Why You Should Not Make A New Year's Resolution (Do This Instead)
Don’t Make A New Year’s Resolution.
As well-intentioned as the practice is, it’s not very effective.
Have you or anyone you know ever made a resolution on January 1st and stuck to it until December 31? (If so, I’m super impressed and please let me know in the comments.)
Less than 25% of people actually stay committed to their resolutions after the first 30 days, and only 8% actually accomplish them.
I believe this is because most traditional New Years Resolutions are influenced more by trends, culture and media rather than what what you as an individual actually need and want.
Health & Happiness Comes From Within.
It’s already there. You just have to find it.
And that is usually more difficult than not. And the way you do it will be different from everyone else.
Our culture does not encourage introspection.
Instead, it’s all about consumption, distraction and entertainment.
If you are bored or have some free time, you have been conditioned to want to: buy something on Amazon, watch something on Netflix or YouTube, be outraged about what you saw on Twitter or CNN, or scroll & compare yourself to someone else on Instagram or Facebook.
No one makes money off you when you’re simply meditating, journaling, praying or taking a long walk in the woods.
I didn’t do much introspection before 2015.
Before that, I was in a toxic relationship, working way too much at a corporate job and my health was in decline.
I had no idea who I was, where I wanted to be or what would make me feel truly happy and fulfilled.
So I’m speaking from personal experience when i say IT IS HARD to spend time alone in self-reflection if you’re not used to it.
But I guarantee it is totally worth it will make you feel happier and healthier in the end!
Do This Instead: One New Word Each Year
For the past several years, instead of making a traditional resolution, I’ve been choosing one word each year around which to theme my life including goals, plans and major decisions.
It’s had a hugely positive impact on my life so I’ve become pretty passionate about it and encouraging others to do it too.
I use a combination of self-reflection, introspection and intuition to come up with a word. It’s kind of on the back burner all year and starts to materialize more in Fall/Autumn, the season all about transitions. I focus on gratitude (what I’ve been grateful for this year) in November. I then start to reflect more in December through solo hiking, journaling, yoga and meditation.
I work this one word into a meditation mantra or positive affirmation. I use it as an intention during my yoga practice. I consider it while making important decisions.
The goal is for the word to be a specific word that can have various meanings or interpretations. Some good examples are Love, Patience, Kindness, Courage, Strength, Curiosity, Exploration, Focus, Health, Knowledge, Minimalism, Community, Gratitude and the list goes on. ✨
This one word provides a self-reliant, consistent sense of direction and purpose in a modern world where it’s incredibly easy to get lost in the overwhelming amount of directions one can go in and decisions one can make. It’s like having a metaphorical map or compass.
I don’t get too down on myself if I feel like I fall off the word wagon. I’m just kinda like “Well, that was not ideal, what did I learn from this?” and then keep moving forward on my one word path.
Tools To Determine Your Word
Try all of these tools and then stick with the ones that work best for you.
• Alone Time
• Journaling
• Meditation & Mantra
• Oracle Cards
• Vision Board
• Yoga & Nidra
• My Favorite Inspirational Words
Alone Time
Alone Time is critical to creating space for personal introspection and reflection.
It’s best if you do it outdoors in Nature. Avoid screens and modern technology.
It’s even more ideal to travel to a place you haven’t been before. This gets you out of your usual ruts & routines and the biases and burdens associated with them.
Personally, I live my introspective solo hikes and always get great ideas and insights. I am grateful that I live in Asheville, North Carolina so I have tons of options.
If you live nearby or want to visit Asheville, choose one or some of these hikes for your own journey.
Of course you can also
• sit outdoors at a new/different cafe with a journal, coffee and tea
• explore a new park or trail near you
• walk a familiar route in a new or different way
Studies show that time spent in nature can:
• boost creativity & problem-solving
• improve focus
• reduce stress & distractions
Some questions to ponder are:
What have I learned from this year?
What am I grateful for this year?
What am I craving more of in my life?
What toxic things can I cut out of my life?
What are some personal and professional goals I’d like to accomplish?
✍🏻 Bring a small pen & paper and jot down insights and ideas as they come to you.
Journaling
Journaling is the most helpful. I jot down some goals that I want to accomplish and things I have already accomplished and look for patterns. I also write about random feelings, thoughts and ideas. I don’t journal every day, only when I feel the urge to process or reflect on something.
You can type out your responses in a digital note or doc or do it the old fashioned way with pen and paper. Again, I prefer the old fashioned way.
Scientific research has shown that journaling
• improves clarity, creativity and focus
• processes emotions
• helps to heal emotional pain
• liberates you from self-limiting beliefs
• helps to find new meaning and purpose
• increases confidence
• catalyzes spiritual growth
• helps you better understand yourself, others and the world around you
This is partially why I created this Free December Self-Reflection 31 Day Journal Challenge
December is the best time but you can utilize this resource any time of year.
I also have some free & inspiring January manifestation journal prompts and February loving-kindness journal prompts.
Meditation & Mantra
Even if just for 5 minutes a day, there are many ways to meditate. Guided meditations tend to be the most successful for beginners. There are great apps out there like Calm and Headspace.
I also created this free 31 day meditation challenge that includes:
• 5 Minute Morning Motivation Meditation for Beginners
• 5 Minute Daily Evening Gratitude Meditation
• 5 Quick Tips How to Meditate Daily & Stick to a Meditation Routine for Beginners
• Health Benefits of Daily Meditation
Meditation can even be as simple as focusing on your breath.
It is helpful to incorporate a mantra while focusing on your breath.
A mantra is a word or phrase that you repeat silently to yourself during meditation.
When determining your word, you can think “What is my word?” during meditation.
It might take anywhere from one to several mantra meditation sessions to determine your word.
Once you have determined your word, think “I am [WORD']” during meditation.
If seated meditation is really a struggle and doesn’t seem to work for you, try a walking meditation outdoors instead.
Oracle Cards
I also like a little extra guidance from Oracle cards.
Oracle cards are not the same as Tarot cards. They are more about insight, intention and reflection rather than fortune-telling or divination.
Here are some of my favorite ways to use oracle cards:
• Draw a card in the morning and set an intention for the day.
• Draw a card and use it as a prompt to journal about the meaning(s).
• Have loved ones draw cards and start a meaningful conversation.
There are plenty of oracle decks out there, but this is my favorite deck of oracle cards created by my friend and Asheville artist @alenahennessy.
Each card is inspired by Nature and features a beautiful illustration of a plant or animal + an inspiring word.
You may recall your own experience drawing an oracle card if you’ve done a yoga hike with me or one of my guides.
Vision Board
More recently, I’ve started making vision boards to go along with my word. A vision board is basically a collage of images and smaller words that support your main word and serves as something tangible to keep you focused on your one word theme for the year.
How to make a vision board:
You can use a digital design program like Canva to create a digital vision board collage and keep it as the wallpaper background on your computer and/or phone.
Personally, I prefer the old fashioned way.
You’ll need:
• a piece of foam board (smaller size or a large board cut in half)
• magazines
• scissors
• glue or glue stick
Once you determine your word, find that word or letters that spell out that word. This should be the only word or the most prominent word on your board. If you choose to include other words, make them much smaller.
Find some images that resonate with that word as well as personal & professional goals that you have.
Keep the board in your room or office as a physical reminder of your theme.
Here are my most recent vision boards for inspiration.
Your board should look and feel authentic to you and your word so it may look similar or completely different from mine.
My 2021 word was CLARITY.
My 2021 word was EFFICIENCY.
Yoga & Nidra
Yoga helps you improve and better understand your body but also your mind and emotions as well. There are many different variations of yoga.
More challenging and vigorous practices like Vinyasa, Ashtanga or Power yoga are great for energizing you and giving you a good work out.
The slower practices like Yin yoga and yoga Nidra are ideal for slowing down, relaxing and creating space for personal insights and reflection.
Go to a class near you or try some of my free yoga videos.
MY FAVORITE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS
What do you want to focus on next year? Do any of these speak to you?
ADAPTABILITY • ASCENSION • AUTHENTICITY • AWARENESS • BALANCE • BRAVERY • CHANGE • CREATIVITY • COHERENCE • COMMUNITY • CONFIDENCE • DISCIPLINE • DISCOVERY • EFFICIENCY • EMBODIMENT • ENLIGHTENMENT • EXPLORATION • FAITH • FAMILY • FOCUS • FREEDOM • GRACE • GROWTH • HARMONY • HEALTH • HOPE • INTEGRATION • JOY • LOVE • LOYALTY • MINDFULNESS • PLAYFULNESS • PRODUCTIVITY • PROTECTION • RADIANCE • RECEPTIVITY • RECOVERY • REFLECTION • RELATIONSHIP • STABILITY • STRENGTH • TRANSFORMATION • VULNERABILITY • WISDOM • WORTH
Here are my own personal words from the past few years:
In 2018, my word was GROWTH.
I focused on growing my yoga practice by taking advanced yoga trainings and teaching classes and at Asheville Yoga Center. (I completed my Advanced 300YTT training in 2019.)
I made growing my two businesses (which included hiring a fabulous business coach and mentor) and growing my relationship with my boyfriend top priorities. (Eventually I ended up outgrowing that relationship in 2019 and now he’s an ex-boyfriend.)
I focused on personal growth by listening to a lot of inspirational audio books and podcasts.
I donated proceeds from my business to a non-profit that plants trees around the world. These trees will experience their own GROWTH, help sequester carbon emissions, bring areas damaged by fires back to life and provide food and shade for people and animals.
I made sure that the majority of my time, energy and money supported GROWTH in all the ways I could think of:
• personal GROWTH
• spiritual GROWTH
• financial GROWTH
• business GROWTH
In 2019, my word was WORTH.
How much is my own time and energy worth?
Who and what is worth investing my time and energy in?
How do I increase my own financial, physical and emotional worth?
Am I worthy of respect and love and health and success? (Yes, ma’am.)
I’m sure I’m not the only one that struggles with imposter syndrome sometimes!
My 2020 word was CLARITY.
I was sick of being single and was really craving CLARITY on whether or not I was meant to find that special someone and end up in a healthy, loving and long-lasting relationship.
I put the “Man” in Manifesto and wrote out exactly what I was looking for in a partner. We met less than a month later. (We got engaged and married in 2021.)
One of the best decisions I made was to ditch my glasses and get LASIK eye surgery and find literal clarity of vision. The first thing I noticed was how many funny vanity license plates are out there.
I worked with my business coach all year on finding clarity in my and my business’ (Namaste in Nature) clarity of mission, purpose and goals.
My 2021 word was EFFICIENCY.
I implemented people, software and systems to make running my business more efficient.
I put a little more effort into planning and completed tasks and errands in a way that helped me accomplish more in less time.
I organized my work schedule in a way that grouped similar tasks together.
I turned off all notifications on my phone so I am in control of my interactions with it. ⬅️ I highly recommend everyone do this!
My 2022 word was SIMPLICITY.
The more you repeat this ritual, the faster and easier each word will appear. At least in my experience.
This word just kind of appeared in November. I’ve had to adjust to a lot of major life changes this year. So next year is all about SIMPLICITY. This includes simple morning and evening routines, decluttering and getting rid of things I don’t wear or use and saying no to people, things and ideas that tend to complicate my life.
My 2023 word was HARMONY.
I really focused on creating harmony between all the major parts of my life this year: home, self-care, nature, community, business and family.
My 2024 word is SIMPLICITY. Again.
My ritual, my rules! I don’t think there’s any reason not to recycle a word; especially if it was super effective the first time around. I’m really decluttering physically, mentally and emotionally to make room for more big life changes happening next year… the most important of which is going to be the birth of baby #2 in the Spring! We are so excited our little family is growing! And its a girl, btw. 😉
The Best Part Is,
these words start to compound. I am still experiencing GROWTH personally and professionally. I am much more deliberate about what and who is WORTH my time. My purpose and goals continue to be refined and gain more CLARITY. The systems I’ve implemented this year will continue my theme of EFFICIENCY in years to come. I continue to feel more consistent SIMPLICITY and HARMONY in my life overall.
I would love to know if you already have a word or what your word is once you discover it! Share it with me in the comments below.
Namaste & Have A Great Day!
Miranda
