Every adult has experience in failed New Year’s resolutions. I am going to quit smoking this year, I am going to knit a pair of mittens, I am going to stop writing all my blog posts while working at my real job (umm…) – no matter what it is that we had planned to do, by mid-January those dreams have been dashed by nasty combination of a lack of will, an overabundance of time commitments and by the uninvited visit from our best buddy, Captain Lazy Face. This year, in an effort to motivate yourself to begin a resolution and to assist you in maintaining your resolve consider engaging the rest of your family in your goal(s). Start a family New Year’s resolution challenge!
Here is one way to make this challenge work:
Have each member of the family identify a goal that they wish to achieve or a wish they want to make come true in the coming year. List each player’s name and their New Year’s plan on a poster board or plain piece of paper and hang it up in a visible spot in a common area of the house (think: the fridge). Each night, at the dinner table or on the way to soccer practice, ask each other how their day went, if they stuck to their plan, or if they got any closer to achieving their goal during the day. As a double bonus, while you all work towards your New Year’s Resolutions this challenge will also bring into the fold lively conversation and discourse among all family members. And that is always a good thing!
Another way this may work for you and your family is to partake in the same goal!
One simple idea could be to pack lunch every day instead of spending money at the school cafeteria and the workplace vending machine. This noble and cost cutting goal can bring the family together at the kitchen table making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and filling plastic baggies with Pirate’s Booty and Fig Newton snacks. Think of the fun you will have passing the jars of peanut butter around the table, throwing around the loaf of bread like a football and laughing together as a family. With the money you are saving by brown bagging your lunches, you can plan a little family adventure. Dream big and keep talking. With any luck you will all exceed your New Year’s goals, have fun and get closer to each other along the way.
New Year’s Resolutions – Fitness
New Year’s Resolutions – Money