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How to Make This Your Best Year Yet

You really can elevate your life, improve your career, and live better than before.

How many shows and movies have you seen where a character exclaims, “It must be my year!” Usually, that has something to do with a streak of good luck. But in the real world, we can’t rely on luck to make any given year our year. Instead, we have to put in the effort.

If you’re looking to make your next year the best year you’ve had, there are some steps you can take. These include:

Take an Emotional Inventory

What makes you feel content? What upsets you? These seem like questions with obvious answers, but few of us ever take the time to really consider the parts of our lives that are uplifting us and the parts that are holding us down. If you want a better year, you have to start by knowing what you should be heading toward and what you should be leaving behind.

Set Good Boundaries

If you understand what upsets you, you can set limits for what you will and will not accept from other people and from life in general. If constantly trying to look as fashionable as possible makes you miserable, it’s okay to dress more casually. If someone at work or in your social circle regularly and unfairly criticizes you, it’s okay to tell them they need to stop. If your favorite sports team leads to you being angry much more often than it leads to you being thrilled, it’s okay to become a more casual fan. While it can sometimes seem that setting boundaries will upset others or disrupt the order of your life, boundaries can actually make you much more content with who you are and how you’re living.

Spend More Time With Good Friends, Less With Online Strangers

Studies have repeatedly found that being around other people can make us happier and healthier.1 Meanwhile, social media has been shown to make some people depressed.2 Rather than hopping on Twitter or Instagram the moment you get home, consider making plans to see a friend, even if it’s just for a drink or an appetizer. Yes, that may take more work than going on social media, but it can also be a lot more rewarding.

Update Your Playlist

Did you know listening to music can be good for you? All we need are the right tunes. And with literally millions of songs available at the touch of a button, you should have no trouble finding music you like. Go ahead and download some new songs and then make time to listen.

Head Toward a More Fulfilling Job

Most of us spend a good portion of our week working. Which means, if you’re unhappy at your job, you probably don’t have a lot of great weeks. So why not make this the year you put yourself in position for a better job or even a new career?

Advancing into a better job can begin by earning a degree in the field that interests you most. And thanks to online education, finishing a college degree or graduate degree is more possible than ever before. That’s because, when you choose to earn a degree online, you won’t have to worry about living close to any colleges or universities. Instead, you can attend an online university from home or from anywhere else you have internet access. In addition, online classes have flexible scheduling, meaning you can attend them at whatever time of day works best for you. In this way, online learning is particularly beneficial to working adults who need to hold down a job while they earn a degree.

Most of the top accredited online colleges offer a wide variety of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, so you’re likely to find the perfect degree to help your career or allow you to change careers. When it comes to making the next year better, earning a degree online can be an important step forward.

Walden University is an accredited institution offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs online. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.

1Source: www.nbcnews.com/better/health/good-company-why-we-need-other-people-be-happy-ncna836106
2Source: www.independent.co.uk/voices/social-media-is-making-us-depressed-lets-learn-to-turn-it-off-a6974526.html

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.

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