New Year's resolutions that work

Jan 04, 2012 9:00 AM by Mary Fetzer

Posted in Parenting / Parenting Tips & Advice / Mom & Dad

This year, put your energy behind improving faith, family and friends with these tips from the experts.

Faith

Expert tip: Live as if you had a terminal disease. ~ Clint Arthur, achievement expert

Dr. Laurie Elmore Thompson, author of Laurie's Story: Discovering Joy in Adversity, believes in setting personal faith goals:

Look for blessings in life. An attitude of gratitude means we appreciate what we have and take fewer things for granted.
Life is a gift. Take one day at a time and live each day to its fullest.
Be a blessing to those who are less fortunate. You will strengthen your faith by helping others.
Determine to be positive and try to see things from God's perspective throughout the next year. Your faith will help you through even the most challenging times.

The spiritual side of marriage >>

Family

Expert tip: Reflect on last year -- the good, the bad and the not-yet-accomplished. ~ Alexandra F. Figueredo, motivation coach

Resolve to do something rather than to stop doing something! "Find work-family balance that works for your life," encourages Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs. So many moms struggle to find the right mix of work, family and personal activities.

"Think about the ways you can alter your current work schedule -- telecommuting, working a condensed workweek, changing your work hours to avoid rush hour -- that will provide your more time to spend with family and things you care about.

Juggling work and family >>

Friends

Expert tip: Don't focus on how to do it, but rather, why should I do it? ~ Steve Siebold, mental toughness coach

Resolve to be a better best friend! "The presence (or absence) of a best friend affects our physical health, mental health and even our finances," says Dr. John Townsend, clinical psychologist and author of How to Be a Best Friend Forever.

These days, how we define "friends" has changed dramatically. We're Facebook "friends" with people we barely know (and many we don't even like all that much)! It takes work to build long-term, rewarding friendships.

Dr. Townsend encourages women to make multiple friends "because each person brings a certain set of qualities to a relationship. Variety is the spice of life and BF [best friend] should be plural."