The top seven New Year's resolutions to make
Home » Blog » Siobhan Leathley » The top seven New Year's resolutions to makeA leading psychology expert suggests Australians and New Zealanders should resolve to improve their emotional and mental health
While many of us make New Year's resolutions about furthering our careers or losing weight, few of us resolve to improve our emotional and mental health. But that's exactly what we should be focusing on, according to Australian psychology expert Dr Mary Casey.
Dr Casey suggests that once we focus on achieving these goals, exercise, diet and other tangible goals are then easier to meet.
These are Dr Casey's top seven New Year's resolutions:
1. Prioritise your happiness
It's important to make your health and happiness a priority, as everything else in life stems from this.
2. Spend time with the right people
Rather then resolving to spend more time with everyone, focus on spending time with people who are important to you. Dr Casey says that by spending more time with positive people you'll feel more energised and positive.
3. Deal with toxic relationships
You can identify these relationships by the way they make you feel. You need to be clear that you will not accept behaviour from other people, including family, which makes you feel upset or uncomfortable. This includes negative, overly emotional or controlling behaviour which puts you in a negative headspace.
4. Reassess your happiness at work
This is important for people who are in a negative work environment. Dr Casey suggests talking to your manager about any work issues you are having. "It’s important to know that as an employee you can address the issue with your manager. If you know you can’t, it may be time to look for a healthier work environment.”
5. Review your daily routine
“It takes courage to admit there are decisions we ourselves make that deflate us emotionally – from accepting a job with a long work commute, to running around too much, to not giving ourselves enough ‘down’ time every day, to spending too much and putting ourselves in financial stress,” says Dr Casey. However if people resolve to develop a strategy to deal with these issues, they can be in a much happier place by the end of 2012.
6. Banish negative emotions
“Negative emotions – however small – can overwhelm anything positive,” Dr Casey says. If you resolve to become more aware of negative emotions, such as feeling frustrated or upset, then you can deal with these emotions before they ruin your day. Ask yourself what you can do to improve your mood, whether this is going for a walk or spending some time in the sun connecting with nature.
7. Strengthen your relationships
Having deep and meaningful relationships with everyone who is important to you, is fundamental to achieving a more fulfilling life. Dr Casey suggests volunteering some of your time and getting involved in a community group or volunteering at a nursery home etc, as people often find deep fulfillment from charitable work.
Dr Casey is the CEO of the Casey Centre, a health and education organisation. Dr Casey is also the author of: How to Deal with Master Manipulators ($69.95, Casey Centre)
