10 new habits to cultivate in the new year

Every new year people are always looking to improve their lives and change their habits.

They want to eat better, work better and improve their lives.

Are these also your plans? If yes, we have curated 10 new habits you can cultivate in the new year. Spoiler alert! number 5 is a must.

1. Gratitude

The world is filled with a lot of issues and problems that can make people unhappy and sad. In the midst of sad events and grief, there are still a lot of things to be grateful for.

One major reason to be grateful is for life-it is a privilege to be alive, to spend time with friends and families, and to enjoy each other company.

Complaining and grumbling never really offer any solution to a problem, rather it worsens and illuminates the problem.

A life of gratitude is not a life devoid of challenges, rather it’s an individual that prefers to look for reasons to celebrate rather than focus on the issues present.

In the new year, make a decision to focus on the good things happening in your life.

There will always be hard times, it is your personal choice to remain happy despite the state of your exterior.

2. Self-Care

Work can be stressful and demanding, running a business is even more tasking so what can you do to create a balance.

If you need a balance between your life and your work you need to make self-care a priority.

In this context, self-care doesn’t only mean taking care of your body, it also entails taking care of your mind.

Stay away from people that are toxic, that delight in making you upset, angry, or depressed. This set of people is unhealthy for your mind so you need to keep them away from your mental space.

You also need to maintain your physical health by eating a balanced diet, engaging in regular exercise either indoor or outdoor as well as maintaining high personal hygiene.

3. Eliminate procrastination

Can you count how many times you missed a deadline or had so many errors on a project due to procrastination?

I’m sure you cannot count how many times- that’s because you were a constant victim of this incident.

This is enough reason why you should eliminate procrastination from your lifestyle. I have been a long-standing victim of procrastination and sincerely I cannot name one benefit it offers.

It offers no positive help to me, so the only reason I stuck with it was that it was convenient.

If you want a promotion or perhaps you want to become a professional in your chosen field, you need to quit the desire to procrastinate.

4. Show kindness

A little kindness a day can save a life, but not so many people know about this. Most times we get so busy in our own lives that we forget that we live in the world with other people.

Your job can be frustrating but this doesn’t give you the right to be rude to everyone else. What if they also have frustrating jobs?

A lot of street fights and public arguments occur because nobody wants to show a tiny bit of kindness or understanding.

It’s a fact that the world can be difficult to live in. However, we can make people’s day a bit better by acting nice, offering a smile or compliment even when we don’t feel like it.

5. Don’t tolerate disrespect-not even from yourself

When you disrespect yourself, you are simply telling the world and other people to do the same. However, when you treat yourself right, you convey the same message to the world.

I’m sure you are wondering how can I disrespect myself?

There is a popular saying that “respect is reciprocal” when you fail to respect yourself or people around you, you attract disrespect to yourself.

If you walk around with unkempt hair, tattered shoes, and torn clothes these are all characteristics of disrespect to yourself.

Treat yourself right, set boundaries and principles, and when people cross them, ensure that you correct them.

Don’t reduce your standards to please anybody rather if they really care, they can choose to level up to meet you.

6. Cleanliness

Cleanliness is a major sign of responsibility; it shows that you are capable of handling certain tasks and duties by yourself.

Most importantly, it is a statement to the world that you can take care of yourself, be held accountable, and be recognized as a true member of society.

There is a popular saying that “cleanliness is next to godliness” this displays how noble and respected the act of staying clean can elevate an individual’s status.

Make the decision to keep your environment as well as your body and personal belongings clean. Personal hygiene should be a major priority in your scale of preference.

Also, a dirty environment can leave you sick but a clean surroundings would definitely elevate your health.

7. Positive mindset

Pessimistic people are all around us, they live with us, are present on social media pages and they spread their depressing thoughts for free.

The most famous line of pessimistic people is “always expect the worst so that when it happens you are already prepared”

What? I can’t believe that people live with this kind of mentality.

In fact, optimistic people are labeled as “motivational speakers” why pessimistic people are being “real”

There is absolutely nothing real about pessimism.

Optimism and pessimism are two ways of life; one person chooses to see light at the end of the tunnel while the other person chooses to only see the darkness.

It’s your decision to choose what path you want to follow, however; the world is tiring as it is. There is nothing wrong with having faith and hope for a better future.

8. Good spending habits

Are you living from salary to salary? No investment? savings? No extra source of income? This is a habit you should quit.

It can be hard to unlearn your current money knowledge but it is not impossible. It will take dedication, determination as well as trial and error.

You have to pass through these steps in order to unlearn your bad spending habits and cultivate new ones.

You can start with saving a little money from your salary every month, learning a new skill that can give you extra money on the side, and taking classes on investments.

When you start saving little amounts of money, it might seem very stressful but as you progress, you will feel more excited to save more.

9. Time management

A lot of time people say time is the most expensive currency in the world but if you check the currencies of the world, you will not find it there.

Then, how exactly is time the most expensive currency in the world?

The money you spend today, you can get it back but once you spend your time for that day, you can’t get it back.

Planning works in close relationship with effective time management. If you plan your day and schedule tasks in hours or minutes you can have more control of your time.

However, when you have no plan but an endless number of tasks. You will have no guide or compass on how to handle your activities.

10. Constant personal development

We live in a technology age (Gen z era) where information is power.

The trend of yesterday can be old news today while old trends can become the recent trailblazers.

You need to stay up-to-date with the recent trends in your field to stay relevant. If you are no longer relevant, you become obsolete and people no longer care about your services because it is outdated.

Learn something new every day, don’t let a day pass by without seeking new information to improve your life.

Go for seminars, workshops, conferences, read books, and purchase materials that are helpful in improving your knowledge.

You might be talented, but if you don’t have the necessary information that is highly relevant in your field, you will become irrelevant and replaceable.

Conclusion

Are there areas in your life that you feel like you can do better? Or perhaps are there some habits you practice but you detest?

As you enter the new year, you can make the decision to change and cultivate new habits that are beneficial to your growth and success.

List out the habits or characters you exhibit but wish to change, write out the new habits you wish to cultivate and finally, draw out a plan that will help you cultivate these new habits.

No one should force you to change a character. It is much better to make a personal decision and change your habits yourself.