The Surprising Thing That Can Help You Reach Goals

I’d been dreading coming up with my annual list of New Year’s resolutions until I recently learned some ways colors can positively affect goal-setting. Did you know that just by infusing some items of color into your life, you could change how you feel about certain things, like eating right, exercising and expanding your horizons? Colors can also help enhance your overall level of enthusiasm and happiness. With that in mind, all of us could feel a little more excited to set our goals this year, realizing that with the right colors around us, we could actually start and stick to them.

If you ever noticed you had an excellent workout on a day you were wearing green to the gym, it wasn’t just a coincidence. The very same goes for that upbeat feeling you have when you’re around the color orange. I learned these tidbits and much more from Kate Smith, International Color Expert and President & Chief Color Maven at Sensational Color. Smith recently partnered with T.J.Maxx and Marshalls on ways colors can help us achieve and stick to our goals, and she was kind enough to share some of that insight with us.

Based on my learnings from Smith, here are eight ways various colors can help affect our goals for the New Year, relevant to some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. In fact, now that I know color can help me out, I’m going to add a few extra things to my list this year.

1. Eat With Nutrition In Mind More Often = Green

You know how green can encourage us to be active? Well, it can also help us in choosing the right foods to eat, as well. “The color green inspires healthy food choices and triggers you to think of vegetables and fresh foods,” said Smith. Smith suggested eating your greens on a green plate, as it will encourage you to take larger portions. Try keeping green accents around the kitchen to keep those health choices front-of-mind.

2. Spend More Time With Loved Ones = Yellow & Orange

Want to be the hostess with the mostess? Look no further than yellow and orange to encourage people to come to your home, and stay a while. “Yellow makes you feel happier and will stimulate two-way conversations while orange is uplifting, optimistic, and inspires spontaneity,” Smith said.

To get the most out of these colors to achieve this particular resolution, try accenting your home with rugs, lamps, pillows and the like, all of the yellow and orange variety, and then invite people over. They’ll feel good about the space, and so will you.

3. Find Love = Red

Oh yes, yes, yes. Thank you color red, because this one I’m certainly testing out come January 1. According to Smith, red is known as the color for attracting attention. Plus, get this: It can make you more attractive to others, as well. “Surrounding yourself with the appeal-enhancing power of the color of love and romance, may be all it takes to woo someone new,” Smith said.

Sounds like a plan to me. Before heading out on the town, put on your prettiest red top and red pumps, or toss that red purse over your shoulder. After all, you’re a gorgeous woman in red on an achievable mission!

4. Start A New Hobby = Blue

Always wanted to take up painting? Interested in building your writing skills? Think photography would be an awesome hobby for you? Surround yourself with blue, and get to hobby-ing!

According to Smith, “The color blue makes you more imaginative and encourages innovation and risk-taking.” By stimulating your brain in this way, you can open yourself up to new interests and hobbies, or to learning something new, like a language or skill. Try decorating your home office with a combination of muted and bright blues for the best results — your mind will love it.

5. Live Life To The Fullest = Yellow & Green

Green, we seriously love you, because it seems like you can help with so many things. Combined with yellow, green gives us the necessary oomph to live our lives to the fullest and to be adventurous — if that’s something we’re after in 2016. According to Smith, a bright shade of yellow will make us feel optimistic, while green encourages harmony. Remember the trip you’ve wanted to plan for ages? Get yourself a bright yellow suitcase, a green passport holder, and book it.

6. Spend Less & Save More = Green, Gold & Red

Want to save more next year? Try getting yourself a new wallet. According to Smith, “Color has energy that can trigger your desire to save.” That said, by getting yourself a wallet in green (correlated with growth, wealth and cash), gold (related to building a fortune) or red (a color associated with success and strength), you can quickly find your spending habits improving. Separately, you might consider leaving your credit cards at home, or enacting some of these other money-saving tips.

7. Get Organized & Clear Up The Clutter = Orange & Red

If you’re hoping to up your organization factor in the New Year, a great way to encourage yourself is by turning to the powers of orange and red. These colors, according to Smith, can help you feel as though there’s an urgent problem needing to be solved. Buying organization items in these colors will encourage you to clear up the clutter. Smith suggested, “Stores like T.J.Maxx and Marshalls carry an amazing selection of quality organizational items at incredible prices that will help as you hit reset to a clutter-free year.”

For those who are in the same boat as me and feel a little nervous about setting — and then failing — our New Year resolutions, we can feel more confident now knowing color might just be on our side. After considering some of these tips from Smith, I’m heading out ASAP to get some products of the right color for my own goals.

Images: Pixabay (8); emilysnuffer/Flickr