By: Mia Rosenberg, LCSW

The idea of New Year’s resolutions can feel overwhelming and pressure-filled. Do you want to focus on something for self-care? On how you relate to others? Or what about how you relate to the world in general? New Year’s resolutions do not have to be some grandiose idea that is different than any other goal you may have for yourself throughout the year. Many use the New Year as an opportunity for a starting line, when in reality, you can start a goal at any time of the year! When thinking about New Year’s resolutions, it can be helpful to think of goals that are outside of the box, those that are different from your “typical” goals in order to use them as motivation to better ourselves. Here are some out of the box ideas for New Year’s Resolutions:

1.     Commit to Disconnecting: Committing to disconnecting from social media at a certain time every night can allow your body and brain the space it needs to unwind before going to bed. This will ultimately allow your head to take a pause away from technology, and focus on things that can feel more meaningful. Making the commitment to disconnect about 30 minutes before getting into bed at night can be time dedicated to relaxing and unwinding, which can allow for a more restful sleep. Similarly, you can also commit to disconnect anytime you are with friends or family. So often we are caught “multitasking” in a conversation while also scrolling on our phone. Make a commitment to yourself to be more engaged in the conversation and put your phone away! 

2.     Mindful Walks: Finding time to move your body is such an important factor in not only your physical health, but also in your mental health. Mindful walks can be helpful as they allow your brain to focus only on one stimulus at a time, which allows your brain to take a break from the to-do list tasks at hand. Practice this by focusing only on one thing, whether it be the sound of birds chirping or the cars passing by. Feeling cooped up inside all day can lead to feelings of isolation and anxiety. Making time to go for a mindful walk every day can help clear your mind and allow yourself to step away from the looming to-do list that is waiting for you. Giving yourself the space to get fresh air and walk away can help you set yourself up for success. When you are able to give your body a “reset”, you can go back to your desk feeling refreshed and ready to work. You are giving yourself the space to “just-be” and taking in the moments right in front of you. 

3.     Begin Therapy: Starting therapy can be an extremely rewarding experience. So often starting therapy is paralleled with the idea of being in a crisis. However, that is a myth! Therapy is not only a place to have in a crisis, but also a place to have in stability, to build on your foundational skills and to learn more about yourself. Therapy can provide tools to help you feel more empowered, confident, and in control of your emotions and reactions. It can also be a place where you can have 45-minutes of uninterrupted time that is dedicated to you. Beginning therapy can be a helpful New Year’s resolution to help kick start a commitment to yourself and to help better yourself. Allowing yourself the space and time to enter into therapy can be a challenging, yet uplifting experience. Take some time to check out local therapists. Who knows, you may come across someone who you feel you can resonate with!

4.     Have a planner: Having a planner may seem like a simple, ordinary resolution that may not feel meaningful. However, learning how to use a planner efficiently can provide you benefits of feeling more in control of your time, finding pockets where you can relax, and allowing yourself to feel more organized. When using a planner, it is important to write out all of the tasks you have to do and then going through and prioritize by labeling them as most important to least important, while also finding time to accomplish them. This will provide you with structure to feel more in control of your free-time, which ultimately will allow you to feel empowered! Being able to structure time can be a complicated task that takes time to iron out. You can do it!

5.     Make your bed every day: Making your bed every day can be a really positive way to start your day with an accomplishment. If it feels too overwhelming, start by reducing the amount of pillows on your bed! Making your bed every morning can be an easy, yet rewarding way to give yourself a boost of confidence at the start of every day. Making this a New Year’s resolution can help make the commitment to not only yourself, but also to your space. Additionally, once you are able to see a clean bed, it is possible that you will also feel motivated to clean up the rest of your room, too!

6.     Celebrate Small Joys: Having a New Year’s resolution to celebrate a small joy every day can help boost your mood while also teaching yourself how to be more present. A small joy can be anything from recognizing that a cute puppy made you smile or noticing two kids playing made you feel happy. Making a commitment to write down and acknowledge the small joys you experience daily can help elevate your mood! You can do this at the end of every day before you go to bed. 

7.     Accept and Acknowledge Negative Thoughts: We all have automatic thoughts that are going to pop into our heads without much effort. These thoughts can be about what we are having for dinner, thinking about what you want to wear, or even a thought about how you need to call someone back, or, they can be negative and judgmental. Automatic thoughts are natural and unavoidable; however, they are able to be controlled in order to allow ourselves to become more mindful and feel more in control. Accepting and letting go of some of the negative automatic thoughts you may experience will allow you to become more mindful and aware of the task at hand. Accepting an automatic negative thought can be as simple as saying to yourself, “okay”, and letting it go. Over time, your brain will be able to let go of these thoughts on its own without your redirection, so that you can continue to be mindful and present at the activity you are engaged in. This can be a really positive New Year’s resolution to help benefit your mental health and feel in control of your thoughts and behaviors.

8.     Make a Playlist: Making a New Year’s resolution to make a playlist of some of your favorite “chill” tunes will help ease your mind and help you refocus your attention onto something you enjoy when you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Try doing this for all different moods (i.e. pump up music, motivational music, chill music, etc.). This will help you feel less pressure in those more difficult moments where coping skills can help. Turning on the playlist that you have already made can help elevate your mood, validate your feelings, and give you the space to redirect your attention from the obstacle you are facing. Music can be so healing and having a New Year’s resolution to make a commitment to making a playlist can help motivate you to curate a group of songs to listen to whenever you want.

If coming up with New Year’s resolutions feel difficult for you, or if you would like to work on how to curate a list of goals specifically for you, reach out to us today at hello@upsidertherapy.com to set up an initial consultation. Let’s bring in the New Year on a happy and positive note together!