5 Good Resolutions To Help You Be a Better Human
photo: @harry_lambert
Wishing that we can go back to our original programming, let’s say pre-2016. If only. Since the global pandemic, we have had to learn and relearn things about ourselves to keep our head above water. This new year we resolve different things in hopes for an efficient self help, mental wellness recovery and to become better versions of ourselves.
But as motivating as resolutions are meant to be, if you do only one thing throughout the year, let it be showing genuine kindness to a stranger. Someone always needs it.
🍍 READ BOOKS BY BIPOC AUTHORS
Begin the year with literary exploration and learning. The first way to do that is by reading, it not only expands the imagination, but is the right mental exercise the brain craves. And it’s just about time to tap into the creative pool of literary talents out there.
Read Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, written in the perspective of a female AI.
🍍 STICK UP FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS HELP
It sounds simple, but there’s actually a lot of genuine proactiveness that comes with that urgency. We know that when you see something, you say something. Beyond that, if you’re watching someone being physically or verbally abused, step in, shout, wave your hands up in the air, do - something. Promote kindness any way you can.
Buy the Kindness Club hat, available in different colors.
🍍 BE BUSY OFFLINE ONE DAY A WEEK
It’s not the easiest task for many of us, and for some it’s a no brainer. There is a crucial importance to logging off social media, it’s so that you can be that other cool person you once were before you had social media. Remember those fond days when you did things, talked to people, watched a good film without rewinding a scene six times. Pick a day, stick with it and appreciate your offline persona more.
🍍 BECOME A CONSCIOUS CONSUMER
Changing your shopping habits can be a heroic thing. No really, it’s the small step towards supporting a better infrastructure in all industries whether it’s fashion, the foods you eat and where you buy your goods. At the end of the day, if you can say that you consciously thought more about your purchases (you asked yourself who made this, were they paid fairly and is this safe for the environment), you may have saved someone’s job and even the planet. The point of being a conscious consumer is to feel good about your purchasing power.
Shop Pura Utz, crafted goods handmade by Mayan women in Guatemala.
🍍 START AN EMERGENCY FUND
If we learned anything in 2020 it was our obsession with toilet paper. Although I personally don’t believe that money makes the world go round, it is the thing that saves you from unforeseeable crisis. Apps like Oportun allows you to save money for a rainy day without even thinking about it or lifting a finger. I use it for personal emergencies, like (knock on wood) should my dog need immediate medical attention, I like knowing that there’s an account to dip in for such situations.
Illustration by @harrietleemerrion
