2018 Resolutions to be a Better Person

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Being a better person is the top New Years Resolution for 2018, which is funny because that’s exactly what I planned on making my goal for this year. Last year I made Beauty Resolutions, and every year before that it has been weight loss resolutions, but I for one feel like it’s time to be less superficial and really make some positive changes in my life.

Not that I think I’m a bad person. I just want to be even better!  Better to myself, better to my family, better to the environment, better to animals, better to my community, better to the world.  There’s a lot going on politically that is really disheartening, and while I’m not interested in becoming a politician or rallying for human rights or joining the peace core, what I can do is make myself and my immediate environment as pleasant and loving as possible.

But unlike most New Years Resolutions, I am not going to just make a broad statement to “be a better person” without any kind of plan. Because that simply wouldn’t work. Fail to plan and plan to fail, right?  I need specific, tangible goals to work on for 2018.

So here are my five goals to be a better person in 2018.  If you are also wanting to be better this year, consider making yourself a similar list of five concrete acts to work on, or resolve to do what I’m doing, too!

one: mediate more. So often in life we are faced with stress and anger and all kinds of emotions that make us behave in ways that aren’t ideal. We react instead of contemplate, we speak when we should listen, we freak out when we should put ourselves in someone’s shoes. So whenever these moments arise, I am going to mediate. To calm down, to have perspective, to remove me momentarily from the stress and help me to see more clearly. I have some mala beads so my goal is to practice mediation while I’m breastfeeding instead of surfing on the internet once a day.  That way I will have some meditation practice for when I need it most.

two: eat less meat. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not planning on becoming a vegetarian anytime soon. But I do consume a lot of meat. Too much. There are so many health benefits to eating legumes and nuts and beans; it’s just good to have more variety in protein sources.  Not to mention all of the ethical violations in the way cows and chickens in particular are farmed.  So consuming less meat is good for your body but also good for your soul and for the souls of our animal friends.

three: be more charitable. This goal is too broad and I’m not sure how to accomplish it just yet. I don’t want to simply donate money, but with two babies I don’t have a lot of free time to volunteer. I plan on doing some house cleaning and donating things to goodwill. But that feels like it’s just as much for my benefit as for other’s. So I will need to keep thinking of a creative way that I can be more selflessly charitable. Suggestions are very welcomed in the comment section!

four: consume less. I don’t mean eat less, I just mean buy less, of anything and everything. Use up what I have before buying more. Want what I have instead of coveting what others have. Buy things in bulk with less packaging and therefore less waste. Cook and bake more instead of eating out or grabbing prepackaged foods. Drink water from the tap instead of a bottle from the store.  It’s good for the environment and it’s good for your wallet, but truthfully the self discipline to not spend money even when you want something is a really good exercise of willpower.

five: learn more. I want to be more open to learning opportunities. I spend way too much time playing on my phone. I want to be more of a student and less of a social media and Netflix expert. I want to learn how to cook and bake more intricate and complicated things, to learn more history of the Royal Family, to understand my camera outside of manual mode, to read more about yoga philosophy.  I just read two books from cover to cover and both really struck a chord with me.  They were Kino MacGregor’s The Yogi Assignment: A 30-Day Program for Bringing Yoga Practice and Wisdom to Your Everyday Life, and Hilaria Baldwin’s The Living Clearly Method: 5 Principles for a Fit Body, Healthy Mind and Joyful Life.  I highly recommend these books and resolve to read more like them.  Overall I want less screen time and more book (and documentary!) time.

I feel like all five of these goals will take some effort and energy to apply in my life, they won’t just come easily or automatically. But with a little practice and mindfulness I feel like I can make some really positive changes in my life that will affect not only me but also my family. I don’t expect to change the world but I can make my little micro-world a better place!

What are you going to do in 2018 to be a better person?  Let me know in the comments!

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Tiffany and Co Mug: I found this at an antique mall for $22, can you believe it?  It’s no longer available on the Tiffany and Co. website but I found this three piece baby set which is kind of similar but probably smaller, or you could try eBay.

Coastal Christmas Trees: I got these from Michaels and used nail polish to paint the ornaments turquoise!

Kino MacGregor’s Yogi Assignment Book: Amazon

Camera: Olympus O-MD E-M10 Mark II with 14-42mm IIR lens