New Year’s Resolution Tips for Aging Backwards

"When one door closes, another opens."

Did you know Alexander Graham Bell was the first to say that?

But, he didn’t stop there. Here’s the rest of the quote:

"...but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is the perfect time to focus on the newly-opened door … and to ignore the closed one.

If you’re like most people, now is the time to make your annual New Year’s resolutions. You may want to drop weight, quit smoking, start exercising, spend more time with your family, get a better job, buy a house … and the list goes on.

Our tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions dates back 7,000 years ago to the ancient Babylonians. And, people have been breaking their resolutions ever since!

If you want to make and keep your resolutions, the secret may be to commit to just one, specific thing: Be happy!

In fact, extensive research conducted by Sonya Lyubomirsky, PhD., and her colleagues at the University of California, Riverside, showed strong support for the idea that happiness actually leads to successful outcomes, as opposed to following those outcomes. They report, “Happy individuals are more likely than their less happy peers to have fulfilling marriages and relationships, high incomes, superior work performance, community involvement, robust health, and even a long life."1

If you still plan to make a list of resolutions, follow these five tips to help you keep them. (This way you don’t join the millions of people who celebrate January 17th as “Break Your Resolution Day!”)

New Year’s Resolution Tips for Aging Backwards

1. Keep your list short. Choose only a few goals, write them down, and commit to working on them daily.

2. Use the “buddy system.” Sharing resolutions with a spouse, partner, friend or family member may help you stick to your goal. Your buddy can motivate you and keep you accountable.

3. Be realistic. For example, instead of resolving to drop 50 pounds, make your goal something easier to attain, such as "dropping two pounds a week." This keeps your goal manageable and less overwhelming.

4. Avoid extremes. Setting a resolution such as "I'll never eat sugar again" will only set you up for failure. Keep the word "never" out of your resolutions because “never” is usually unattainable.

5. Be happy. Make happiness your number-one resolution. As Dr. Lyubomirsky says, "Sustainable increases in happiness are possible … but require daily and concerted effort and commitment." In other words, try different activities on a regular basis that are easy to do and which bring you joy.

Have a Youthful Day,
Jackie Silver