6 New Years Resolutions for a Better Personal and Professional Life in 2018

6 New Years Resolutions for a Better Personal and Professional Life in 2018 You returned to work bright and early on January 2nd, and I bet the first person you encountered in the break room turned to you, perky and upbeat, and asked So, what are your New Years resolutions for 2018?Did you have an answer ready?What inclines us toward making New Years resolutions, anyway? In attorney-speak,were dealing with what is called a bright-line point (derived from the bright-line rule), which means a definite cutoff point an exact moment in time, if you will that distinguishes the past from the future. January 1st is probably the most widely celebrated bright-line point in menschlich existence. We can practically feel the cosmic shift as the calendar transitions from old year to new, inspiring us toward self-reflection and personal improvement.But no matter how sincere and committed you may be about your resolutions, the statistical fact is youll abandon them by mid-February.What goes wrong? Why do so many of our resolutions fail? Most likely, there are several factors at work. Its important to think of resolutions in the same way we think of goals. In order to succeed in achieving any goal, the goal itself must have several vital characteristics.It must be behaviorally describable, reasonable, quantifiable, measurable, and set within a definite time frame. Oftentimes, our New Years resolutions are the exact opposite amorphous, unaccomplishable, and structureless.If you want yourresolutions to take root and flourish this year, start by wording them in a way that connotlagees both action and consequence. For instance, instead of saying, Im going to lose weight, say, Im going to practice healthful eating habits that include choosing lower-calorie options, and in so doing, I will reach my target weight by mid-April. Instead of saying, Im going to organize my office, say, On January 8th, I will begin the practice of always placing my most i mportant files in a special folder on my laptop where they will be instantly available when needed.Next, make sure you truly buy into your resolution. If you dont really care about your resolution, it will be very difficult to find the energy toachieve it. Sticking to New Years resolutions can be tough work If you halfheartedly say, I need to clean out my filing cabinet, but your filing cabinet doesnt actually bug you to the point of taking action, it probably isnt going to happen.Theres nothing wrong with doing some soul-searching and realizing that you really dont mind your messy desk, or that youve actually become friends with that pile of old trade journals in the corner of your office. Theyre your resolutions and no one elses, and if you are honest with yourself, you wont waste valuable time and energy pretending to care about things that dont really matter to you.Finally, be sure to have a little fun along the way Think of a few resolutions that will make you healthier, happie r, and mora satisfied with your life. We all toss a few of the old standbys into the mix, like promptly returning all phone calls or cleaning out my inbox each Friday, but my personal favorites and the ones that make me feel most triumphant when I accomplish them are the ones that make me a better person, both mentally and physically. Trust me When youre feeling great about yourself, the most amazing things seem to just happen in your life. Your work performance improves, your energy increases, youre more pleasant to be around, youre more likely to be noticed for promotion, and your self-esteem soars.I assume that youre going to come up with some of those typical resolutions on your own, so to add to your list of usual suspects, here are six out-of-the-box New Years resolution that are quantifiable, readily doable, and downright awesome Perhaps you should give them a try?1. Get Some Quality SleepYes, you, the busy person who doesnt have time for such nonsense. Let me tell you the honest truth about sleep You, just like every other mammal, need a certain amount of sleep in each 24-hour period.Kitty cats and possibly my college-age sons need 15-18 hours a day. Horses need about 2.5-3 hours. For humans, its8-9 hours. Its a biological programming thing, and you cant cheat Mother Nature. You need all of your sleep, every night, for a continuous 8-9 hours.Sleep allows all sorts of good things to happen. Your body repairs itself, big time, when youre sleeping. You grow new white blood cells to fight off infections. Your heart rate decreases, giving your hardworking heart muscles a tiny break. Your eyeballs relax and rehydrate. You dream, which is essential to your mental health. Your brain decides what to send to long-term memory and what to discard from the days activities. The research is extensive on this topic, and its indisputable You must have your sleep.To gain the optimum benefit from your sleep, do your best to go to bed at the same time and sleep the sa me amount of time each night.2. Make Sure Youre Properly FueledTheres so much information out there these days about what we should and shouldnt eat. Its no wonder so many of us throw in the towel (or the kale) and head for the Cheetos. However, if you think logically and listen to reason and to your body then youll know almost intuitively how to navigate through the grocery store or buffet line. Its not so difficult Each and every day, you need to eat some protein, carbohydrates, and, yes, fats. Theyre all essential to your health.Here are three super simple rules of thumbStick to lean proteins and low-glycemic carbs as much as possible, and avoid all trans fats.Weight gain, loss, or maintenance is a simple formula that you already know. To gain weight, you must eat more calories than you burn. To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than you burn. To maintain your weight, you must eat the exact number of calories that you burn. We like to pretend its not that simple, but bel ieve me, thats how it works.In your heart of hearts, you know that if you cant pronounce the stuff that goes into your frozen TV dinner or your QuickTrip microwave burrito, its probably not really a food, and you probably shouldnt be eating it.Calm down about all the wacky diets and just eat sensibly. You already know how.3. Get Some ExerciseAgain, its easy to be overwhelmed by all the conflicting information about exercise, but just like diet, exercise doesnt have to be that complicated.If you cant do anything else, just move Take a walk. Do some stretching. Lift some weights and carrying small children and groceries does count. Before you tell me that you dont like to get sweaty, or you dont have the time, or work is more important than exercise, let me simplify things. Yes, there are recommendations for how much and what type of exercise you should get, butlets start with two uncomplicated guidelinesGet some aerobic exercise and some weight-bearing exercise each and every week. F ive days a week is a nice goal.Any amount of physical activity is better than noneJust get out there and do something. Youll feel better, youll have more energy, youll sleep better, youll reduce your chances of developing a myriad of nasty diseases, and youll be more productive, to name just a few proven benefits of exercise.4. Calm Your hausintern ChatterboxYou dont have to be the Dalai Lama to meditate. You dont even have to learn formal meditation methods to benefit from quieting your mind. Much like exercise, doing some amount of mind-calming practice in some form is better than doing nothing at all.Some people will tell you it must be done in the morning. Others will tell you that 15 minutes per day is optimal. I worry that these rules are simply easy excuses for not trying e.g., Im way too busy in the morning or I simply dont have 15 minutes to devote to meditating.Instead, heres what I suggestFind a quiet place, if possible, although you can also do this in Grand Central Sta tion if you have no other choice. Sit down on the floor, in a chair dont worry about where. Close your eyes, if you wish.Commit to 2-3 minutes of mind-calming per session. Dont even call it meditation unless you want to. You dont want to get all hung up on the name and then decide you dont have the skills to pull it off.As you relax, rather than thinking thoughts, put your mind in neutral. To do this, you can repeat a word (either silently or aloud) like love or peace. You can also say a calming phrase like I am bathed in a beautiful light, or you can slowly count from one to ten over and over. Counting, or using a word or phrase, is sometimes called your mantra.Know ahead of time that your mind will wander around and cook up all sorts of interesting things to think about and thats perfectly okay Itll happen, but that doesnt mean youre not reaping the benefits. It simply means that you have a human brain, programmed to stay active until you allow it to take a breather. When you no tice that youvestarted thinking thoughts again, simply return to neutral by going back to your mantra.Tryto practice mind-calming every day. If you miss a day, or a week, or even a year, you know what to do Love yourself and start again. The benefits of this practice are amazing Among them are lower blood pressure, better focus, and mood improvement.5. HydrateTalk about conflicting research. That old eight glasses per day standard is pretty much out the window. Dont even bother to look up whats replaced it youll only walk away confused. So let me shed some light on the subject and untangle a few things.Your body is made up of 60 percent water. Literally every system in your body needs water to function. If you become dehydrated, all sorts of bad things can happen, from headaches and constipation to impaired thinkingand kidney stones. Water helps regulate your body temperature, it improves your cognitive functioning, and it lubricates your joints. You need to increase your water inta ke when you exercise, if youre in a hot climate, or if youre at an altitude ofhigher than approximately 8,000 feet.But how much water should you be drinking?Current guidelines recommendwomen drink approximately 72 ounces/9 cups per day for men, its approximately 104 ounces/13 cups per day.The keyword is approximate. Were all different shapes, sizes, and ages, and the guidelines varyfor children, older adults, and pregnant or breastfeeding women, so check with your health care practitioner if you fall into one of those categories.Now, are you ready for some good news? You may have heard the alarming warning from a well-meaning newscaster that if youre thirsty, youre already seriously dehydrated. Well, thats not quite true. Our bodies are smart. They know when we need water and they tell us by becoming thirsty So the next time you realize that you really need a drink of water, dont panic. Just find some water and have a nice long drink. Youll be just fine, I promise.When someone a r eceptionist, your coworker, your grandmother, whoever offers you water,accept it. By simply making a commitment to drink all the water youre offered during the course of a day, youll increase your intake substantially.6. SmileIve saved the best for last. Not only is this my favorite resolution on the list, it is possibly also the most important for both you and everyone around you. Whats more, its easy, fun, and completely within your grasp. In essence, its the perfect resolution.Smiling, like laughing, is simply one of those things our bodies love to do. When you smile, a cascade of wonderful chemical fireworks goes off in your brain and your body. It doesnt even have to be areal smile to get the effects. Your brain doesnt distinguish between whether youre playing with a puppy or faking a smile at your annoying coworker. When your brain senses your facial muscles moving into smile position, it releases endorphins, which trigger a positive feeling in your body.The more you smile, t he more endorphins are released, and the happier you feel. Endorphins are also stress reducers and natural painkillers. Some studies show that endorphins work better than ibuprofen and acetaminophen.If all this good news isnt enough to make you smile, studies show that smiling people appear more attractive, approachable, and anspruchsvoll Studies also show that its nearly physically impossible for people to look at a smiling person and not smile themselves, so smiling is quite literally contagious.If you can manage to nail just one or two of these resolutions, you will improve your quality of life, your energy levels, and your ability to tackle challenges I guarantee it. Once youre feeling like the superhero you are, you can always add resolutions like leaping tall buildings in a single bound or seeing through walls with X-ray vision to your list.But maybe wait until next year for that.Denise Dudleyis the author ofWork It Get In, Get Noticed, Get Promoted. Connect with Dudley onFac ebook.