Resolutions

Today’s Resolution: Don’t Think About Money

Money is the root of all evil, right? We need clothes, food and a roof over our heads to survive. Everything else is either debt, dreams or desire. For me, dreams cause the majority of my financial stress, though I know lots of people who suffer from desire (those status-stamping designer handbags) and even more that are sinking in debt. So today your resolution is to forget about it. For one day (unless you’re a cashier or bank teller), try not to think about the green. Whether you need to use it today or not, don’t let a lack of it affect your dreams, and don’t let a debt of it ruin your day.

Today’s Resolution: Love Where You Live

Personally, I have a life-long goal to love where I live. Maybe even love a place long enough that I’ll stay forever. For now, I haven’t lived enough places to really make that kind of decision, but it doesn’t mean that our kick-butt loft on the water isn’t absolutely lovely. How about you? Even if you don’t love where you live, you can probably dig up enough good qualities about your abode that make you thankful. So today, be conscious of your surroundings, appreciate, and love where you live.

Today’s Resolution: Skip Coffee & Wake Up To Something New

There are so many hot drinks that can replace a morning coffee. Yerba Mate is one we’ve been addicted to for a couple years, even though it takes a fancy straw and gourd to drink from. For something a little less involved, try tea, orange juice or hot chocolate even. A smoothie, perhaps? How about a bottle of water with lemon? There are plenty of healthy morning beverages without coffee. And if you don’t drink coffee, then start your day with something new anyway!

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Today’s Resolution: Take a Thoughtful, Restful Nap

It’s Sunday and that’s an excuse to rest. So rest up, would you? According to the Expert’s Guide on Napping, “a nap of 60 minutes improves alertness for up to 10 hours.” However, they do tell you to “limit your nap to 45 minutes or less if you need to spring into action after dozing. Otherwise, you may drift into slow-wave sleep. Waking from this stage results in sleep inertia, that grogginess and disorientation that can last for half an hour or more.” A little nap saves your brain from mental exhaustion, lowers blood pressure and gives your memory a boost. And if you’re into learning more stuff like this, consider Jennifer Ackerman’s Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body which is all about this kind of body-nerdery.

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Today’s Resolution: Stretch Your Legs and Go Hiking

Hiking sounds a lot harder than it is, or needs to be. If you’re on a trail in the woods, you’re hiking. It doesn’t need to be a long trail or a particularly steep trail, but you’re still technically hiking. Personally, I like a trail that has everything: ups, downs, rivers, bridges, rocks and little landmarks you didn’t even know existed. It’s all about getting back to nature. There’s something a little unnatural about walking on a treadmill, isn’t there? You walk in place, and stare at your calorie count go up and up. Even if it’s cold where you are, try out a hike today (or pick a place in the future). Just so you know, you burn more calories in the cold than you do when it’s warm out!

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Today’s Resolution: Face An Excuse for Social Laziness

As we get older and settle into our comfortable lives, possibly with a steady paycheck, possibly even a family—we end up settling for things that are easier. Spending time with friends who are closer, not attending parties because you don’t know who will be there, and other excuses you probably come up with on a regular basis. Sites like Facebook, and jobs that allow you to work from home make this social laziness even worse.

For you, a symptom of social laziness could be any of these ideas, or something specific to you. Undoubtedly everyone has at least one pile of social lazybones to vanquish and today is the day to do it.

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Today’s Resolution: Learn a New Language, Even If Just The Swear Words

“The Babel fish is small, yellow, leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the universe. It feeds on brain wave energy, absorbing all unconscious frequencies and then excreting telepathically a matrix formed from the conscious frequencies and nerve signals picked up from the speech centres of the brain, the practical upshot of which is that if you stick one in your ear, you can instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language: the speech you hear decodes the brain wave matrix.” As told by  Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Now you know where the infamous Babelfish language translator derived from!

There’s something so awesome about speaking several different languages, even if you only know a few lines. Maybe you’ll never visit China and “New York” is technically an accent, but hey whatever works for you. Irish Gaelic? Klingon? Whatever you want, go for it. There’s Rosetta StoneBBC Languages and LiveMocha but if you’re a romantic, check out TripLingo Romance Edition.

If you’re an even bigger romantic, you’re wanna learn how to sign a Jason Mraz song:

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Today’s Resolution: Lay Off The Sweets

I’m the farthest thing from a health-nut, though I do believe that fruit is nature’s candy and it could definitely get me into trouble with the amount I’d consume if you let me. Soda is another sweet that everyone (myself previously included) drinks without considering the liquid calories that pay off in no way, shape or form.

In fact, read 3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Soda if you need help giving it up. High-fructose corn syrup is barely 20 years old, and nobody has tested the long-term effects but according to the article, genetically engineered crops used to make the stuff are known to cause accelerated aging and infertility. Suddenly I’m glad my mom never kept soda in the house. She’s also obsessed with Jorge Cruise and The Belly Fat Cure which basically says that when you cut out sugar, you lose tons of weight. I tend to believe it.

Enough preaching though. Today’s resolution is only for one day. Lay off the sweets. Replace them with whatever you  want.

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Today’s Resolution: Remove All Emotions from Decision-Making

Our ancestors were trained to hunt, kill, and build things. They did noble deeds like building houses and killing animals. Survival, rather than emotion, was the playing card to every decision. Nobody wondered, “if I stay out late killing a bear tonight, will my wife be mad?” No, they thought, “My family is hungry, I better go kill a bear or something”. And when he came home late with a some bear meat in hand, did his wife consider divorcing him for not giving her a heads up? Nah.

Thankfully we live in more respectful times than those, but there’s a lot to be said about eliminating emotions from the decisions you make. Anxiety, worry and fears often come into play and keep you from making the right decision, often aiding in the wrong decisions. So don’t forget your morals or anything, but today, when a decision comes up that causes you anxiety, worry or guilt, make the right decision, and do it fast. When emotion begins to build up, think of something else for a moment and let it dissolve.

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Today’s Resolution: Say Something Nice to Everyone You Meet

Compliments rock, right? When someone says “hey I like your shoes” or “have you lost weight” it’s pretty hard not to like that person. Suddenly, Suzie-chews-with-her-mouth-open isn’t so bad and when someone calls her out in a gossip gab-fest you find yourself saying the famous line of, “well she’s always been really nice to me”.

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