Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Nose for News, By Sarah Stultz

The beginning of a new year is upon us, and it’s time to start fresh, to make commitments to better our lives and to move forward for a better year than in the past.

I don’t know about you, but setting — and sticking with — a New Year’s resolution can be tricky for me.

While I generally find myself making progress on my goals, I’m not sure if I can say I often achieve my New Year’s resolutions. Is it because my goals are too lofty or because I get distracted and lose sight of the goals?

Whatever the case may be, I’ve been thinking about how I can set some achievable resolutions.

1. I love to read books, but somewhere along the way of work and family, I don’t make it through a new book nearly as often as I would like. This new year, I’d like to set a goal of reading one new book per month. Speaking for myself, reading helps me learn and helps me set aside my own stresses of daily living to be transported into another time and place. Not to mention, there are a lot of fantastic stories out there.

2. It has often been said that when you’re out serving other people, the person doing the serving gains more than the recipient. This year, I’d like to find a new volunteer opportunity to be a part of. I’m not sure if that will be through a service organization, a community effort, my church or some other circle, but it always feels good to give back when I can.

3. The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been good for many of our waistlines, and this coming year is time to bring in the reigns a little. So often, we want to snap our fingers and have all of our extra weight be gone, but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. One thing I’ve learned over my years of struggles with weight is that it’s the little, everyday lifestyle changes that are really going to make the difference. You also have to make sustainable changes — ones you can actually live with. It is also helpful, if possible, to move more — whether that be through an exercise video at home, walking outdoors or going to a gym.

4. How much time do you spend on your phone, checking updates on Facebook or some other app instead of doing other important tasks or interacting with family and friends?

Most phones have the capability of tracking your screen time, and this year I’d like to set goals on reducing that screen time and finding more fulfilling ways to spend some of my time.

No, I didn’t say I’m jumping off social media altogether, but I think we all can say we spend way too much time on it and can benefit by cutting back a bit.

These are only the starts of some of the I was anticipating for myself for this coming year. Over the next few days, I hope to narrow these down a little bit more and develop a plan of attack to achieve them.

Are you setting resolutions for yourself this year? Here’s to hoping we have a successful new year!

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.