When the New Year rolls around, most people set lofty goals—to lose weight, find a better paying job, finish a languishing project, but one way to fulfill many New Year’s resolutions is to start with a simple one: fine tune your attitude, says Dr. Noelle Nelson, author of The Power of Appreciation and Happy Healthy…Dead.
“Every goal we set, every dream we hope to fulfill starts with attitude,” says Nelson. “It doesn’t matter the goal. Without the right attitude, goals and dreams go unfulfilled.”
Nelson suggest following these steps to get into the right attitude this New Year.
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–Cut out the whining, blaming and complaining. There are stumbling blocks in all our lives. Some have more than others, of course, but spending energy complaining and blaming does absolutely no good.
— Psychologists from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill have been studying human emotions for over 25 years and have found that positive emotions not only change our brains for the better, but the rest of our body as well. Look around you to see what you can appreciate right here, right now in your immediate environment, says Nelson. It can be a beautiful sunset, happy kids playing, quiet time reading a good book. If you have an appreciative attitude, you start looking at your world in a different, more optimistic light.
–Appreciate and be grateful with what you have instead of pining away for what you don’t have. Through social media and television, it’s easy to be exposed to extravagant lifestyles—lifestyles that are far beyond reach. Instead of craving for someone else’s life, be grateful for your own.
–Don’t let a moment go by where you miss the opportunity to tell someone “thank you” or ”I love you.” Saying these words not only makes the recipient feel good, but they empower you to lead a more joyous and happy life.
“With a more appreciative attitude, it becomes easier to lose extra pounds, be confident to seek a more fulfilling job, become motivated to complete an unfinished project or check off any other items on your life’s ‘to-do’ list,” says Nelson. “Researcher at John Hopkins Medicine have found that an attitude of gratitude also brings about less stress and anxiety, which translates into a healthier, longer life. That alone should get us all to fine-tune our attitude in 2017.”
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