7 Alternative New Year’s Resolutions Because YOLO!

New Year's resolutions off the beaten path.

Make New Year’s resolutions that matter because you only live once.

With the new year approaching, you may be tempted to give into making lame New Year’s resolutions. Don’t do it. Losing weight, becoming more organized, and saving more money are just overrated. These are the kind of resolutions that we all are doomed to fail at because they are super boring and just don’t capture the imagination. Instead, choose alternative resolutions that are outside your comfort zone and inspire you to try something new. While there is value in saving money and getting healthier, the start of a new year is time for bigger stuff.

7 Alternative New Year’s Resolutions

  1. Become an expert. Commit to beginning the journey of becoming an expert this year. It’s said it takes 10 years of practice and study to become an expert. Whether it’s gardening, playing chess, or beekeeping, take up something with the goal of making it to expert status in 10 years.
  2. Literary travel. Follow the protagonist of your favorite book and make a pilgrimage to the setting featured in the book. Whether it’s Northern California from “Sideways” or Savannah, GA from “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” travel to the place from your favorite book.
  3. Learn to say “yes” more often. As a person who used to say no to plans and opportunities, I started saying yes more, and it’s changed my life. Learning to say yes can take lead you down unexpected paths. Give it a try this year and see if it works for you.
  4. Reskill. Reskilling is about becoming a more resilient and self-reliant person, helping to create a more sustainable future and learning to appreciate “lost” skills, like home canning, gardening, beekeeping, home brewing, and more. Give it a try this year.
  5. Give into your desire to become a crazy cat lady, within reason of course. If you have a living situation that allows you to have cats, why not add 1 or 2 more, as long you can afford to care for them. Be proud of your cat lady status. Own it.
  6. Get involved. Whether you decide to fight City Hall or Congress, stop being an armchair activist, take up a cause, and get actively engaged in making a difference in your community or the world.
  7. Try something new–every week. Whether it’s trying a new food, finally taking up yoga, reading a new genre, or volunteering at the local food bank, commit to giving something new a try each week in the new year.

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Image: Silhoutte 2016 via Shutterstock

Jen Wallace

Jen Wallace shares her indie life by writing about making, creating, cooking, learning, playing, decorating, and pretty much anything else that strikes her fancy from indie biz tips to the modern history of the American hemline.