Setting New Year’s resolutions is not so new – it’s a meaningful tradition of starting afresh and striving to be better each year.
This past year has led many of us to rethink our relationships with ourselves, our communities, nature, animals, and our planet. On a planetary level, there is now a lot of clarity about the need for bigger changes.
Resolutions can be highly ambitious or small and tangible — the important thing is that you stick with them. Start small, but keep the bigger picture in mind.
Eat more plants
More and more people all over the world want to cut down on their meat consumption and explore more creative and delicious ways to follow a balanced and nutritious diet.
There are many ways to introduce more diversity to your daily meals. One way is to veganise the dishes you already love and make regularly. For example, in many baked goods you can replace the egg with aquafaba (the liquid left over from boiled chickpeas), while plant-based mince or lentils is an easy meat replacement in mince dishes such as pasta bolognese. There are numerous proven benefits to eating plant-based: it’s better for your health, better for the planet, and better for animals.
If you’re ready for change but need a little help, you can join the ProVeg Veggie Challenge and try eating a more plant-based diet for 30 days. The Veggie Challenge is a free online programme that provides you with daily support, along with tips and detailed recipes.
Slow down
Life has become very fast-paced and this is not going to change anytime soon. And so, in the face of a busy world, we invite you to welcome more stillness and care into your life.
Make sure that you listen to your body’s needs. Get enough sleep. And allow yourself to do ‘nothing’, which is, in fact, a very productive way to give your mind and body some time to rest, process, and come up with new ideas. Find ways to centre yourself through meditative practices such as a walk in nature or moving through the city with your favourite music or podcast playing in your headphones.
Breathwork and journaling are also accessible but powerful tools to enhance mindfulness. Slow is the new fast! (And can also lead to greater efficiency and thus also improved productivity.)
Learn a new skill
We all have a few things that we’ve always wanted to learn to do but have never made time for. Think about what these things are for you.
Is one of them your long-forgotten plan to learn Italian, which is not really that useful where you currently live? Learning a new language opens a new world of understanding and relating to people and new cultures. So, go for it! Or you can combine learning with leisure and pick up a book or watch a film on a topic of your interest.
No knowledge is useless. You’ll be surprised at how opportunities find their way into your life and allow you to flaunt your newfound skills. Realistic planning and consistency will help you along the way!
Move
Movement is essential in order to feel healthy and free in our bodies. Make sure to focus on a regular habit, rather than the result. We all have different starting points – understand yours and go!
If you haven’t yet developed a strong relationship with physical exercise, start small. Take the stairs instead of an escalator, and walk to work instead of hopping on a bus. It’s also much easier to convince yourself to do a 10-minute workout than it is to prepare for an ultramarathon!
Practice makes perfect – so cultivate patience and remember that muscles also require rest in order to regenerate and grow. Include enough healthy rest time and your body will be grateful for the strength it provides.
Thank you
Finally, now is also the time to say thank you for the gifts and challenges of 2022 and open up to the new year ahead of us. We wish you a beautiful New Year and a 2023 filled with warmth, conscious intention, and growth.
