Every year, people make generic New Year’s resolutions. “I’m going to the gym five days a week,” or “I am cutting off all the toxic people in my life,” or even “I am going vegan this year!”

They may be good resolutions, but not the most realistic ones. 

I don’t usually make resolutions because I know that by next year I won’t even remember what I wanted to accomplish. 

This year, though, I have made a unique New Year’s resolution, and by breaking it down into steps I think it will be possible to achieve.

My New Year’s resolution is to live a happier life. 

We live in this new culture of self-pity, especially online. To start my happier life, I finally deleted the app Instagram off of my phone. 

I deleted it about month or two ago, and just that minor change it made a big difference for me. I don’t look for verification that I am “cool” or “get enough likes.” I also turned off all my notifications for social media, now I don’t feel anxious checking my phone waiting for someone to snap me. 

Once my social media life was under control, I could plan for all the things I need to physically do in my daily life to make me happy. Every month, I planned what I will consistently do every day or every week to make new habits. 

I have heard that if you do something for 30 days straight it becomes a habit. If you do things month by month, then you have created multiple new healthy habits, which creates a happier life for you in the long run. 

Some of the short-term goals I created for each month are things like: gym five days a week for one month, next month start a face wash routine that works for me, the month after that focus on my diet and eating healthy foods, and so on. 

I believe this is a great way of breaking down your big goal, or your New Year’s resolution.

A resolution is just a goal, and we have to have short-term goals to reach our ultimate goal. My ultimate goal is happiness, but I can’t just decide that and expect 2019 to be just be full of happiness for me. I have to put in work, you have to put in work. 

In the end it’s always worth it.