Today is the first day of a new year. A fresh beginning. A chance to set a new intention moving forward. You know, the New Year Resolution. Even if we don’t articulate them to others, most of us make these resolutions. Some are pretty common, like “I’m gonna hit the gym every morning”, or “I’m gonna start eating better”… We set out with gusto and the best of intentions only to slip along the way. And if we slipped, we tell ourselves that it’s over and shift back to our previous selves.

According to one of my favourite sites, HowStuffWorks.com, the origin of making New Year’s resolutions rests with the Babylonians, who reportedly made promises to the gods in hopes they’d earn good favor in the coming year. Sound familiar?

My resolution has been the same for the past five years: Drink.More.Water. It’s an easy one and I firmly believe that if you can just drink more water, the rest will follow. Think about it for a minute. We need water to live. When we are properly hydrated we have more energy, think more clearly, we sleep better, our skin looks better, and we eat less – because let’s face it, sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger.

Is your new year resolution to lose weight? Then drink more water. Did you know that drinking a litre of water in a 20 minute period can help you lose weight? The water “floods” your kidneys, allowing them to function better. When your kidneys are functioning at their peek, your liver doesn’t need to help with purification as much so it has more time to do other things… like burn fat. Seriously. The liver is a major fat burning organ in the body and regulates fat metabolism by a complicated set of biochemical pathways. It can also pump excessive fat out of the body through the bile into the small intestines. So if you make your resolution this year to simply drink more water, then you’ve set yourself up for positive changes.

And speaking of positive changes, here are five other resolutions that I found online that I think are worth taking to heart from 20 Things To Let Go Of Before The New Year:

1. Let go of feeling guilty for doing what you truly want to do.
2. Let go of “cheating” on your future with your past. It’s time to move on and tell a new story.
3. Let go of trying to fit in and be accepted by everyone. Your uniqueness is what makes you outstanding.
4. Let go of the fear of the unknown; take one small step and watch the path reveal itself.
5. Let go of blaming anyone for anything; be accountable for your own life. If you don’t like something, you have two choices, accept it or change it.

Wanna learn more about the history of New Year’s Eve? Click here to visit History.com