New Year’s Resolutions for Happy and Healthy Lifestyle in 2020

How did my New Year’s Day begin? As usual, when I wake up, I go to the balcony to watch the sunrise and be quiet in the space of birds singing. Everything seems to go slower and more peaceful in the chill of early morning. And I thought that 2019 passed by so quickly and a New Year comes again. It’s time of the year to make New Year’s resolutions that I look forward to a happy and healthy lifestyle this year will bring.

Making my New Year’s resolutions for a healthy lifestyle. Photograph: Nhu Le

As a new year begins, it means I have a chance to make a new beginning, new hope, and new way of my life. I hope to have a year filled with happiness and strength. My special wish for this year is that I want to get healthier. Health is everything to me, especially when I underwent 8 cycles of chemotherapy so I understand thoroughly how it is the most important. To gain optimal health, feel awesome every day, all I need to do is follow these 9 things. Life becomes better when we learn to respect, be grateful, be honest, and be a giver.

1. Healthy eating

Mixed fresh fruits basket in the kitchen. Photograph: Nhu Le

There are many benefits to eating healthfully that helps to improve the quality of life and prevent disease. A healthy diet means eating a variety of delicious fresh foods to get the energy and nutrients your body need. These nutrients include protein, carbohydrates, fats, water, vitamins and minerals. There is no one perfect diet that works for every single person. To me, I just eat enough the amount I need for my body, I don’t eat too much of a specific type of food. It’s important to focus on nutritional diversity with a good appetite. I prefer to eat whole foods and plant based foods rather than kinds of meat. And I don’t like to eat processed foods and soft drinks. In the kitchen, there is always a mixed fruits basket, it’s not only to decorate the kitchen but also to remind me of eating fruit every day. When I go to the supermarket, I like to buy organic foods if the price is not too expensive. I will learn more to cook various delicious dishes from vegetables.

2. Regular exercise to get a healthy lifestyle

10 minutes morning meditation for gratitude and positivity to start your day. Photograph: Nhu Le

I still keep exercising for at least 30 minutes a day. Exercising regularly has many benefits for your body and brain. So don’t procrastinate to spend a few minutes every day doing physical activity, no matter how busy your day is or you have to focus on doing something. I try to walk as much as possible per day and do not forget to massage my whole body before going to bed and after waking up. I really like the feeling of meditating early morning. That I drink a glass of water then walk out to the balcony to enjoy a breathtaking view of sunrise. When sunlight shines through trees, I feel very peaceful and appreciate everything around me.

3. Enjoy the little things

Life moves pretty fast so take a deep breath and enjoy the little things. The simple pleasures help me slow down and enjoy the usual moments. Happiness comes from the simple things; sometimes it is just having meals with family, going to coffee with friends, or catching the stranger with a gentle smile… You never think happiness is when you achieve something in the future. But happiness is in the present moment, simply from the small things around us. Life is short, so be grateful and happy for what you have in every moment. The great thing I have every morning is to make a cup of coffee and enjoy its sweet and bitter taste. It’s peaceful and beauty feeling in life when I drink a hot cup of coffee while reading the favorite book.

4. Read more books

A good book is simply is one that I enjoy reading. Photograph: Nhu Le

If one day your life feels like it’s a complete chaotic mess of social networking sites. Then choose a good book and start reading it in the enjoyable way as much as you can. You will find the tranquility of your soul besides the knowledge the book gives you. There are some books I don’t understand thoroughly when I read it for the first time. But when I read it the second time, I find many good things to learn. There had been the time I was stuck, sometimes it felt like I was sprinting through life trying to keep up with everything. I didn’t have time to read a book, or rather I forgot my reading habit. Then once I went to coffee shop with my friends, they talked about good stories in books. I knew the names of those books but I had never read them. At that time, I felt like I rushed my life, and then unknowingly forgot the positive values ​​in life the books bring to. There are a number of books that have provided me with great inspiration on both a personal as well as professional level. I love to read books that nurture the soul. I just bought the health book “How Not to Die” by Michael Greger in Amazon 3 days ago. I purchased it for 11.17 euros with a paperback, and hardcover book is twice as expensive. I have just flipped through a few pages but I really like this one.

5. Spend more time in nature

Good morning. Today turn off the news and take time to enjoy nature with the beautiful birds. Photograph: Nhu Le

No matter how busy your life is, you should spend more time enjoying the beauty of nature. Spending time in nature is to soothe the mind and find inner peace. It’s the best way to reduce stress levels, help you find clarity and rejuvenate your mind and body. It is wonderful to wake up in a remote place, see the gentle morning sun rays through the trees and birds dancing on the branches. At the time, I just want to immerse myself in the mesmerizing beauty of nature. In the past, when I went to travel somewhere; I often visited the famous sightseeing places where there were many tourists. And now, the older I get the more I want to travel to the places less traveled, away from the hustling and bustling noises of tourist areas.

6. Pick up a hobby

I made this countryside oil painting more than 3 years ago. Photograph: Nhu Le

I have many hobbies like gardening, photography, writing… And there is one hobby I’ve forgotten for almost two years is oil painting. I like oil painting that is marvelous; it makes me happier and more patient. I hope to have a small house with big garden where I can grow vegetables, plants, raise some animals and make some bird cages hanging on trees to invite birds to reside in the stormy weather. It’s just a wish but I can paint that beautiful cottage in countryside scenery on canvas, then sit down relax to enjoy the peace of my painting. Just a fleeting thought but be happy feeling when complete this rustic painting. That’s why I just bought a set of paint brushes, 12 different colors and other things to mix colors and wash brushes. I’ll start making oil paintings when the weather gets warmer.

7. Learn something new

Learning is the best way to develop and improve myself. I wanted to learn something new to start the year and I chose to learn Spanish. There are many reasons why I choose Spanish but not another. Before traveling to Spain, I thought there were more than half of the people in Spain who speak English as a second language like Northern European countries. But I’m wrong, they just love to speak their language. There are some offices for foreigners but the staff does not speak English. Then I started to search Spanish on Google, it’s very interesting that the country with the largest number of Spanish speakers is Mexico, the 2nd is the United States and Spain is the 4th. There are 21 countries that have Spanish as an official language. And furthermore, I really like stuttering rhythms and playful melodies of Latin songs. So I decided to learn Spanish. Hopefully one day I will be able to communicate with native speakers and write articles in Spanish.

8. Spend more time with family

Spending fun and happy time with family. Photograph: Nhu Le

Time is gold but spending time with family having meals or going out somewhere is more meaningful. Most of us had a full-filled and happy childhood of being surrounded by close family and siblings. But over the years, we grew up and went in separate directions to have our own families. By the time, it becomes more difficult to have family gatherings, especially those who have to live far away from their families. Family is where life begins and love never ends. It is the best gift ever, even though you go around the world, the family is still a place you want to return and to be loved. So we should spend more time with family, cherish every moment that we are together.

9. Help others

Helping and being helped are things that happen everyday in society. I have got a lot of support from friends, relatives, and even strangers during my cancer treatment. I am always thankful to everyone who helped me to overcome the most difficult circumstance in my life. Without that support and encouragement, I wouldn’t have a good chance to sit here and write this blog today. Life is more beautiful when we help others in need. Charity and volunteering not only bring fun and fulfillment to our lives, but also an opportunity to connect us to others and develop new skills. There are many helpful things we should do such as donate food to homeless shelters, donate clothes, bring books to children in rural areas, visit the elderly…Besides, we must also help and save our nature and environment by limiting the plastic bag consumption, recycling items, saving electricity and water… Indeed, you and I are very sad incredibly when reading the news about climate change and witnessing the devastation of the Amazon rain-forest and Australia because of wildfires with huge loss of animals and plants. What we can do now to help environment is simplify our lives, buy what we need, not what we want. Help each other for a better life tomorrow.