Making 2022 Your Best Year Yet
After a tough couple of years I want to encourage everyone to step into next year with a positive outlook and hope for good times to come, and with a commitment to make 2022 your best year yet.
It’s important to take responsibility for your own happiness and progress in life, so I’m sharing some ideas that you can concentrate on next year that serve your mental health and wellbeing.
These longer-term focuses are far better than short-lived New Years’ resolutions and will help you turn 2022 into a year where things really start to change for the better.
Prioritise your health and wellbeing
Forget new year diets and weight loss crazes and instead focus on changing a few habits at a time and making better choices for your body and emotional health.
Simple things like regular exercise, eating well, and good self-care routines are all we need to optimise our health over time.
Maybe take up a new practice like yoga, mediation, tennis or team sport at a local sports centre. And don’t forget to set boundaries so you don’t become worn out putting other people’s needs ahead of your own.
Reassess your work
If your work doesn’t feel meaningful or no longer excites you, it could be time for a change.
Nobody wants to dread Monday mornings or have those Sunday evening blues so if that’s how you’re feeling, maybe you should look for a new role. If you’re not in work but want a new challenge, try volunteering for a local school, charity, or community project.
Sometimes we get stuck in a rut, or comfortable in our work even if it’s not lighting us up, so make 2022 your year to grab new opportunities and improve your life.
Reconnect with friends
Most of us haven’t seen friends as much as we used to over the last couple of years, so make a commitment next year to pencil more dates into the diary to reconnect with friends.
Bowling, cinema, theatre, coffee, lunch, evening drinks, Sunday dinner together are all great ways to catch up with and spend time with friends, and these social activities are great for your mental health and emotional wellbeing too.
Build a bridge
The saying that we “choose our friends but not our family” might be true, but even when you have different values and opinions from other family members, you can still choose to get along and not cause rifts.
If you’ve had a family feud, maybe it’s time to bury the hatchet and move on, because the truth is that it not only affects those involved – it also ripples out to other family members who are impacted by the fallout and can in turn affect everyone’s mental wellbeing.
Take care of your mind
You wouldn’t put off getting a broken leg treated, but so many people bury their heads in the sand when it comes to mental health challenges.
The trouble is, things usually get worse when you ignore them and negatively affect multiple areas of your life, which can lead to needing help for a mental health crisis.
Start with your GP or local wellbeing service, or book a counselling session with me.
Tidy up your space
There’s a valid reason that people say “tidy home, tidy mind”, as clutter and ignored DIY jobs lead to a low level of stress which can cause havoc on the body and mind.
Maybe commit to sorting one room a month, decluttering and donating to charity shops or good causes, shredding old paperwork, recycling or mending broken things, tackling outstanding DIY or redecorating if needed, so that you can enjoy your space.
You could add some plump new cushions, calming plants, shiny new crockery, or other items that you use daily. Just a small spend can help you feel like you’re living in luxury when you treat yourself to something new and fresh.
Fresh starts
The New Year is the perfect time for fresh starts, and the last couple of years might not have been what we had planned, but you can take some control back over your life with these steps and make 2022 your best year yet.
And don’t forget that I’m here to support you on your journey to a great life, so you’d like to book a counselling session, you can contact me here.
