25 Fun Resolutions for a Healthier, Happier, and More Fun-Filled Year

Tired of making the same old New Year’s resolutions, knowing full well you won’t stick to them?   

Even though most of us truly want to be healthier, get more exercise, and improve our daily lives, our resolve to do so just doesn’t seem strong enough for us to follow through.

Rather than repeating your old resolutions this year, try some of these culled from the lists of nine experts in women’s physical and mental health. 

You’re bound to find a few that not only help you live a better life, but that you’ll actually enjoy keeping!

This year, I resolve to:

1.   Smile more.  Laurie Steelsmith, N.D., L. Ac., author of Natural Choices for Women’s Health: How the Secrets of Natural and Chinese Medicine Can Create A Lifetime of Wellness, recommends looking at your reflection every day and giving yourself the gift of a loving smile.  This, according to Dr. Steelsmith, is an ancient Chinese exercise that helps nourish your heart.

2.     Bounce.  Can a mini-trampoline keep you young in body and spirit?  According to Cindy Cashman, a successful self-publisher and business woman, it can. She uses a rebounder (another name for a mini-tramp) to get in touch with her five-year old self every day, insisting that all that bouncing makes her feel energetic and alive. 

3.   Wind-up to unwind.  Sometimes nothing helps you unwind better than a few minutes of silliness.  I have a collection of wind-up toys and whenever I feel I’m wound just a little too tight, I set them all off at the same time.

4.      Make small changes.  Changing one small thing can change everything.  That’s the philosophy behind the Speaking of Women’s Health TAKE A PLEDGE FOR BETTER HEALTH, according to Dianne Dunkelman, CEO and Founder. (You can learn more about the pledge at www.speakingofwomenshealth.com).  Find a tiny step you’re willing to take now and pledge to do it, no matter how minor it may seem.

5.      Get curiouser and curiouser.  The more you want to know about the world around you, the more passionate you become about your life.  Curiosity also helps you stay open-minded and flexible, according to Syracuse Cultural Workers (www.syracuseculturalworkers.org), so you’ll be more willing to see more than one side of a debate and open to new ways of doing things.  To engage your curiosity, read, investigate, watch TV programs that stimulate your brain (like shows on The History Channel or PBS), take a class in something you know nothing about, or teach yourself a new skill.

6.      Make every step count.  A pedometer can be the most motivational piece of exercise equipment you can own.  I got one two years ago and every time I strap it on, I tend to walk longer and further, just to watch the miles and calories burned click off.  If you can log 10,000 steps a day, according to Judith Sherman Wolin, author of Smart Girls Do Dumbbells, that translates into about 275 extra calories burned a day or 100,375 a year!  Whether you choose an inexpensive pedometer or a fancy digital one that does everything except call a cab when you’ve walked too far from home, you’ll be surprised how effective it is at boosting your daily exercise.

7.      Go au natural.  Nature nourishes our bodies and souls, according to Linda Breen Pierce, author of Simplicity Lessons:  A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply, but we spend most of our days surrounded with unnatural things: cubicle walls, wall-to-wall-carpet, technology, etc.  Keep in touch with nature by touching the earth every day – either by walking barefoot (don’t do this in the snow unless you’re a hearty soul!) or gardening in the dirt (even if it’s a potted plant inside.) 

8.      Make pleasure a priority.  Wendy Maltz, a nationally recognized sex therapist and author of many books including Intimate Kisses: The Poetry of Sexual Pleasure suggests you write a list of things that bring you joy and make sure to do something from that list every week.  Wendy’s list includes drawing, baking, and dancing.  Yours might include walking your dogs, gardening, and listening to music. 

9.      Add more color.   Choose your fruits and vegetables as you do your friends – the more colorful the better.

10.     Water it down.  We all know we should drink more water and less coffee, tea and soda, but it can be hard to make the substitution.  Dr. Jyotsna Sahni, an internist at Canyon Ranch Health Spa in Tucson, where she practices women’s health and preventive medicine, recommends making water more interesting by adding a drop of essential oil of peppermint, spearmint, or orange.

11.  Be a fe-mail. Something as simple as presorting your mail as soon as you pick it up can help you feel more in control of your life.  Cindy Glovinsky, a therapist, professional organizer, and author of Making Peace with the Things in Your Life suggests putting junk mail in the recycle bin, sorting and distributing every family member’s mail, and putting the bills to be paid in a special basket and items that require action or filing in another basket.  When everything is in its place, you feel less stressed and more empowered to take on larger challenges.

12.  Wake up happy.  It’s simple really – before your feet hit the floor, say to yourself, “Today I choose happiness.  I will find the bright side, the good things, and the beauty in this day.”  By programming yourself to look for the best in your day, you’ll be much more likely to find it.  I do this every day and people always ask me how I stay so darned happy!

13.  Schedule fewer extracurricular activities.  Linda Breen Pierce suggests deciding how many hours a week you have to invest in activities not related to your priorities such as family, work, hygiene, exercise, sleep, and spiritual practices – and then sticking to that number.  For the past several years, I’ve made it a regular practice to take at least one thing off my To Do list every day, even if I haven’t done it (it feels good; try it!)

14.  Buy power tools.  Don’t let the guys in your life have all the fun!  There’s something empowering about owning your own power tool and knowing how to use it.  How about a rechargeable drill, a power-sander, and a power washer?  We are woman, hear us roar!

15.  Get fishy.  Not only does eating fish reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and caner, it can also improve your mood.  Dr. Sahni recommends fatty cold water fish like salmon, halibut and sardines.  And if you’re a vegetarian, you can still get important Omega 3 oils in avocados, walnuts, and flax.

16.  Be grateful for the bad stuff.  Being thankful for the good things in life is a great habit, but if you can also be thankful for the bad, you’ll lead a much less stressful and more joyful life.  Cindy Cashman (www.cindycashman.com) suggests looking out the window first thing in the morning and giving thanks for being alive and getting to experience another day on the planet.  And when things happen in your life that you really don’t appreciate, think ahead to the strength you will get from surviving them and be grateful for that.

17.  Listen.  We often think of communication skills as being the ability to say what we mean and mean what we say, but the art of communication is as much about closing our mouth as it is about opening it.  Diane Dunkelman has included “saying less and listening more to my adult children” among her own personal resolutions this year.

18.  Boost your sex drive by avoiding movies and TV shows that feature scenes of sexual abuse.  According to Wendy Maltz, exposure to these images can kill sexual desire.  Instead select movies that include romance and passion and that make you feel good about your own worth as a woman.

19.  Never end my day with the news.  Speaking of how television affects our own lives, I make it a habit never to watch the news or anything of a violent nature immediately before going to bed.  Sleep is a time to rest and become rejuvenated.  Images of trauma can sear themselves into your brain and keep you awake or interrupt your dreams.  Instead, end your day with something that makes you joyful.

20.  Become a morning person.  Linda Breen Pierce recommends going to sleep thirty minutes earlier and getting up thirty minutes earlier for meditation, journal writing, a quiet walk in nature, or just sitting on the porch listening to the birds sing.  The practice of spending time alone with yourself helps center and anchor you so that you don’t get lost in the midst of your busy, fast-paced life.

21.  Save it.  Money worries are one of the leading causes of stress in our lives.  Joline Godfrey, CEO of Independent Means, Inc. and author of Raising Financially Fit Kids Joline Godfrey recommends saving 15% more this year than last.  You may not have as much stuff, but you’ll have a lot more peace of mind.

22.  Schedule a “Fix It Day” once a month.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but if it is, put it on your schedule.  If you can’t fix it yourself, let a professional take care of it.  Cindy Glovinsky notes that much of the clutter in our lives is a result of things that don’t work piling up around the house.

23.  Put it on the calendar.  Instead of spending your time and energy wondering if and when you should go in for preventive health tests, Dr. Sahni recommends you sit down with your new calendar, choose a date, and schedule your Pap smear, mammogram, and bone density test.

24.  Have a fashion show once every six months.  Twice a year, drag all your clothes, shoes, and accessories out and model them for yourself.  If they don’t fit, don’t suit your sense of style any more, or just never get worn, pack them off to a local charity.  Cindy Glovinsky warns not to put them in bags and let them sit there where they’ll just add to the clutter and tempt you to change your mind – take them away immediately.

25.  Make a new funny friend.  Friendship is one of the healthiest things we women do in our lives.  Not only does having friends who make you laugh help you feel better in good times and bad, it also creates all kinds of healthy changes in your body – from reducing your risk of heart disease to improving your immune system.  Whenever you meet someone who makes you laugh really hard this year, invite them out to lunch.

Choose a few of these resolutions for your own this year and come December 31 of next year, you’ll probably be patting yourself on the back for keeping them all.