The New Year is a time to celebrate and be jolly but it is also a time to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the year to come. Many people make resolutions about losing weight, finding love, saving money, and other annual New Year's resolution staples, but too often what people want to change is too broad, or too hard to accomplish. This year make yourself some resolutions that are actually attainable! Take a look inward and figure out what it is about your life that you like, and what about your life that you don’t like, and then make resolution decisions based off of those findings. Maybe some of your resolutions will match ours and you can start off this year on a great foot with these tips & suggestions.

Be Healthier! Every year the one thing on almost everyone’s New Year’s resolution list is to be healthier and lose weight. Yet is seems like almost every year those same people are still making the same resolution! This year beat the odds by making a point to exercise more. Take a walk around the block, play Just Dance for an hour on the Wii, head to a local recreation center to play basketball with some buds, or join a Yoga class. When it comes to eating better add more vegetables to your meals, watch out for portion sizes and cook at home more often so you know exactly what’s going in your food. There are also mobile phone apps, like MyFitnessPal, which are easy to use and help track your calories and weight loss.

Help Out Others! We’re in the season of giving, so why not give back to those in need! Go donate blood at a blood drive, start your own non-perishable can collection for a local food bank, send a letter to a soldier overseas, etc.

Spend More Time With Family! Family is important and if you feel like you haven’t made a lot of time lately to spend time with your family be sure to make time this year! Little things like, stopping by for lunch, driving a family member to the airport, or even just talking on the phone for 20 minutes, can really go a long way.

Learn Something New! It is never too late, or too early, to learn something new! Even if going back to school is completely out of the question for you there are tons of other ways to learn. Head to the library to take out books on a new skill, start listening to a podcast about something you’re interested in, watch an informative documentary on Netflix.

Enjoy Life More! Life can get very hectic, but the whole point of having a life is so you can live it! Take advantage of the time you have by taking up a new hobby, planning a trip, conquering a fear, going out to that new restaurant you’ve been eyeing, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Shop Locally More! Shopping locally is a great thing to do. It helps boost the economy, and supports local businesses and entrepreneurs. Now, while shopping locally can at times be more expensive than shopping commercially, that is not always the case. Instead of purchasing your $5 latte from Starbucks tomorrow morning why not stop by a local coffee shop, start up a conversation with the owner and try something new there for less than that $5 you would have spend at Starbucks.

Speak Your Mind More Often! Too often, especially in the workplace and in family life, people are drowned out by everything and everyone around them. Make it a point this year to speak your mind more often. Like, if you have a great idea for an upcoming work project inform your superior of your idea! Who knows, maybe your idea will be a hit! But you’ll never know until you speak up.

Listen Better! In conjunction with the last resolution, while you should speak your mind more often, you should also be capable of being a good listener and letting others get their points across too. When someone is talking to you listen to them, don’t play with your phone while they talk or just stand there waiting for your turn to speak, really listen.

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