New Year's Resolution Ideas To Improve Mental Health And Reduce Stress

The new year’s start in January can be an opportunity to make real, proactive changes. The end of a year often offers a symbolic chance for reflection, consideration, and decision. Thinking deeply about what you want to change in your life can help you set goals that support you in the new year, and year-round.  

If you’re looking to keep your resolutions this year, it may be helpful to look at how people often find success with their goals and a few ideas for New Year’s resolutions that can bolster your overall well-being.

Why New Year's resolution ideas may not always work

Evidence suggests that some people give up on their New Year’s resolution within the first month of the year. However, you may increase the odds of success by selecting your goals carefully. Ringing in the new year by committing to self-improvement, mental health, personal growth, and more fun can be a worthy endeavor. 

Some people may come up with lofty New Year’s resolution ideas, but evidence suggests that only 9% are completed. Research into optimal goal setting and habit formation has generated some insight into why typical resolutions are often tricky to stick to in the long run and how to increase the chances of success. Below are a few of the most common causes of difficulty in setting resolutions. 

Bad timing

Humans often elect to make changes and set goals at the start of a temporal milestone, like the end of the semester, the change of seasons, or the beginning of the year. However, evidence suggests that goals can be set when the need is high enough to motivate real change. While traditional, setting a goal at New Year’s may mean motivation for change doesn’t align with the selected goal.

Unexpected obstacles

Some goals, like improving fitness, having a great time with family, or choosing to eat healthier, may seem straightforward, but unexpected challenges sometimes emerge. A goal may be difficult to meet without a plan to address those challenges. For example, a person may want to save money but pay for an unexpected car repair. It can be essential to adjust goals to accommodate unforeseen challenges. 

Unrealistic goals

Some people may select goals that are too broad to support motivation. For example, someone might say they want to learn a new language, spend more quality time with their partner, try country living, have more fun, go on a road trip, read more books, or try a new recipe. However, without specific steps and an outline, these goals may be difficult to achieve. Evidence suggests that setting achievable yet challenging goals increases motivation substantially. Similarly, it may be worthwhile to set goals for the near future, such as the next week or month instead of the entire year. 

Lack of accountability

Those who don’t set up a system for accountability may struggle to achieve their New Year’s resolutions and goals. Accountability means an outside force, usually another person, knows the objective and expects it to be completed. This person might be a friend or family member or mentor who helps you notice unhealthy habits. 

If you sometimes struggle to achieve your goals, you’re not alone. Resolutions can be like other goals and require tremendous willpower and motivation to “force” a goal’s success. For this reason, goal selection, timing, planning, and accountability can boost your chances of meeting them and potentially reduce stress surrounding New Year’s resolution ideas. Successfully achieving a resolution often means enabling the conditions of success, not forcing it through willpower alone.

Ways to increase the chance of New Year’s resolution ideas being successful

You may see more success in your resolution if you know about the above mentioned barriers and take steps to correct them. Try the following tips to increase the chances of sticking to your resolution. 

Do a motivation survey

When thinking about what New Year’s resolutions to pick, consider your motivation carefully. Are there specific goals you feel more intrinsic motivation to complete than others? Are there focuses you know need to be the priority for change? The best New Year’s resolutions will be ones you are already motivated to complete. Try filling out a gratitude journal to help you find motivation as you set resolutions. 

Break down your New Year's resolution ideas and goals

Break your resolution into manageable chunks. When you break a goal down into component steps, you may increase your motivation because the smaller goal may seem more attainable than the “big picture” resolution. Achieving a goal on the path to your more significant resolution can also reinforce your effort, further increasing motivation.

Use accountability tools

One way to maintain accountability is to work toward your goal in a group. For example, if someone sets a resolution to lose five pounds of weight per month over the year, they might see more success if they join an exercise group and adopt their goal. They might also work out with a partner or discuss their progress with their significant other. You might also use accountability and habit-forming apps. 

Be ready to shift plans

No matter how well a person plans their goal-attainment strategy, unknown factors can intervene and disrupt plans. Create backup options if the primary path to your goal becomes unworkable or one thing goes wrong along the way. In addition, think of a backup for accountability, ensuring you are held accountable even if your first plan doesn’t work out. 

Six New Year’s resolutions that support your growth

While resolution ideas may be beneficial, goal selection can’t be overstated when you create a schedule. It may be worthwhile to consider resolutions that enable other forms of self-improvement. The most common resolutions include the following:

1. Exercising more
2. Eating healthier
3. Losing weight
4. Spending more time with loved ones
5. Working to save more money

If those goals resonate with you, break them into manageable chunks, align them with your motivation, and find ways to stay accountable. You may also benefit from focusing on mental health and stress relief. Try to invest in your mental health by practicing self-care and spending quality time with those you love. Other goals that may support ongoing self-improvement and growth are listed below.

Stay organized to save time and energy

Organization can be a part of daily life, but it may be challenging to master this skill. Practical organizational skills are commonly considered essential for success in many domains. Evidence also suggests that organization increases calm and lowers anxiety, giving you more energy to focus on your goals.

Think about how you want to break down an organization-based goal. Does your physical space need to be tidier and more available? Are you struggling to stay on top of tasks? Are you finding it challenging to keep track of information? If you prioritize an organization, select manageable, achievable goals for your resolution.

Get better sleep, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy diet

Sleep is one of the most important parts of self-care and is essential for people to function at their best daily. A disturbed sleep pattern makes it more challenging to find energy and motivation, disrupts the morning routine, and can substantially reduce mental and physical health. 

If you’re constantly tired or don’t think you’re getting enough sleep, focusing on improved rest may give you more energy and help you feel better overall. Besides sleep, other common self-care goals include eating a healthy diet, exercising more, and drinking less alcohol. 

Learn a new skill or hobby

New Year’s resolution ideas don’t necessarily have to be based on a situation that needs to be “fixed.” They might be based on goals or desires you didn’t complete in the past year. Consider learning a new skill or hobby to expand your breadth and stimulate intellectual curiosity. One of the benefits of learning a new skill may be being able to go at your own pace. 

As a great starting point, consider selecting a low-stress skill that reinforces one of your interests. Finding a new hobby has several benefits, including stress relief and decreased anxiety. You might also consider finding a hobby you can do while spending time with others. Positive social connections are a way to bolster happiness, and engaging in a new interest with other people may provide additional benefits.

Foster confidence

Confidence can be an essential skill to have when creating New Year’s resolution ideas. Confidence isn’t innate; it can be learned and grown through time and effort. Improving your confidence may offer various benefits, even if you only emphasize increasing confidence in a particular area. Fostering a confident attitude may involve increasing positive self-talk, changing negative thought processes, and developing a growth mindset, all associated with improved well-being.

Choose kindness more often

Getting caught up in the rush of everyday responsibilities can be easy. In some cases, kindness or courtesy may go by the wayside. Consider setting goals for yourself, including smiling at others more frequently, offering polite compliments, and doing random acts of kindness. By spreading kindness and empathy, you may improve someone else’s day, and positivity is often associated with improved self-esteem and a healthier outlook.

Read, travel, and meditate to enhance your emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence refers to your ability to manage your emotions and recognize the emotions of those around you. Emotional intelligence has five core features: 

• Self-awareness
• Self-control
• Motivation
• Empathy 
• Social skills

Emotional intelligence can be broad, so focusing on only one or two main features may increase your chances for success and help you manage stress. For example, you might prioritize self-awareness by adopting mindfulness practices or improve your ability to empathize with others by expanding your active listening skills during one-on-one time with friends, family, or coworkers.