Unique New Year’s resolutions

With the end of each calendar year comes the resolve to make changes for the coming 12 months. How many of these resolutions are ones we’ve all heard before? Quit smoking, lose weight, eat healthier — these are the common goals that surface again and again. Perhaps this year we should resolve to come up with more unique resolutions that put the emphasis on helping others in addition to helping ourselves.

Donate Time, Money

The good thing about helping others is that we usually end up helping ourselves in the process. So the resolution to give back to an individual or the community often proves mutually beneficial. Continue the feelings of generosity that may have sprung up during the holiday season throughout the rest of the year. Volunteer at a senior center, or become a mentor for disadvantaged children. Find a charity to which you can really relate and regularly donate money to their cause.

Try to Repair Broken Relationships

We have all said and done things we regret later. Sometimes these involve bridging gaps between the people we love. This year, resolve to fix relationships that need a little work, or reconnect with a long-lost friend or relative.

Spread Some Joy

Why not do something just for the sake of bringing a smile to someone’s face? Mail a greeting card to one of your neighbors who may seem lonely. Find out if there is an elderly resident who could use some help grocery shopping, or just needs someone to sit with him or her for a few hours during the week.

Think like a child and absorb all of the little joys you experience every day and often do not give any thought. Send a note to your child’s teacher saying how much you appreciate his or her dedication.

Ask to see a supervisor at a store and compliment the job done by an employee, rather than complaining about something that’s wrong. These little measures can bring smiles to many people and don’t require much effort at all.

Resolve: No More Resolutions

If you look at it one way, resolutions may seem like we’re given free reign to act poorly the rest of the year and then clean up our acts each January. Instead of coming up with ideas you only stick with for a month or two, make resolutions a part of your daily life and make any successful resolutions a part of that routine.