Leaving 2020 behind for 2021 is like a bad breakup. Your energy is drained, you are done with the stress and you know you need to move on, but you’re stuck in a world of “what ifs”. As your mates would say, it’s time to “get over it” and hit the next stage of life with force!
The future looks bright, so take on board the following tips to move forward into 2021 with confidence.
Relax, And Have More Fun
If there’s anything 2020 taught us, it’s that we need to have more fun in our lives. Getting stuck indoors for weeks on end made us appreciate the great outdoors a lot more and showed us the life we haven’t been paying attention to. Did you ever realise how much you underappreciated a simple walk around the park until you couldn’t do it anymore? Take time in 2021 to get out and enjoy the local area. Visit places you’ve never been before, spend your weekends doing day trips and overnighters. Be spontaneous and try something you’ve always dreamed of doing but never had the guts – like skydiving! Spend as much time as you can outside, go for walks and bike rides, relax with a barbecue and your mates at the beach. You never know when you might be locked down again!
Get Sustainable!
From your home’s environment to the clothes you wear, take a step in the right direction by switching to sustainable living. There are plenty of ways you can do this. Start by reducing your food waste at home – don’t buy anything you won’t eat, and if you do have scraps, start a compost or worm bin to effectively dispose of them. Next, ditch the plastics. Every year, bags, straws, cups and other plastic items contribute to eight million tonnes of waste that escapes the land and hits our oceans. Eight million tonnes!
Other things to consider include utilising water efficient showerheads and taps in the home, energy and water efficient appliances (look for the Star Ratings), and upgrading your lights to LED or other energy efficient styles.
And when it comes to your clothes, you want to choose brands that are dedicated to sustainable practices. Companies like Levi’s have been innovating in this space for years – and eco-friendly materials and manufacturing processes that are kinder on the environment are key to the company’s success. Starting with Water<Less technologies, which allows them to make their garments using 96% less water; through to their Wellthread™ collection which is made using hemp and designed to be recycled – there are plenty of choices you can make tomorrow that are better than the ones you made yesterday.
Social Media Who?
In 2020, we were all stuck at home – some of us for weeks and months on end. Our use of social media skyrocketed, but social media addiction is so 2020. Time to get back to reality. Rather than reading and talking about people going on exciting adventures, get out and do them instead. Don’t waste your time watching people play your fave games on YouTube when you can play them yourself. Although life isn’t quite back to “normal”, there’s no need for you to stay stuck in a technological world when there’s a big wide one a few steps away. Give yourself a social media detox in 2021! A month, a week, or even a day will make a huge difference to your mental health. If you can’t imagine switching off for a day, at least give yourself a few hours every night before you hit the pillow. Not only will it be good for your soul, it’ll also be great for your sleep!
Set Goals
Whether your goals are health based and you want to lose the keg and gain a six pack; or you want to buy a house or car, goal setting and achieving all comes down to belief and motivation. To start with, sit down and visualize what you want in life. Write it all down and make sure it meets the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound). Be realistic about your goals. If you are on a low income, chances are you might not get a Porsche any time soon. But you could aim for a Land Rover. Decide when you want to hit those goals, and how you’re going to achieve it. Get creative with your plan of action and start taking steps to get there.
2021 is about doing things for yourself – starting fresh after a stressful 2020 and building a brighter future. Just remember, you don’t have to make big changes to make a difference.
