I’ve always been a big fan of New Year's Resolutions. They give you a chance to reflect on the past year and evaluate what is working well in your life and what areas could use a slight improvement; there is definitely something about a fresh beginning that encourages us to believe we can change.
Unfortunately, the existence of Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day, demonstrates the natural state of humans to continue in their well-established behavioural patterns by which most people have dropped their resolutions.
This ‘special’ day is on January 17th. The theory is that it takes three weeks to form a habit, which probably explains why most people fail and the 'ditch-the-resolution day' falls just short of 3 weeks!
While it is probable that there are a number of general resolutions we all promise ourselves we will keep, like watching less television, doing more exercise, eating more greens, drinking less alcohol and quitting smoking, there are some that are specific to life as an expat in Spain. So I have pulled together a list of 9 resolutions that might make your life a little happier over 2023. If you have thought of doing any of these or can fill in Number 10 please leave a comment...
1. Improve my Spanish
2. Start following a ‘real’ Mediterranean diet
3. Socialise more with Spanish people
4. Learn more about Spanish culture
5. See more of mainland Spain
6. Cut back on the alcohol/stop smoking
7. Watch more Spanish television and less UK television
8. Take up a new hobby
9. Read a Spanish newspaper at least once a day
10.....?
Advice on achieving your goal!
Keep it real.
It’s one thing to be excited about a goal, it’s another to achieve it. Make sure you set reasonable goals and have a plan to make it work through the year.
Don’t overload yourself.
Pick one or two goals and stick with them. Resolving to change 20 different aspects of your life in one year is only going to give you more things to worry about and fix at the end of the next year.
Be specific
Details matter; make a plan. Also, break down larger goals into smaller ones so they’re easier to achieve. This will help you set clearer and more achievable targets.
Reward yourself
Every time you reach a goal or a mini-goal, treat yourself. You’ve done a good job, you need to enjoy it so you can keep at it and hit the next milestone.
Good luck with your New Year's resolutions