THE 10 SPOT

BESTThe Spot 10

YEAR YET

by TARA MENDANHA

If you’re tired of setting the same lofty goals each year— and falling short each time—then give these alternatives a try. They’re more manageable and way more fun!

1Pick a word or phrase for the year to be your guiding light through every little thing you do and moment you experience in 2022. Let it be one you can apply to all areas of your life—relationships, work, hobbies, health, spirituality, etc. You can pick words like “simplicity,” “breathe,” or “joy.” Last year, I chose the phrase “done is better than perfect” as a mantra to do everything—from cleaning the kitchen to creative projects. Don’t forget to plaster that word/ phrase all over your house as a daily reminder.

2Make a vision or inspiration board. Put photos of all the things you’d like for yourself this year or a set of inspirational quotes you like or images you find calming. It doesn’t have to be some intense manifestation exercise, just a gentle reminder of what will bring you peace and joy.

3Make a bucket list of all the fun things you want to do in 2022. It could be as simple as visiting a farmers’ market you’ve never been to or as complicated as riding a horse. (Is riding a horse complicated? It might have to go on my own bucket list!) You could even check out our online calendar for fun, recurring events at stylemg.com/ calendar.

4Start a challenge. It could be a 30-day yoga challenge at a local studio, a 52-week

money challenge (where you put away a certain amount each week and watch it grow), a 100-day project where you do something creative each day (there’s a whole community online for this), or you can even make up your own.

Anything to get the juices and energy flowing.

5Start a gratitude log. It can be as simple as jotting down a word each day (like something yummy you ate or the name of a friend you met) or an entire paragraph-long—whatever you can make time for. Research shows that gratitude is consistently associated with greater levels of happiness. Who doesn’t want to be happy this year?

6Make a list of your favorites. Favorite local coffee shop and drink, favorite skin care products, favorite park, etc. Then go out and do/get more of them!

7Make a five-minute selfcare checklist of things you want to indulge in each week or even each day. It could be something easy like taking five deep breaths when you wake each morning or using a luxurious face (or foot!) mask every weekend.

8List all your accomplishments! Instead of focusing on what you have to/ need to/want to do this year, dwell on all the ridiculously cool things you’ve done this past year and beyond (made it through a pandemic, birthed a child, learned how to change a tire). Then, whenever you’re feeling down and out, reach for this list and be blown away by how amazing you truly are.

9Start preserving memories. Journal about something that happens each day or one big thing from each week, or even print photos every week and stick them in a scrapbook. You can also save receipts and tickets from fun outings in a shadow box. Find a way to chronicle your wonderful life.

10 Do a detox—for your body, like a detoxifying body treatment or juicing detox; for your home, where you purge all your toxic cleaning supplies or personal care supplies; or a digital detox, where you delete time-wasting apps or track and reduce your phone usage. Anything to get rid of some of that bad juju!