Ever thought about how you can make your life better without uprooting everything? Well, I have, and I want to talk about some of my personal goals for the upcoming year,
Just to be clear, I want to separate this from the inevitable #NewYearsResolution articles that will manifest online in December, for this reason: the tradition of almost every New Year’s Resolution is that they are not taken even slightly seriously after the first week. The life goals I mention here are ones to stick to, and will ultimately benefit you in the long run.
First, cycling. A lot of you will be familiar with this scenario – after two days of riding your sleek, new bike you just bought from Halfords at 7:30 am to work, you feel like a superhero. Then, almost by accident, something disrupts your system. A day off work, a surprise illness, a punctured tyre. Suddenly lie-ins remind you what was so warm about them in the first place.
I understand that, we all do. However, I’m personally aiming to ride to work twice a week. If not to work, why not go somewhere nice at the weekend? A bike ride on a day off can be one of the most therapeutic stress relievers. If you can find a way to fit cycling into your life comfortably, there’s nothing holding you back!
Second is the transition to environmentally friendly heating. This is an odd one – why would you change a system that works? The truth is, electric heating is far more efficient for a much longer period than gas heating. For example, if I bought this stand-alone electric radiator range from Verismart, its efficiency, lack of extra parts and long life means I’m far less likely to have to replace it within 2 years. You can also heat specific rooms and turn it on and off when you please, so it’s far more convenient. It’s just like any durable product – you’d much rather have a more powerful, long lasting laptop than waste money on several that can’t handle more than two programs at once. In the end it’s a no brainer.
Finally, and admittedly most dauntingly, I aim to go gluten free. The world is getting scarier each day and everything we love seems to now be cancerous. Just like every other big life change, however, switching to a gluten free diet appears to be a chore; the food doesn’t seem as nice, it’s more expensive, you have to be that one who asks for different food at parties. Overall, however, the end justifies the means. I can’t count how many people who have told me how much better they feel now they’ve gone gluten free. Sure, it will take a bit of effort, but again, don’t feel like you have to throw yourself in the deep end immediately. Moderation will tell you how well your body’s reacting to the change, then you can decide where to go.
The truth about all of these changes is that they are tough to do right away, so my advice is this: don’t run before you can walk. Those baby steps might just make a serious life decision that bit easier.
