Top 10 New Year's Resolutions 2013 - 10 Most Popular New Year's Resolutions

Top Ten New Year's Resolutions 2013

It's that time of year again when people reflect on the year they have had and try to decide the new goals they will set for the year ahead.

People worldwide have the same targets, but each 2013 new year's resolution is unique and special to them. You can set yourself a resolution at any time of the year, but at the new year you're in good company as millions are deciding on their new year's resolutions too.

You might be asking yourself why it's important to set a new years resolution in the first place, and that's a good question. I was always taught growing up that if "you fail to plan then you plan to fail". If you want to achieve more than you have in previous years then setting a plan is the first step.

If you're stuck for ideas on the kind of new year's resolution you want to set for yourself in 2013 then please keep reading to see the top ten new year's resolutions 2013. These cover a whole spectrum of needs, wants and desires. These are also likely to be the most popular new year resolutions in 2013.

10. Be More Positive

It's almost the beginning of a new year and there were some hard knocks last year. At times you may have given up and felt it really wasn't worth going on or you've questioned the reasons for what you've been doing and if it will ever get better.

Sometimes, life hits us in the face or we stumble along the path. It isn't easy to get up, but improving ones self-talk can help a lot.

There's no-one that you spend more time with than yourself and your own head. I talk to myself silently in my head all the time. It helps me solve problems and more often than ever, in such a difficult economic climate, I have to shake myself out of a funk and think positively.

Sometimes there are easy solutions, if you can change how you look at something. Instead of seeing your issues as insurmountable and impossible to solve, change you attitude and tell yourself you can get through this and you can achieve x, y and z.

The first step can be the hardest, but there are some really great self-help and positive mental attitude books on the subject that can really help. The first step to achieving anything is believing you can.

Start off 2013 the right way, with the right attitude and positive self-talk. I think you'll be amazed at the difference you see in yourself and that others see in you too. And for that reasons, this should be on everyone's 2013 new year's resolutions list!

2012 has been a hard year for people worldwide. It's given people time to pause and think of others who are perhaps in a worse situation than themselves.

If volunteering is something you'd like to do in 2013, then the world can be your oyster. You could volunteer locally and help the elderly. Or you could help people in the community with disabilities. You could travel to another country and dig a well for a village that has no clean water. You could also help them build homes and places to shelter. Many volunteer schemes can be found by doing a simple search in Google. The VSO is a good place to start for ideas.

When it comes to volunteering, it's really about how much time you can spare and in which area you would like to help others. For the most part, this isn't so much about your personal desires, but rather about giving back and helping others that might not be able to help themselves.

8. Spend More Time With Family

It can be hard for some of us to believe, but there are people out there who are looking to spend more time with their family.

Many parents work long hours. Sometimes one parent works and when they come home the other parent goes out to work. Many families like this dream of having more quality family time and spending more time with their husband or wife and their kids.

Other people would love to spend more time with their extended family, such as with grandparents. You might ask why they can't and there can be a number of reasons.

Sometimes people are just too busy with their everyday life. Things are hectic and they very rarely get time to do what they want, rather than what they have to do. Perhaps they work or have kids that have busy schedules such as gymnastics training and soccer practice.

Other people are really bad at time management and suck at organizing their lives. However, if they did organize their lives better they could have so much more free time to spend with their family, that they might wonder why they wanted to do such a thing in the first place!

Other people just say they don't have the time, but are just lazy. Think of all that time you spend watching television, commenting on Facebook or just being bored.

Whichever camp you are in there are solutions. Some of them are easier than you think. Where there's a will it's easier to find a way.

There's a big old world out there, waiting for the intrepid traveller to set foot on the beaten path, There are paths that have been trodden by millions of feet yearly, and there are hidden gems that are only ever discovered by a few travellers every year.

Many of us would love to travel more and see more of the world. It's something I've always dreamed of doing and I already know how I'd go about doing it.

There are so many different cultures and landscapes to discover that I really find it hard to choose only one. This is one reason that I'd love to get a round the world ticket and discover not only the Far East and Down Under, but also the Middle East, Africa and the America's. Surprisingly, a round the world ticket isn't as expensive as you might think. The biggest expense is likely to be food and board if you stay in the more developed countries, such as America or Europe for example. However, there are plenty of places to eat and stay for a few dollars a night in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries of the Orient.

A round the world plane ticket can be purchased for as little as $2,000. Doesn't seem a lot when you consider it can cost almost half that price just to get one return flight from the US to Europe.

You can make your own round the world ticket and arrange the stop overs you desire most. This can reduce the price if you are smart about it and can be built to meet your circumstances at STA Travel. Their website is amazing and they can be found in a number of countries and have sites for each country, such as statravel.com for american and statravel.co uk for the UK and so on. Further discounts are available for students and those under 25 years old.

Maybe you are looking to improve your working situation in 2013.

Perhaps you want to have flexi-time, allowing you to still do the same hours but hours that suit you better.

Perhaps you'd love to convince your boss that you'd do a better job working from home and be more productive as you wouldn't have to get up as early for the long commute.

On the other hand, maybe you want a promotion, or an increase in your pay packet, and this is the year you plan to get it.

Maybe you've had enough of working for someone else and you want to start your own business or make some extra cash outside of work. This could even lead to working from home or you could write articles and earn some extra cash. You can join Hubpages, like I did, and get rewarded for your articles.

Whatever it is you want this year from your work, make a plan and achieve it!

This topic covers a whole spectrum of things and is only as limited as your mind makes it.

More education can encompass a number of things. Perhaps there's something you've always wanted to learn. This could include learning a foreign language such as French, Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin. There are so many to choose from and of course some are harder to learn than others. Also, maybe learning this new language could help you get that promotion abroad you have always desired.

You could choose to educate yourself further in your field of expertise. Is there a training program you need to become a better manager or to get to the next rung of the corporate ladder? What professional qualifications do you feel 2013 is the year in which to attain them?

You could also decide to go back to college and get that degree you always dreamed of, or do something completely different and try another subject matter. It's almost never too late to try your hand at something new and exciting.

You could also take up a new hobby and learn to sew, knit, draw, paint, learn to use a computer, learn to build websites or to make jewellery. This is really about choosing to learn something new and is likely to be a very personal decision. This choice could be your passion and lead to new job opportunities too.

Every year more and more people suffer from obesity. You don't have to be obese to want to lose weight, but it goes a long way to explaining why it's such a popular new years resolution year in and year out.

Regardless of whether you want to lose a few pounds, or a third of your body weight, there are healthy ways to do it. It's unlikely to be easy and there will be times when it can get you down, but if you want to achieve this then you'll have to keep going.

Trying to lose weight can be one of the most difficult things you'll ever do in your life. Fighting food cravings and saying no to that last chocolate biscuit is something millions of us struggle with. You are not alone in wanting to look better, but this is a fight you will have to fight with yourself.

It's vital to have a plan if you want to lose weight. One of the best ways is to weigh yourself today and set yourself weekly goals that are very small, but will keep you motivated to continue on in the hopes of becoming America's Next Top Model!

Of course, I am joking about the model thing, but small goals do build up to losing the bulge.

Improving your health can occur in a number of ways.

You may decide to quit bad habits such as smoking or drinking.

You might decide to eat healthier foods and perhaps learn to cook new recipes and meals to avoid junk food. Perhaps you need to erase the phone number for all those take-away places you love, or learn to make healthier versions at home. Not only will this help in your goal to get healthier, but it could help with your wallet and your waistline.

You may find you never want to eat that meal you order from the take-away again when you actually make it for yourself and see the fat swimming in the pan.

You can also get healthier by doing more exercise.

2. Improve Financial Situation

Over the past ten years, the rules to get yourself into debt were relaxed and people became used to free flowing credit. The credit crunch has been in effect for a number of years and people are continually having to tighten their belts. Households continue to suffer as inflation increases, along with food prices and prices at the pump. On top of that, gas and electricity costs have also risen a lot in the past twelve months.

These rising costs, along with any personal or student debt, can become a weight around the neck. Instead of burying your head in the sand and ignoring your personal money situation it might be time to take control and sort it out. Even a little improvement can go a long way to taking years off the time it could take you to pay it back.

Also once the debt is paid off, you can look forward to saving a deposit to purchase a house or something else for a rainy day.

Whatever your financial situation is just now, it can always be improved so you can attain the things you desire the most.

You don't have to have a bad credit report or massive debt to look into this area of your life and make a plan to improve the situation. However, if this does describe the situation you currently find yourself in, then I urge you to deal with it sooner rather than later. Seek professional advice and bankruptcy or insolvency no longer has that negative air about it it once had. Sometimes it's better to bite the bullet sooner rather than later.

If you are lazy like me, then you may have let that gym membership lapse a few years ago and aren't as fit as you once were.

Getting fit can be really easy once you get out of your armchair and commit to the get fit plan you have written down. It's always the first step that is the hardest. We know we want to get fit, it's just not as easy to get motivated to do it. Trust me, I'm not some skinny model saying this. I fit into this category perfectly.

However, if you do start walking round the block, then you could build up to being a runner faster than you could ever imagine. You'd reduce the risk of obesity, stroke, heart attack and high blood pressure.

There are so many health benefits to getting fit, but it can also make you feel better about yourself and your appearance. It can build your levels of self-confidence and make you more out-going. It can also be a wonderful opportunity to meet people and remember you don't have to go to the gym to get fit. You can take up a sport like badminton or swimming. You could go for long walks by the canal or the park.

Whatever you decide to do, just get up off your butt and get started. The sooner you start, the sooner it will become a good habit you've developed and continue to do regularly.

This is also number one on my new years resolution list for 2013.

Most Popular New Year's Resolutions

These are ten of the most popular new year's resolutions. If you ask someone what their new year resolution is in 2013, it is highly likely to fit into one of the categories discussed above. I know my new year's resolutions for the coming year fit within these categories.

You can choose a few new year's resolutions in 2013 from the list above and adapt it to your personal situation. So for instance your number one goal for 2013 might be to lose weight. However, you can also mix and match this with getting healthier, in the sense of eating better food and getting fit by increasing the amount of exercise you do.

On the other hand, you could also take some of the suggestions above and personalize them to fit your life. So you might want your whole family to get fit and to help your kids be healthier and perhaps lose some weight. Or you might take a look in the mirror and decide you want to lose weight, but more importantly in a specific area such as those love handles or those man boobs. (I do my best to avoid mirrors)

Some of the new year's resolutions above will work really well together. For instance, you may decide you want to volunteer and go traveling. You can volunteer to build a well in Africa or teach English abroad in China. There are lots of opportunities to do things like this all over the world.

You might try and improve your work situation by working from home, so you can spend more time with your family. Everyone's situation is different.

Most importantly, everyone can be more positive and motivate themselves along the way. It doesn't matter which of these new year's resolutions you choose in 2013 as long as you believe you can do it and have a positive mental attitude.

Best of luck keeping your 2013 new year's resolutions.