12 New Years’ Resolutions – Java Style

One of the main reasons so many of us struggle with keeping New Year’s resolutions is not so much the level of difficulty of the changes we vouch to make as how we insert them into our daily routine. Timing truly is everything. According to research, the best way to stick with a new habit is to combine it with a long-standing, existing activity.

We often focus on lifestyle changes that can readily resolve bad habits. That is perfectly logical, but sometimes it’s the peripheral changes that inspire the deepest transformation. For coffee lovers, that daily brew can greatly enhance our chances of success with lifestyle changes. In fact, coffee can inspire changes that do not normally make it to the New Year’s Resolutions list, but that would greatly enhance one’s perspective on life.

Here are 12 creative habits to add to your list, coffee in hand. They can change your outlook on life, your self-image and even your attitude toward work, colleagues and life challenges.

This Year…

1. Get a small notebook. Every day, make it a point to notice when someone is kind to you. It could be a simple compliment from a co-worker, or someone who lets you step ahead in line and so on. List these encounters in a few words while enjoying a fresh cup.
2. Ask your local librarian to recommend a small book. Take it out. Read a page or two, fresh cup at your side.
3. During a coffee break at work, watch a few minutes of a TED Talk. Share it with a colleague or friend, or on your Facebook page.
4. Do you have a favorite aunt or uncle? Start a real correspondence with them. Keep colorful letterhead or postcards at hand. When you pause for coffee, write a few lines to say hello.
5. Once a month, when you buy coffee for home, buy an extra bag to give away randomly to a neighbor, your mechanic or bank teller. This bag is not for friends. It is for people who provide a service or live in your community.
6. If you have dreams and aspirations, or projects on the back burner, use your coffee break or first coffee of the day as a time to begin listing all the ways you could give them life, one little step at a time. Before too long, you’ll be listing the next step, and the next.
7. If you have a young child or pets, sing them a little song while you savor your morning cup.
8. Get to know a new colleague over a good cup at a nice coffee shop or restaurant.
9. During one of your breaks at work, ignore your phone. Doodle instead.
10. Try a new coffee or coffee blend every time you replenish your supply. Be curious… about everything.
11. Research the history of coffee and foods you enjoy.
12. Get up a half hour (or an hour if you can) earlier. Take a brisk walk before brewing your first cup.

It has been said that coffee is meditation in a cup. We think it is an invitation to ground the moment. The pun is fitting, isn’t it? Can you imagine new ways to ground yourself in the year ahead?

Also in The Vermont Coffee Blog

african coffee coffee facts COFFEE HACKS COFFEE HISTORY FACTS HOW TO kilimanjaro coffee tanzanian peaberry

The Mighty Peaberry

The peaberry is prized for the richness of its flavor. Tanzanian Peaberry is a lively, inviting coffee from the acclaimed Kilimanjaro region. Unlike the traditional coffee berries, which feature two side-by-side fertilized seeds, peaberries occur when only one of the two seeds is fertilized. This, you may be interested to know, does not occur on … Continue reading The Mighty Peaberry

Continue Reading →

coffee filter uses coffee filters COFFEE HACKS FACTS HOW TO recycling

8 Ways to Reuse Paper Coffee Filters

We are increasingly sensitive to our environment. Americans recycle more than ever, and that’s a good thing. The small choices we make daily make a world of difference. Did you know that a single person can generate as much as 4 pounds of trash daily? It adds up quickly; to nearly 1,500 pounds per year … Continue reading 8 Ways to Reuse Paper Coffee Filters

Continue Reading →

arabica coffee coffea coffee cherries COFFEE HACKS coffee harvesting COFFEE SCIENCE coffee shrubs FACTS HOW TO rubiaceae family

Coffee Tree or Coffee Shrub?

The coffee plant belongs to the Rubiaceae family, which includes well over 13,000 different species of trees, shrubs and even herbs. We get coffee from the Coffea species. It is a perennial shrub but is often called a tree since it reaches heights of 20 feet or more. Interestingly, cultivated coffee shrubs are pruned down … Continue reading Coffee Tree or Coffee Shrub?

Continue Reading →