by Virginia Allain

Created on: November 22, 2009

We start the new year off resolving to get rid of bad habits. Unfortunately after a few days or weeks, we're back to our old behavior. Here's a way to make changes day-by-day that eventually result in improving your life. The method may inspire you to make small changes that accumulate and make life better. It is called H.O.P.E.

H.O.P.E. stands for Home-Others-Personal-Earth. Each day we try to do one thing to improve in each of those areas. The effort can be something small, but try at least to do a single thing for each. In a year's time those small actions add up. HOME - Each day make a small effort to improve your home. Make your living space more inviting, comfortable and pleasant so it's a place you want to be. The action can be as simple as making the bed, instead of leaving it awry. It could be rearranging the knick-knacks on display to a more harmonious grouping. It could be fixing the loose knob on the kitchen drawer.

OTHERS - Each day make a small effort to reach out to others. Make that connection to other people to build up your network of friends and family. The action could be as simple as calling a friend that you haven't heard from in awhile. It could be asking a new co-worker to join you for break. It could be emailing family with a newsy update (forwarding some Internet message/picture/poem doesn't count).

PERSONAL - Each day make a small effort to do something nurturing for yourself. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in responsibilities that we don't leave time for ourselves. The action could be as simple as taking time to put on face cream in the evening. It could be going for a massage or taking time for something you really enjoy like reading.

EARTH - Each day make a small effort to do something good for the earth. If everyone did this, then it becomes a movement. Going green would become the norm. The action could be as simple as picking up a piece of trash that you might normally walk past on the sidewalk. It could be choosing a green cleaner rather than the usual chemical cleaner in the supermarket. It could be buying a real potted plant (not a fake one) for the office to improve the air quality.

All you have to remember is each day do one small thing for your home, for others, for personal, and for the earth. As you do this, you create H.O.P.E. for a better life.

You can do the same thing in one area for multiple days. After 21 days, it should become a habit. At that time, continue doing it, but find something else to be your one small thing to do. Don't worry if you miss a day, as you just start fresh each day. The whole intent is to be mindful of these areas in your life. Small improvements or actions eventually add up to improved quality of life.

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