Amanda

Today’s Resolution: Eat Something New

When I was a kid, I had three basic food groups: vanilla ice cream, cheese pizza, and orange juice. My mom would try to throw in a little meatloaf and chicken pot pie for dinner, but when you’ve got lunch money and public school, you can buy all the snacks you want.

Thankfully, sometime around the time I met Patrick and he convinced me that red wine would change my life (it did), we started going crazy with the palate-testing. Squid ink pasta at Chez Henri in Cambridge, MA was probably my most memorable-looking dish, but I had pig nose at some place in Chicago too and that’s an image that will stay with me, probably forever.

So today, try something new. I’m in St. Thomas this week, so there’s bound to be something crazy to try out.

Today’s Resolution: Drink 3 Cups of Green Tea

Not only do we not drink enough water every day, but we definitely don’t drink enough tea… right? And don’t worry, green tea is wicked manly too, so it’s cool.. just ask Kevin Rose.. he’s totally manly and that dude loves his tea.

More importantly, green tea is said to help you lose weight and is pretty much proven to reduce anxiety tremendously within 48 hours just by drinking three cups a day. Let me know how you feel at the end of the day. And drink decaf if you need to, I will be.

 

Today’s Resolution: Read a Book For At Least One Hour Today

Reading reddit doesn’t count for this one today, sorry bubs. Remember those stacks of paper, intricately bound together? They’ve got words and stuff on them, probably in a typeface like Times New Roman. Ew, right? It’s cool, you can use your Kindle, iPad, or whatever electronic device you use to consume print media. Or, you can open a real book, flip real pages, and do it old school.

Whatever your preferred method, your goal today is to read a book  for at least an hour. Reading is proven to reduce stress, and we could all use a little break from reality, so if you’ve been meaning to catch up on a book you put down weeks ago, or you haven’t picked one up in years (that’s me), today take an hour to sit and relax with a story.

And when you’re done, report back on what you read!

Today’s Resolution: Tell Someone Unexpected That You Love Them

All you need is love, yes?

Forget “personal space” and all that “my parents didn’t hug me enough” boo-hoo’ing today. You love people, people love you. Lighten up! Hugs, smiles and fulfilling relationships have been scientifically proven to make you a happier person.

So for today, tell someone that you love them. They could be a friend, a parent who you haven’t talked to in a while, or a co-worker who always has your back.

You don’t have to sit down, take their hand, and look deeply into their eyes or anything; We’re not asking you to spark a bromance here. I mean, when’s the last time you told someone… “I love you, man” or… “girl, I freaking love you” while sober or otherwise semi-serious?

Today’s Resolution: Don’t Bad Mouth Anyone Today

Whether you hate Lady Gaga or that chatty barista at your local Starbucks who’s “slow as hell”—keep it to yourself today. Negativity attracts negativity and gossip only leads to more gossip. Have you ever noticed that when you get together with a group of people and one person starts bad-mouthing someone, suddenly it’s like a room full of bumble bees looking for honey?

Today, and just for today… shut up.

When you find yourself about to pop out something remarkably obnoxious and hateful, find a way to say something creatively positive instead. You might just find that a happy mouth is a happy mind.

Update: Resolution Complete – or so it would seem.

Today’s Resolution: Answer The Phone Every Time it Rings

Today could be tough for some, and easy for others. If you’re in good standing with all of your credit cards and you don’t have any annoying inlaws to ignore, today will be a good day for you. If there are people better ignored via the telephone, today may take a dose of bravery (or Xanax). Brace yourself, you might just resolve something unexpected today.

Today’s Resolution: Start Running On Time

Gather your clocks and set them to the right time. Whether you missed daylight savings time, or you really think setting your car dashboard 15 minutes ahead is going to get you there on time, let’s get everything straight.

Your brain was made to remember more important things than which clocks are set correctly. I mean, haven’t you ever seen the movie Chaos Theory where the wife is all “I’ll play a joke on you and set your clock ahead to disrupt your control-freak nature” and he’s all “OMG bad joke woman—you literally just ended up destroying my life”. Seriously, you don’t want to get tangled up in clock trickery.

When you’re done, use the comments to check in!

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Daily Resolution: Resolve to Resolve…But Do It Later

There is always a great deal of pressure in early January to make very specific resolutions. This only makes the chance at success even more challenging. Local gyms experience a surge in memberships, nicotine patches sell like hotcakes, and Lean Cuisines become a menu staple. Imagine that at the same time of year, the entire world’s population is focused on making lifestyle changes that are very apt to make one prone to crankiness and impatience. Hmmmm, so it might not be such a bad idea to wait a little while on the list of resolutions…unless procrastinating is your problem!

Daily Resolution: Come on Baby, Light a Fire

Tap into your inner pyro and light a fire. Maybe there’s a beach nearby, or a backyard BBQ pit? A traditional fireplace, perhaps? Today your goal is to light a fire. If you want to take it up a notch, learn how to light a fire the old fashioned way!

 

Daily Resolution: Survey the Damage

Take a personal survey today. Are you better off (physically and emotionally) than you were 3 months ago? If you answer “no,” then you need to ask why? Figure out what has changed in that span of time and consider steps to restore your peace of mind, your health, and maybe even your pocketbook. Giving ourselves carte blanche in November and December to indulge can be rejuvenating but also detrimental. No need for any guilt; see how far you may have veered off your path and right your rudder.