I’ve always been an avid list maker. List making is an inherent part of my type A personality. So naturally, you might think I’m all about making New Year’s resolutions. But the past couple years I’ve had mixed feelings about them.
I think the New Year is a good time to reflect, renew and set goals. However, with New Year’s Resolutions, I notice people (including myself!) tend to take an all or nothing approach, which often leads to failure. I see people getting too ambitious and setting unrealistic goals and expectations.
To avoid that, I am keeping my list simple with only 3(ish!) resolutions.
1. Create more hygge. For those who don’t know, hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”) is the Danish concept of coziness and wellbeing through creating a warm atmosphere and celebrating the little things in life. I want to make hygge one of my core values. I also figured this resolution was appropriate given that I will be spending the first few months of 2019 living in Denmark!
To me, creating more hygge looks like this:
Practicing mindfulness
Prioritizing relationships
Making time for self care
Reading books for pleasure
Being more minimalistic
Expressing gratitude
Being present
Using social media less
Spending time outdoors
2. Send 3+ letters a week. In other words, 156 letters this year. I’ve always loved stationary and valued handwritten letters. Handwritten letters involve crafting the message, buying a stamp, selecting an envelope and traveling to the post office. In other words, it requires effort. But that is what makes it so valuable. It communicates to someone that you care about them enough to do the work involved in handwriting a letter. It also gives you as the writer more of a voice because it stands out, especially in our technology-indundated world. Writing 156 letters might seem like a lot, but it is something I enjoy and it is definitely something that ties into my first resolution of creating more hygge.
3. Floss every day. This one is pretty self-explanatory. I don't know why it's so difficult to make this part of my daily routine, but I need to make it a habit.
So, there are my resolutions for the year.
Cheers to 2019!
What are your resolutions?
P.S. If you would like to receive one of my 156+ letters this year, please send me your address :)