlando Child Counselors, Orlando Adolescent Therapists, and Orlando Teen Counselors would be happy to sit down with you and help you figure out how to change this.

Wishing you all happiness and health in 2015, Sabina.