It's a brand-new year, which means it's the perfect time to vow to change for good! Many of us have New Year's resolutions so we are rushing to the gym, cutting out carbs, filling out agendas with important meetings and to-do lists, etc. This is all very good and all, but learning how to balance things out and slow down once in a while is also an important part of the equation. Let’s learn some Spanish words of wisdom that may inspire you to do just that.

First of all, it's important to remain positive and don't hold on to the past. As Ramón says:
 

Y como que... Año nuevo, vida nueva.

And [it's] like... A New Year, a new life.

Caption 10, Muñeca Brava - 36 La pesquisa

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Of course it's important to tackle propósitos de año nuevo (New Year's resolutions) head on. So maybe you will need to madrugar (get up early) more often these days:
 

Yo también porque mañana tengo que madrugar y tengo que...

Me, too, because tomorrow I have to wake up early and I have to...

Caption 77, Muñeca Brava - 43 La reunión

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

However, a wise grandma will certainly advice you not to push yourself too hard by saying: No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano (No matter how early you get up, you can't make the sun rise any sooner), which in a way is similar to the English expression "the early bird does not always catch the worm." You can hear our friends from Kikiriki making a humorous adaptation of the same phrase:

 

y no olviden que no por ser mucho animal amanece más temprano.

and don't forget that you don't get up early because you're very much an animal.

Caption 31, Kikirikí - Animales

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Finally, it's not like you should slack off either. Yes, it's hard to wake up early to go to the gym, but try to encourage yourself with an old saying that goes al mal paso darle prisa (literally "hurry up with a difficult step") which means something along the lines of "let's get it over and done."