What if instead of starting the new year by focusing on everything wrong from the past year, we focused on what is and was right and positive? The pressure to make lofty self-improvement New Year’s resolutions at the start of the year rarely results in a long-term positive outcome—so rarely that 88% of people fail them within the first two weeks.
So why do we make New Year’s resolutions at all? Most of us make them with the best of intentions: to lose weight, save money, or be a better person. Our goals are often very lofty, though, and we have shifted to a society that is very fixated on instant gratification. When we do not see the results of our new efforts quickly, we often lose interest and quit. It is a recipe for failure without an ultimate commitment.
While there is nothing wrong with self-improvement, it is a good characteristic to want to continuously improve one’s life, such as through personal growth, improved relationships, career advancement, better mental health, and more. However, the focus on the previous version of oneself as a failed or flawed version is detrimental.
So many New Year’s resolutions stem from an attempt to fix what we deem a problem or a negative aspect of our life the prior year. That we are broken or in need of fixing. While we all may have areas that could be improved. However, if those aspects are not improved, that does not make us less worthy or faulty. I am guilty of setting so many lofty New Year’s resolutions that I know I have never followed through with. Some in my youth were for things that I had little to no control over the outcome as well.
What if we began to shift the mentality of what a New Year’s resolution should be? Instead of “New Year, New Me” because what is really wrong with who you are at the moment, we think more “New Year, Stronger Me” or “New Year, Positive Me.” We begin focusing on enhancing the positives in our lives, finding a way to emphasize gratitude, selflessness, mental health, personal growth, joy, and more.
Instead of focusing on losing weight to see a specific number on a scale, consider a realistic health goal, such as spending time outdoors throughout the year. One alternative focus is on the Ins and Outs—what you want to bring into your life in the new year and what you want to push out of your life.
If you want to improve your mental health, one step you could focus on would be starting a gratitude journal. This could be a nightly journal or a weekly journal entry, but the key is setting a routine to focus on a conscious acknowledgment of appreciation of life and what you are thankful for. What you write is entirely up to you; it can be simple or complex, and it could vary from entry to entry. By consciously recognizing the positives in your life on a routine basis, you will be able to see and look back through the year and reflect tangibly.
If you are looking for additional ideas for achievable resolutions you can add to your daily life, here are 65 ideas to choose from to consider incorporating in the new year.
