Live Happy In 2015

It’s 2 weeks into 2015, have you already given up on your New Year’s resolutions? If you and your readers struggle every year to stick to your resolutions, there’s no need to worry! Live Happy has the easy answers to make changes in all aspects of life – whether health, yourself, or work! In the first issue of the New Year, Live Happy’s expert columnists offer concrete suggestions to keep resolutions on track.

HEALTH – Start with your head and work your way down. Instead of just focusing on health and wellness in terms of eating right or exercising this year, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a co-host of The Doctors, says the key to a truly healthy body is to:

1. Focus on emotional wellness – Work on ways to life your mood, improves levels of happiness, and fight depression.

2. Maintain realistic expectations – Exercise is more than just what size you wear – it’s more about doing something good for both your body and mind.

3. Make social connections and build relationships – Working out with others can help you feel a sense of camaraderie and mutual benefits.

SELF – Focus on what you love to get the most out of life. Psychotherapist and relationship expert Stacy Kaiser says that being happy, enthusiastic and driven ignites extra passion inside you. To get this started, she suggests:

1. Brainstorm and research – unsure of what you’re truly passionate about? Spending time thinking about it, exchanging ideas with others, and trying things of interest to you.

2. Look into your past – Think back to what you were passionate about and loved doing as a child, teen, or young adult, and make those experiences part of your current life.

3. Make a bucket list – Make a list of all the things you want to do but have never done to get excited about them, and as you do them cross them off your list!

WORK – Write a hope letter instead of making a resolution. For someone who doesn't communicate easily or well make headway to improve their job search skills, career coaches Margaret H. Greenberg and Senia Maymin, Ph.D. say people should write a Hope Letter and following the following 3 simple steps to make their resolutions stick:

1. Write it down – Address the letter to yourself and date it exactly one year in the future.

2. No limits – Imagine what it would be like accomplishing all your goals – consider your career, health, finance, family, romance, etc.

3. Be accountable – Enlist support from family and friends and ask someone you trust to hold on to your letter and mail it back to you one year from the date you wrote it.

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