Getting Happy in 2013: Making AND Keeping New Year's Resolutions

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In the New Year…

I will exercise.

I will eat only healthy meals.

I will go to bed earlier.

I’m sure like me, you have made resolutions. Sometimes you choose something life changing, like making a concerted effort to make healthy meals for your family five nights a week. Other times, your resolutions are small…I will make my bed every day. There is something about starting off the new year that is exciting. The New Year is fresh with possibilities. Everyone wants to make a fresh start. Turn over a new leaf. Make a success of the New Year.

But it can be very difficult to keep New Year’s resolutions. We make them with the best of intentions in January — losing weight, eating healthier, being a better coworker — but often they fall to the wayside as the January moves in to February. And what about children, have you ever asked your children to think of a New Year’s resolution? I might have the kids make resolutions next year.

Kids, like adults, can have a hard time keeping New Year’s resolutions. Dr. Christine Carter has teamed with Hampton Hotels to show families how to teach a valuable lesson to both children and ourselves this year. Carter, a sociologist and happiness expert at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, has studied New Year’s resolutions and their importance for children; spending time with the family vs one weekend trip every three months; and the types of resolutions families should make together.

Christine Carter, Ph.D. is the author of Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents. She has appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” the “TODAY” show, the “Rachael Ray Morning Show,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” and NPR.

What would make your life and that of your family happier? Hampton Hotels has created a infographic “Getting Happy in 2013” to answer this and other questions. For instance, when asked “What would make your life happier?” those polled responded that they wanted:

increased health and wellness.
relief from financial stress.
more free time with friends and family.
to volunteer of give back to others.
more opportunities to travel.
to discover a new hobby.

Want to keep those New Year’s resolutions? Hampton Hotels and Dr. Carter offer the following tips:

Focus on one resolutions, instead of a bunch.
Pick a resolution that will make you happy.
If you feel so inclined, share your resolution with friends and family on Facebook or Twitter.