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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The post 7 Alternative New Year’s Resolutions Because YOLO! appeared first on EcoSalon.

I’m not the creative type. Have you uttered these words? Guess what, we are all the creative type and need to let that little light shine. Maybe you don’t wish to spend several hours of your day in creation mode. That’s okay. A little dab may do ya. Here’s why being creative leads to a happier, more meaningful existence.

You know when a new book by one of your favorite author’s is about to come out and it feels like Christmas is approaching? That is how I felt about the upcoming arrival of Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book, “Big Magic.” Well, me and anyone else who loves to write.

This book was going to tell us all about moving through writer’s block and willing up some inspiration. Right? “Big Magic,” which hit the stands last month, is actually more a handbook on living a fulfilled existence. For all of us.

We know that Gilbert can get philosophical. “Eat, Pray, Love” was a pretty deep journey of self discovery, no? So it should come as no surprise that she views inspiration, idea generation, and being creative on a rather cosmic level.

Those who steer clear of anything leaning toward woo-woo may be turned off by the thought of ideas as energy beings. In “Big Magic,” Gilbert shares her take on ideas as having a will of their own and desire to be made manifest in the world. And that if your idea is not brought to fruition in a reasonably timely manner, it will leave you and go to someone else who will make it happen.

Are you having a moment? Or maybe you are ready to quit reading now. Consider this…

All of those times you’ve seen a product or idea working in the world and said to yourself ‘That was my idea!’ you were probably right. It was your idea. Until you didn’t do it and the poor little idea was left no choice but to take up residency somewhere it would receive more attention and better care. You not only missed the opportunity to possibly see success with your idea, you missed out on the creation part.

So what is so important about being creative? Gilbert calls it courage. Taking the leap to do something you really want to do, big or small, is more interesting, fulfilling, and creates more meaning in life than letting fear get the best of you.

Who says we are living in fear? Back to those ideas that didn’t see the light of day. All of the notions let go of and desires tossed aside. What else was holding you back other than fear? As Gilbert maintains, fear and creativity go hand in hand.

You don’t have to create the next big best seller or become a famous artist or anything else so public or celeb status-y. It can be as simple as learning to bird watch or rock collect, taking a karate or piano class, whatever it is that trips your trigger or fires up your curiosity.

Taking these little leaps in life leads to learning, meeting new people, connecting with those you already know in a new way, and offering something up to the world.

The next time one of those ideas makes its way onto your radar, give in and see where it takes you. Take the leap and feel the magic.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Image of woman taking picture in field of flowers via Shutterstock.com

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A tiny house, a farm and the good life. But are you really willing to commit?

Back to the land. Off the grid. Minimalism. Tiny living. Intrigued by any of those words and phrases?

Of course you are. In our modern, fast-paced world of consumerism, we have come to crave respite from our everyday routines, and in the bright age of all-you-could-ever-want media, lifestyle magazines and blogs give it to us.

Who hasn’t flipped through an issue of a magazine on green living with tips on urban farming and thought to themselves, “I want to grow my own food”? Who hasn’t watched a short video about a tiny house and thought to themselves, “I want to live like that”? Who hasn’t read an article on consumerism and thought to themselves, “it’s really time that I minimized”?

We’ve all done it, and we’ll continue to do it. This type of media fuels our aspirations. We all want to be eat and live better, be healthier and wiser, choose a path of intention rather than mindless consumption, so we keep reading, clicking and watching, and for a few brief moments we feel better about ourselves. We feel powerful. We feel in control of our lives. Yes, I too can choose to get rid of most of my wardrobe and commit to only seven articles of clothing!

But the danger lies in the fact that consuming this kind of media is a noncommittal act; few of us take the inspiration and turn it into action.

We are living in a moment where we need change. Actually, we needed it a long time ago, which means that the change we face now is going to have to be radical. We are going to have to live with less. We are going to have to grow some of our own food. We are going to have to change our consumption patterns. Advocating for simplified lifestyles is therefore essential; a reminder that such living is in fact perfectly normal and achievable, not just a fringe activity for the leftist nut jobs.

But the execution is more about glitz and glam than it is reality. I was recently reading a New Yorker profile about the woman behind the magazine Modern Farmer. I  love Modern Farmer. As an urbanite with a ridiculous craving to jump ship and move back to the countryside, it speaks to me. Yes, I want to learn more about goats! But I’d like to think that I am self-aware enough to realize the privilege that I have to read a few articles while drinking my mug of single-origin French press while waiting for my organic chocolate kale cake to bake in the oven. I don’t have to go and put my hands into the dirt, I have a CSA farmer for that. Does this make me enlightened or just full blown bobo?

A farmer told the New Yorker reporter that Modern Farmer was less farm magazine and more of “a fashion magazine for farming.” In fact, Ann Marie Gardner, the founder and editor, herself has described the magazine as “the farming magazine for media professionals.”

Fashion magazines have clothes we’ll never buy, car magazines have cars we’ll never drive, and architecture magazines have homes we’ll never live in. They’re aspirational. But we continue to consume them like starving pigs at a trough.

It’s like when you walk into the cookbook section of a bookstore, all those books with the beautiful pictures of the healthiest food alive. I will eat better! I will make more food! I will learn how to bake bread! But then real life gets in the way, and despite the amount of cooking media – be it print or on television – the hard to swallow reality is that we’re eating worse than ever, and it’s going to take more than just a new cold pressed juice bar to change that.

At their core, aspirations are a good thing; they are what push us to take action. But in a world of easy-to-consume media, we never get to the action part. We click, we share and we move on. I liken it to a friend who once made a comment about people sharing inspirational quotes online. A quote is only inspirational if it actually inspires you to do something. Simply passing it along doesn’t count.

We want to minimize. We want to grow our own food. We want to choose a life of intention. But the risk is that this desire is only skin deep. These lifestyles aren’t glamorous. At times, they’re downright hard. Just ask a farmer. Or someone that actually sold all of their belongings to live out of their van.

Do we aspire to take action or does our action simply go as far as a collection of well shot cabin and tiny house porn on a Pinterest board? My idealistic self would like to believe it’s the former. Because ultimately, we have to believe in change in order to make change. Maybe one day we will in fact have gotten rid of all of the McMansions, and when that day comes, we can surely celebrate.

In the meantime, we have to acknowledge that we’re romanticizing lifestyles while doing nothing to make them a reality. We don’t need to put the blame on the media; we need to put the blame on ourselves. The over glorification is all our own doing.

Sustainability is dirty work; it isn’t just buying a pair of 100 percent hemp yoga pants and carrying around a reusable water bottle. Read a book called “Getting Green Done” if you don’t believe me. We have to take real action, and we should have taken it yesterday.

Let’s not just obsess over these lifestyles, let’s start living them. Not everyone needs to drop everything and become a farmer, but we would do ourselves and our communities a favor if we started acknowledging how essential farmers, and growing food, truly are to our livelihood. We could live without Madison Avenue; we couldn’t live without carrots. Let’s build tiny houses, but not as a second or third home, or as a guest house out the back; lets build them as our only homes. Let’s have a life of less fashion and more substance.

And let’s acknowledge the true impact of our everyday lifestyles – what we eat and what we buy – so that we can start making real change.

Every day we have the chance to do better. It’s time to make sure that we’re not just talking about it, but that we’re actually doing it.

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The post So You Want to Live in a Tiny House and Be a Farmer? Our Obsession with Lifestyles Most of Us Will Never Commit To appeared first on EcoSalon.

These quote art prints belong in your home because, as a wise man once said, “quotes are the absolute tippy tops.” Okay, it was me. But hear me out.

These artifacts of human truth and experience often enter our lives at exactly the time we need them, and breed motivation, clarity, courage, perspective, and more. Though some can be overdone (“Keep Calm and…”, I’m looking your way), there is a unique quote or saying for everyone to incorporate into their own personal journey. Bring some wisdom, thoughtfulness, and positive energy to your walls by nesting out your nook with these 11 quote art prints.

1. “One Touch of Nature Makes the Whole World Kin” – Billy Shakes (or William Shakespeare, as you may know him) drops some nice nature knowledge in this gorgeous walnut plywood veneer designed by Tanamachi Studio.
2. “Love Yourself” – Lim Heng Swee’s simple quote and adorable design offers a solid reminder to give yourself a little love; how you interpret this instruction, however, is entirely up to you.
3. “We Began as Wanderers and We’re Wanderers Still” – Quoted from Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos,” Casey Ligon’s chalk lettering mastery is perfect for the wanderlusters among us.
4. “Fortune Favors the Bold” – Featuring one of my favorite quotes of all time, Lauren Hom’s appropriately bold hand-lettering and design for Help Ink definitely deserve a spot on your wall.
5. “Believe in Your Fucking Self” Classic Advice Print – In what may be the motivational poster to end all motivational posters, Good Fucking Design Advice’s long, thoughtful list is some of the fucking best advice out there for creatives of all kinds.
6. “Reading is Radical” – Komboh’s delightfully illustrated print is perfect for a kid’s room or as a simple self-reminder to get away from your screen and bury your nose in a book more often.
7. “Do Good” – This quote art print by 55 Hi’s is as simple and beautiful as the advice itself.
8. “Put Others Before Yourself. It’s Better.” – Hoodzpah Design Co.’s gorgeous piece on selflessness for Krochet Kids Intl raises one question: do you buy this for yourself, or someone else?
9. “Bring Your Own Sunshine” – The ever-optimistic Tang Yau Hoong will bring some sunshine and perspective into your home with this incredible print. As a Seattlite, I may have to get a dozen of these to hang around my house.
10. “The Love you Take is Equal to the Love you Make” – This quote art print, inspired by The Beatles’ “The End” and designed by Jacqui Oakley for Help Ink, reminds us that, in love, like many other parts of life, we get out of it what we put in.
11. “Aim to Misbehave” – Maricor/Maricar’s print of their famous hand-embroidered lettering visually inspires us to be rebels, shake up the everyday, and look saucy in the process.

Follow Garth on Twitter @garthinkingcap

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The post 11 Quote Art Prints to Fill Your Walls With Quotivation appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s already close to the middle of 2014 and you’re in need of some mid-year inspiration. Here are 5 inspirational books that will give you the extra nudge you need to boost your mood and your outlook. Enjoy!

1. “Adulting”, Kelly Williams Brown

You may age in number but still feel like a kid. Many of us encounter this sentiment, but is it something we should fight or embrace? “Adulting“reconciles our desire to feel young and the need for us to fulfill the adult role in everyday life. This book was inspired by Brown’s blog, which helps people become adults in 468 easy(ish) steps.

2. “The Art of Tinkering”, Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich

This book features all the activities, workshops and quirky experiments that pay homage to the activity of tinkering. Defined as taking things apart, exploring tools and materials and building science/technology art, tinkering is about fooling around with tools, materials and concepts – learning through doing. For the handy reader with a knack for fun-filled, innovative projects, “The Art of Tinkering” will keeps things fresh and whimsical.

3. “The Gift of Adversity”, Normal E. Rosenthal

Contrary to popular belief, difficulties do more for us than cause us trouble. “The Gift of Adversity” sheds light on how adversity can strengthen and motivate us. Rosenthal helps readers understand why it is important to encounter struggle in our everyday lives.

4. “Stumbling on Happiness”, Daniel Gilbert

Written by a Harvard psychologist, “Stumbling on Happiness” explains to us how our thoughts limit our understanding of the future and the satisfaction levels. The book reminds us how little we really know about the people we are bound to become.

5. “Steve Jobs”, Walter Isaacson

The title speaks for itself. Steve Jobs was a visionary, a perfectionist, and someone who changed the course of many industries, including music, personal computers, phones, animated movies, digital publishing, tablet computing and so much more. This book was written off of 40 interviews conduction with Steve Jobs over the course of two years. What better way to be inspired than by one of the greatest tech leaders of our time?

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The post 5 Inspirational Books for 2014 appeared first on EcoSalon.

Ecosalon’s favorite inspirational quotes on spring.

1. I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.  -Ruth Stout

2. The cool wind blew in my face and all at once I felt as if I had shed dullness from myself. Before me lay a long gray line with a black mark down the center. The birds were singing. It was spring. -Burl Ives

3. The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also. -Harriet Ann Jacobs

4. Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature. –Gerard de Nerval

5. Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. -Doug Larson

6. She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

“Winter is dead.” -A.A. Milne

7. All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar. – Helen Hayes

8. And forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. -Kahlil Gibran

9. You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.  -Pablo Neruda

10. Every spring is the only spring, a perpetual astonishment. – Ellis Peters

11. If spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

12. If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. -Nadine Stair

13. If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. –Anne Bradstreet

14. One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw, is the spring. -Aldo Leopold

15. I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face. -Langston Hughes

16. Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”  -Robin Williams

17. Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come. –Robert H. Schuller

18. It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart. –Rainer Maria Rilke

19. Spring is God’s way of saying, ‘One more time!’ -Robert Orben

20. Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. –Virgil Kraft

21. Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day. -W. Earl Hall

22. When Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil.-Bishop Reginald Heber

23. Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring? -Neltje Blanchan

24. Spring is the time of plans and projects. -Leo Tolstoy

25. All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today. –Indian Proverb

26. Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence. -Yoko Ono

27. April is a promise that May is bound to keep.  -Hal Borland

28. Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking. -Miranda Priestly in Devil Wears Prada

29. Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring. -William Alexander

30. If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring. –Victor Hugo

31. I had always planned to make a large painting of the early spring, when the leaves are at the bottom of the trees, and they seem to float in space in a wonderful way. But the arrival of spring can’t be done in one picture. -David Hockney

32. An optimist is the human personification of spring. – Susan J. Bissonette

33. In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.  -Margaret Atwood

34. April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. -William Shakespeare

35. The only thing that could spoil a day was people. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself. -Ernest Hemingway

36. Sweet springtime is my time is your time is our time for springtime is love time and viva sweet love. – e.e. cummings

37. Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.  -Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

38. Nature’s first green is gold. -Robert Frost

39. No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow -Proverb

Want More Quotes in Ecosalon? See Also:

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images: JapanDave, Juliette Donatelli, Mukumbura, Juliette Donatelli, Juliette Donatelli

The post 39 Rejuvenating Quotes About Springtime appeared first on EcoSalon.

Creativity isn’t something that just happens – it needs fostering. In fact, everyone has a well of creativity, it’s just about doing the things that help that creative side really develop.

Even the most creative people will tell you that they have moments when they freeze up, and when they do they work hard at pushing through and getting their creativity back.

Wanting to foster more creativity in your own life? Try these 11 ideas for getting your creative side going.

1. Put. Down. The. Phone.

Want to be more creative? Start taking in your surroundings. That of course means putting down your phone. Waiting for the bus? Don’t text, look around you instead. See who’s standing next to you. Think about what color they’re wearing. Look at the trees. Do they have leaves? What shape are they? Being open to the world around you will bring plenty of inspiration.

2. Get off your computer.

Nothing kills creativity like sitting in front of a computer, so if you’re feeling like you’re drained in terms of creativity, step away from the screen. If you need to write or draw, pick up a real pen and paper.

3. Pick a specific moment in your life and write about it.

It doesn’t need to turn into a specific story or essay – just let yourself write the thoughts and memories that come to mind. You want to make your brain work. The other benefit? This practice can actually make you feel happier with your life.

4. Play.

This goes back to #1 and #2, but it also relates to work in general: if you don’t allow yourself time off from working, you don’t give your time to wander. So play.

5. Set aside a specific time every day to write.

Set aside 30 minutes that are solely devoted to free-writing. Julia Cameron in “The Artist’s Way” calls these “morning pages.” They’re not really writing, they’re simply a way to document everything that comes across your mind.

6. Do something just for you.

If you work in a creative industry, there often becomes a certain pressure to only produce when it’s for work. But in order to stay creative, you have to encourage yourself to produce even when it’s not for anyone but yourself. Draw a picture. Paint a landscape. Write a story. And keep it just for yourself.

7. Get active.

Some studies show that exercise helps boost creativity. What better reason do you need to go out for a run or a bike ride?

8. Get rid of distractions.

If you’re wanting to create a space that’s conducive to creativity, make sure it’s one where you’re not bothered. That means phone calls, emails, even visitors. You want to devote time and energy to your creative space, physically and mentally, and that means focusing on what you’re doing 100 percent.

9. Embrace your morning time.

That time before the entire day starts rolling? The golden hour. Don’t check your email right away. Don’t start reading the news. Use that time wisely. Write. Read. Dance. Think.

10. Use your hands.

We so rarely use our hands to do things anymore, and actively using your hands to do something engages your brain in a very different way than our usual tasks. Dig in the garden. Build something. Bake something.

11. Find an accountability partner.

Need to make sure you’re making time to be creative? Have a friend to do it with. Nothing makes us do something like being held accountable. So find someone else that needs to devote a few more hours a week to creative time and make sure you both do it. Better yet: set aside that time to do something creative together.

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The post 11 Tips to Kickstart Your Creativity appeared first on EcoSalon.

A picture evokes a lot of language, or something along those lines. So, from the shores of Thailand to the mid-western United States, we’ve rounded up 33 of the most amazing sunrise pictures of 2014’s first dawn.

After long nights or ambitious mornings, Instagram users around the world snapped shots of the sky at day break, like this radiant, serene photo above, taken on the shores of Vancouver, Washington by lanisakai.

Have a look around, and you might be inspired by the beauty and light this new year holds.

Taken in Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park Thailand by anna_bkk 

Taken in Brooklyn, New York by ilikefatass

neckerputs

Taken in Encinitas by mirallegirl

mar10stm

abanob_3atf

Taken in Nepal by ilarit

Taken in the San Francisco Bay area by rfreeman88

Taken in Tomales Bay, California by leajulene

Taken in Kansas by michellelalu

Taken in Camino Alto Preserve in California by jjungsten

Taken in Vista, California by itsjbizzle

Taken in Colorado by uelhp

Taken in Ras Shitan by nadimmaximilian

niki17a

oddbone

Taken in Paris, France by mullerfrans

Taken in Oakland, California by mr_marcus_asshole

Taken in Juno Beach Florida by journeyofnow

Taken on Lake Tahoe by mukpeace

pcn_anais

shannont101

Taken in Joshua Tree National Park by steveu1975

Taken in Oregon by rdavidson3

Taken in Praia Beach, Portugal by danncaldas

Taken in Thailand by dungwaaplanil

Taken by kikajasmine

Taken in Florida by miichellex0x0

Taken in Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, Vietman by chartan

Taken in France by lottietowell10

Taken in San Francisco by cherdendelions

Taken in Sardinia by jiggiola

The post Best Instagram Photos of the Week: The 33 Most Amazing First Sunrise Pictures of 2014 appeared first on EcoSalon.

Inspiring quotes for fresh starts and new beginnings. 

A new year brings a blank slate, the chance to begin again. But really, every day provides us the opportunity for a fresh start. Here are 20 inspiring quotes intended to do just that.

1. And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that never were. -Rainer Maria Rilke

2. It’s not about ‘what can I accomplish?’ but ‘what do I want to accomplish?’ Paradigm shift. -Brene Brown

3. Whatever you do or dream you can do – begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

4. When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way. -Wayne Dyer

5. The beginning is always today. -Mary Wollstonecraft

6. Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning. -Desmond Tutu

7. Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do. -Liz Smith

8. I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. -J. B. Priestly

9. Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. -Carl Bard

10. Look with favour upon a bold beginning. -Virgil

11. If all you can do is crawl, start crawling. -Rumi

12. Beginning with audacity is a very great part of the art of painting. -Winston Churchill

13. What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

14. Life isn’t about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself.
-George Bernard Shaw

15. The beginning is the most important part of the work. -Plato

16. Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. -Alan Cohen

17. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success. -Swami Vivekananda

18.Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it. -William Durant

19. Every moment is a fresh beginning. -T.S. Eliot

20. It is never too late to be what you might have been. -George Eliot

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Image: Zach Dischner

The post 20 Inspiring Quotes for Starting Fresh appeared first on EcoSalon.

Are your New Year’s resolutions realistic?

As 2013 comes to an end there’s one question at hand: are you going to make a list of resolutions?

While New Year’s resolutions are admirable – making an effort to make positive changes in our lives is certainly a good thing – often we make ones we can’t keep. “Eat better” or “be healthier” aren’t realistic resolutions as they don’t have any parameters. How do you measure your success? Set up a resolution that you can’t keep and you won’t get the benefit of succeeding.

About 45 percent of Americans make resolutions, but only about 8 percent actually keep them. Looking to make some resolutions for the new year? Here are some that are good for you, the environment and the community, and that you can adapt according to your own needs to ensure that you are successful in the new year.

1. I will take one evening a week to unplug

I mean no iPhone, no iPad, no social media, not TV. Nothing. Read a book. Write a letter. Draw a picture. Sit and think.

2. I will go one month without buying anything new

Try to not buy anything new during the month of January. Groceries don’t count of course! If you succeed in January, try again in February. The goal is to reconnect to your consumption habits; we all could do with buying less, and when we do feel the need to buy something, why not buy something second hand? It’s more economical and environmentally friendly.

3. I will eat one, two, three or even more, additional vegetarian meals a week

We all know that we should be eating less meat, so in 2014 if you’re not a strict vegetarian, commit to it! Choose a number of meals per week that you can realistically go 100 percent meatless and to make things easier, plan out those meals in advance.

4. I will look at hangtags and have that guide my shopping decisions

Want to do something to change the world of fast fashion? Look at your hangtags and think about the purchases you are making. If it helps, make a list of places you don’t want to be buying from.

5. I will not eat at fast food restaurants

It’s 2014, people, you should have stopped doing this a long time ago anyway.

6. I will incorporate a daily morning routine of meditation/breathing/yoga/stretching

No one is asking you to run a marathon (although if you want to do that this year, that’s a great goal), just plan out a short morning routine to get you going. After a few weeks of a daily practice, you’ll be surprised at how much your body craves it.

7. I will explore one new place a month

You don’t have to travel across the world to have an adventure. Commit to exploring in your own neighborhood, be it a new park, restaurant or even just a street you have never walked down.

8. I will smile more

It is proven to make you happier after all. Try one smile at a stranger per day and just see how much better you feel.

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