It’s that time of year again. Januworry or Jan-no-worry: you decide. We’re half way through the longest month of the year that immediately (and inconveniently) follows our prolonged festive season overindulgence.
For some it’s a month of will power and holding back. While others prefer to see a green light instead of a red one; for them, it’s a brilliant new start filled with untold challenges. Are you the former or the latter?
Despite being gifted such an inspiring clean slate, resolution trends never seem to differ much: lose weight, exercise more, drink more water (and less alcohol), eat healthy, read more, be kind, improve oneself … rinse and repeat. While these are great things to aspire to all year round, let’s not start this shiny new decade with our dusty old re-used resolutions
Make some lists you’ll love
Every January we face a seemingly endless flurry of lists upon lists of resolution ideas and suggestions on how best to approach the new year. Personally, I think we should strive to maintain a healthy state of mind, body and empathy year-round, and rather focus the new decade’s clean slate on more exciting, fulfilling and meaningful endeavours. Ones that not only feed the soul, but that also help leave our world a better place (I think we can all finally agree that our planet desperately needs us to tread lightly).
Let’s do away with those tired traditional resolutions and make some lists that will motivate us to live out our wildest dreams (if not now, when?). Watch this space for some lists you’ll (hopefully) love: 20 faraway places to explore this decade (scroll down); 15 of the world’s best treehouse hotels; and 13 choose your own (desert) adventures that’ll make you feel like a kid again.
It is a new decade after all, so make it count. Step out of your comfort zone and say yes to those adventures lingering in the back of your mind. Put the focus on maintaining a healthy work/life balance so that you can, and do, make time to travel to new destinations, detox from the digital world, forge new friendships, marvel at new learnings and create new memories.
Ten years from now, will you remember what you weighed in 2020 and how many times you went to the gym? Or will you remember the time you fell asleep gazing up at the stars in the middle of the desert or the time you caught a fleeting glimpse of an elusive snow leopard? In a world plagued by uncertainty, travel is the most beautiful antidote. Sure, you might gain an extra kilo or two along the way, but your heart will be full and your memory bank overflowing.