40 Resolutions That Will Make 2016 A Heck Of A Lot Easier On You

With 2016 right around the corner, it’s a great time to look at the year we’ve had and make a few tweaks in preparation for the one ahead. While we all have our own personal goals (mark my words that this will be the year I obtain the Madonna “Blonde Ambition” body I have been coveting since, well, The Blonde Ambition Tour) there are some resolutions that have this wonderful, one-size-fits-all appeal.

Read below for 40 a la carte resolutions guaranteed to help make 2016 the best year yet. Pick and choose a few, or, if you’re ready for a total life change, commit to all of them!

1. Accept that you are now entering the next year of your life and your status quo should change. You are taking the lessons of the past year (and those before it) and making tweaks, for you, and not anyone else.

2. Do not do “anything” for a love that is not doing anything for you. Doing so is not romantic or noble, it’s a sign that something deep inside of you needs to be addressed.

3. When you can, put in that extra effort required to be extraordinary. Doing so will create a life that is much fuller (and even sparkles a little).

4. When you leave a room, be the person they want to see again ... and not the one who makes them breathe a sigh of relief when the door closes behind you.

5. Stop. Following. Dangled. Carrots.

6. Recognize that those who speak negatively about others aren’t innovative or interesting. They are simply sad and common, and bring joy only when they leave the room. Make an effort not only to not be one of those people, but to let them know you’re not interested in engaging them.

7. Forgive my candor, but don’t be anyone’s bitch.

8. If you want an answer to a question, go to the source. Going to someone else for “advice” about how another human being feels is like choosing a fortune teller over an encyclopedia.

9. Instead of judging everyone around you, people you don’t know, and yourself for being a human being (all of whom are flawed in their own way) try to understand and actually get somewhere.

10. Love, forgive and support with commitment or don’t do it at all.

11. Let go of the desire to manipulate your way in and out of places and relationships. Just be yourself and go where you are invited in; that's where you belong.

12. Stop putting yourself down and stop placing others on a pedestal.

13. Plan a few trips with your friends and just live with a smile on your face a few days.

14. Pick up a book at least one time for every three you pick up the remote.

15. Accept that you are worth way more than you are bargaining for.

16. See kindness for what it really is: strength and wisdom. Respect it and don't take it for granted.

17. Be the kind of person you would really like to have in your life.

18. Show gratitude for the life you have been given. Also, show gratitude for the life you are able to give yourself and show appreciation to those who share both with you.

19. Doing nothing is not a waste of time. Doing something you know won’t work over and over is. Stop doing that.

20. Do the right thing, right now. Repeat.

21. Try to get your multivitamin by way of actual food.

22. Don’t just have a heart, prove that you do, even when no one will know.

23. Make your spiritual health as important as your physical health and tone your mind more than you tone your booty.

24. Do something that adds value to a life every single day and don't wait for someone to love you before you love yourself.

25. Share more experiences than wishes, more compliments than complaints, more smiles than scowls.

26. Be a Vintage Spider on the coastline, not a fire truck pushing its way through the streets. And for goodness sakes, don't be an old caddy collecting dust in someone's garage.

27. Get a mentor. Be a mentor. 

28. Find reasons to laugh at the nuances of life, but never at people.

29. Hope with intelligence. Get up with an intention. Create with inspiration.

30. Make every season one of giving. Send notes of appreciation and volunteer to feed the homeless in summer, collect clothing for a women’s shelter in the spring.

31. Take a chance on love.

32. Set daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly goals for yourself. Keep these goals on a calendar where you can see them. Check in with yourself monthly to see that you’re on-track to make them.

33. Be good to the souls around you (and the one inside of you).

34. Drink three times as much water as you do caffeine and/or alcohol.

35. Whether it’s a food, a route or smiling at the woman who serves your coffee, try something new every single day.

36. Say “Please” and “Thank you” each and every time.

37. Move on with your life with people who want to be in it and say goodbye to those who do not. It won’t be easy, but some people do not want to go with you at the pace you are going and that’s OK.

38. Remember that everyone we meet has a “secret life” we don’t know about. That “bad attitude” could be the side effects of a whole lot of pain.

39. Stay in your own lane and focus on your own journey. Go at your own pace and don't ever be afraid to pass by people who are making you late to your destination.

40. Love yourself, even when you don't like yourself. Have your own back and protect yourself the way you would your very best friend.

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Brenda Della Casa is the Author of Cinderella Was a Liar, The Managing Editor of Preston Bailey, A Huffington Post Blogger and the Founder of BDC Life In Style. She is usually found in the gym hitting the speed bag to Eminem, having a wine-down with friends or writing with her beloved Chihuahua, Tony Che Montana, by her side. Twitter: @BrendaDellaCasa  Instagram: BrendaDellaCasa