5 Totally Relevant and Doable Resolutions

Hot take: New Year’s Resolutions are a scam. Dropping them feels outlandishly shameful, despite the fact that January you almost never knows what’s right for next December’s you. Maybe the January 2019 version of yourself wants to do a year long stint in vegetarianism, only to find out two weeks later that she feels lightheaded without meat in her diet. Ordinarily this situation would be shameless, but it feels like there’s more at stake when using the new year to institute a radical life change. That’s the issue with resolutions: they’re often extremist.

Ironically, I still have a resolution for myself this year. It’s not something I said out loud when the ball dropped, but it’s something I’ve been living out subconsciously ever since then. An anti-resolution of sorts, I’ve been making choices to explore the grey area of life, not to be so black and white or extreme. And in the process, I’ve discovered that the best kind of resolutions live in that same grey area. So with that in mind, check out this list of chiller, healthier resolutions.

1. Explore more

A lot of people make resolutions to travel and fully intend on doing so… until the Christmas bonus runs out and you stare at your December checking account history in horror. Things happen financially and personally that anchor us to our homes all the time, which is why resolving to explore sounds like a better resolution than resolving to travel. If your backpacking trip to Southeast Asia ends up panning out by Spring, that’s fabulous. If it doesn’t, no worries: go on the best hike in your area, take a road trip to visit that friend who lives just a little too far away, or start saying yes to new cultural experiences.

2. Keep self-love on the brain

Capitalism’s foray into self-care might make you think you have to spend hundreds of dollars to love yourself, but that’s absolute BS. Noticing when you have negative self-talk promotes self love. So does carrying around a reusable water bottle to keep yourself hydrated. Same goes for giving into your body’s cravings once in a while. You don’t need a subscription box or a bath bomb to be kind to yourself.

3. Go to therapy

If you can afford it, and have been thinking about going for a while, resolve to go just once in 2019. The sooner the better, but no pressure, we’re chill here. If you just make a single appointment it’s much easier for more to follow, so you really only have to take the leap once.

4. Spend more time outdoors

There’s no resolution like resolving to give your body what it needs. Humans weren’t meant to live in little cubes under fluorescent lights. Unfortunately, we also weren’t meant to sprawl on floor pillows drinking wine with our friends while candles and incense light the room 24/7 either (I, too, am bummed about this recent revelation). Even though the great indoors offer a lot of joy, we need time outside to make our bodies truly happy. Whether it’s taking your pet or child for a stroll through the park, walking to work instead of taking public transportation, or turning your weekly coffee with a friend into a walk around the neighborhood instead, making a place for the outdoors in your life sounds like a great resolution.

5. Tap into your long lost creative side

Remember art class? There’s a reason why our (otherwise pretty messed up) American school system made us do that once a week. If you used to define yourself as an artist but haven’t done anything creative in a while, stop that! Resolve to make a vision board, decorate the front of your journal with a collage, doodle, paint, knit, write, or do whatever else art means to you. You don’t need to have an exact regime either, just gather whatever materials you need and put them in a space where you’ll see them often. The creative juice-flowing will definitely follow.

Feature photo by Noah Buscher.