5 New Year's Resolutions To Inspire Your Own

CORNELIUS, NC — New Year's resolutions may be cliché, but people make them anyway and try to better themselves as the calendar changes.

Whether it's realistic or not, it's a good time to self-reflect and make sure you have a couple of priorities in place to align your goals with.

Going into 2022, I want to make sure I prioritize experiences over empty promises to myself, so here's a list of things that I want to make sure I do as I approach the year.

1) Social Media Cleanse. I have to use social media for my job, but I don't have to use it nearly as much as I find myself doing. I downloaded a widget on my iPhone that tells me which apps I use the most and for how long. By looking at it this past week, I learned it's dominated by social media. I want to cut down on how much time I scroll and set firm limits so I don't lose track of time.

2) Eat Healthier. This is probably the most talked about resolution, but I want to tackle this in a forgiving way. I have learned that I simply feel better if I eat more vegetables, fruit and lean meat rather than waiting until the last minute. Instead of picking one crazy fad diet or cutting out bread entirely, I just want to make sure I add some better choices to my shopping list and slowly make them habits. For me, I know drastic changes won't work, so this approach will help me actually commit.

3) Be More Open To Experiences. I have been pretty rigid these past two years, like most of us have, due to the ongoing pandemic. While prioritizing safety for myself and loved ones, there are things I have missed out on and I want to make sure I prioritize new experiences moving forward. While still being safe, I want to resume traveling as I am able to, and even when I might be afraid of something new, to try it anyway. Something small I have in mind is going to a rooftop bar in downtown Charlotte. I have simply never been to one and I would love to experience that view at sunset.

4) Prioritizing People. If the past few years have taught us anything, it's that we have to treasure the people we love in our lives and make sure we take the time to see them and appreciate them. I am fortunate enough to live closer to some family members now and I want to make sure I plan to spend time with them. Additionally, I want to make sure I strike up conversations with strangers in the hopes of making new friends. That might mean skipping a Netflix marathon, but at the end of the day, the memories you make with other people are what stick with you more than the plot of the latest hit show.

5) Journalistic Integrity. This might sound corny, but I just want to renew a promise I made to myself a long time ago, which is to do journalism that helps people. Journalism, like so many other professions, has been a tough gig over the past few years. While all of our experiences are unique, I think everyone has a story and I want to do my best to tell those stories. I am not a robot, and I want to tell those stories with compassion, purpose and integrity. I am grateful to have worked at jobs that encourage real journalism, and I resolve to continue helping people in 2022.

Bonus: Last year I had a silly resolution that I never fulfilled. I want to see the Bass Pro Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. So I'll make sure to get to that this year, God willing! I would love to hear your New Year's resolutions, so please share them with me in the comments of this article, on Facebook or by email, cassie.fambro@patch.com.