This year, consider a list of resolutions that can transform your life and relationships.
Research in positive psychology suggests that the following tips have the power to
actually change your outlook and help improve your satisfaction with life. Whether it’s
with a friend, family member, or as a personal challenge, here are five positive practices
to bring with you into 2015:
1. Live in the Moment. It is easy to let our thoughts drift into the future or the past.
We think about goals and deadlines, reminisce on good times or perhaps ruminate
on bad ones. Perhaps the most difficult, yet rewarding task we can do is to keep
our minds in the present. There are many ways you can practice living in the
moment – starting with a personal practice of mindfulness. Not all mindfulness
happens in a yoga studio or in a Zen space – it can be as simple as taking deep
breaths in the office or listening to the rhythmic sound of your shoes hitting
pavement on a walk.
2. Listen to Loved Ones. With so much information vying for our attention,
sometimes it gets hard to focus and we miss important moments. If loved ones are
confiding in you, put whatever you are doing aside and listen to the meaning
behind their message. Listen to learn. Listen to understand. Put aside the need to
fix or help them with whatever they’re saying. Reflect back what you hear them
say. Ask them for clarification if their message is confusing. These counseling
techniques helps them to become more clear about what is disturbing for them.
People typically vent so that they can process emotional turmoil out loud to those
they trust.
3. Prioritize Quality Time. We seem to always spend time being productive and
needing an output to show for it. Sometimes, the most important output is the one
that cannot be quantified. Spend time with your loved ones, even if it doesn’t get
you somewhere or come with a touristy photo from an exotic place. Quality time
can be as simple as eating a meal together or taking ten minutes after the kids get
home from school to talk about the day. Quality time forges a unique bond
between loved ones that money just can’t buy.
4. Count Your Blessings. The science of gratitude shows that thankful people are
generally happy people. Sometimes we forget the simple things that we ought to
be thankful for. Adopt a time every day devoted to writing down what it is that
you are thankful for. Write down a couple things that have a positive influence on
your life, and even this small act can shape your perspective into one with more
positivity. Share with your loved ones those things you are thankful for.
5. Let it Go. Challenge yourself to only hold on to what truly matters to you. Are
there things that you have been holding onto that need to be let go this next year?
Consider the relationships, practices, and involvements that are more parasitic
than productive, and carefully ask yourself why you continue to take part in them.
Give yourself the freedom to focus your attention on the things that are truly
important and life enhancing.
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