It’s almost that time of year again when men can accept the notion of improving themselves without taking it as an implied insult. At least that’s the theory. If you’re scratching your head over some top goals to fixate on and fret over for the coming months, here are a few ideas to get you started:
Lay off Facebook and Twitter
To paraphrase F Scott Fitzgerald: First you tweet a message, then the messages start to tweet you. Social media seems to have become the new national vice, with everyone doing it, and no one seeming to feel that good about it. The holiday season is a good time to start breaking the chains, as it’s usually when you have fewer professional reasons for being online, and it’s accepted that you’ll be spending some valuable personal time away from your phone. Try to go cold turkey, and see how little actually changes when you don’t check your messages every ten minutes. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Learn a new language
There’s no harm in trying at least. If you’re one of those people that usually gives up after ‘Do you speak American?’ it might be time to consider attending classes. That way you get some structure to the learning experience and clear objectives to aim for. Try to pick a language for a place you might want to visit some day.
Spend time with loved ones
You may feel like you’ve already done your share over the festive season, but it will make you feel better to keep in touch with the ones you love all year round. In case you were wondering, this isn’t an excuse to shirk on the first resolution – swapping scores on Candy Crush and liking a picture of a cat wearing socks isn’t quality time.
Work out
The classic new years resolution is to lose a few pounds and get in shape. There are plenty of gadgets and gizmos to encourage exercise these days – a few may even have found their way into your stocking – but ultimately the burden of getting in shape lies with you. Doing something every day, however small, is essential. So try to make sure you spend more time exercising than you do arranging cool exercise tracks on your iPod playlist.
Replace smoking with vaping
It’s always a good time to quit smoking, but if you don’t want to leave a hole where smoking used to be, you could always try the healthier option of an electronic cigarette. It feels good, and it can help with nicotine cravings too, so quitting doesn’t have to be a punishing process. You might actually find it easier than some of these other yearly goals.
