With the dawn of each New Year, it’s all about fresh starts: how to get healthier, fitter, faster, smarter.
All this weighty expectation is enough to make you throw your hands up and opt for the status quo – especially with the year we’ve just had.
Luckily for us, there’s another option. Chart a course forward by looking at the people, movements, and ideas that shone brightest in the past year. Then cherry pick your inspiration!
If you know what you don’t want in 2022, perhaps these little nuggets will provide the incentive to fill the gap with something better.
Or better yet, they’ll simply make you laugh, which is, after all, the best medicine.
The Best of the Year
MOST INTRIGUING
Want to unlock the secret to what makes you tick, what fills you with joy, what are your talents? Try this intriguing and entirely original quiz. The questions are a deep dive into your personality. At times you may wonder where it’s all going - but the results offer an intriguing peek behind the curtain of what makes you YOU.
HAPPIEST
A podcast, newsletter, and sweet Insta feed, The New Happy breaks down the science of happiness in the peppiest way imaginable. Topics like ‘The Six Paths to Joy’ and ‘How to Have a Good Day’ are a prelude to all sorts of goodies, free for the taking. Hint: using your gifts to serve the world could be your fast track to bliss.
TRIPPIEST
Psychedelics are poised to be the next big thing in mental health (if you scoff at this, recall it was only four years ago that cannabis became legal, and it’s now commonplace). This trailblazing Canadian company is the perfect speed for getting your feet wet in the world of microdosing (more to come on this fascinating topic in an upcoming Acorn :)
TASTIEST
The latest entry in Ottolenghi’s award-winning cookbook series, this accessible guide is all about elevating flexible, everyday home cooking with what’s already in your pantry. Chef O is well known for mouthwatering and exotic Middle Eastern fare with the exotic ingredients to match. The huge plus of Test Kitchen is that it delivers on the promise to “make your cooking simpler - but also infinitely more exciting”.
MOST MEDITATIVE
Emerging from the hippie fringe and hitting mainstream wellness, sound healing is a meditation to live music in the form of deep, resonating vibrations made by traditional Tibetan bowls, gongs, or chanting. Bathing in sound waves is nothing new – it’s an ancient healing practice. This is my absolute #1 recommendation for self-care this year. Alas, it may be tricky at the moment to find a live session. In the meantime, here’s a link to an online version. Bookmark the real thing as soon as you can swing it.
COOLEST
Friluftsliv (Free-Loofs-Leaf)
Move over hygge – the Norwegian concept of Friluftsliv is about to have its moment.
Translating to ‘open air living’, it’s all about spending as much time outside as you possibly can so that Mother Nature can work her magic on you - no matter the weather. Norwegians believe there’s no bad weather, only bad clothing. Many walk everywhere, winter included, and they start this outdoor tradition young. The country has outdoor kindergartens, and many Norwegians even leave their babies in strollers outside in their yards, so that they feel comfortable sleeping in the great outdoors. It seems to be working: Norway has one of the world’s longest life expectancies and was rated one of the happiest countries in the world in 2021 (the other contenders also enthusiastically practice outdoor living).
FUNNIEST
Let’s face it, it’s been a tough run. There’s no better time to find something to lighten the mood. Gary Thump is an excellent place to start!
HEATHER MARTIN
Heather is the founder of The Acorn, and the author of The Wheel of Wellness: Seven Habits of Healthy, Happy People. She’s a licensed naturopath and an unlicensed free thinker. She loves long rambles, far-flung travel, and the road less traveled.
- Get to know her better: Instagram
- Read more: Acorn articles
