Alternatives to New Year’s Resolutions

New Year, New You? No thanks!

New Year, still you! You don’t need to change. You don’t need to become a new person with new habits overnight. You’re already amazing just as you are.

That being said, it’s a great time to do some reflection and set the coming year up with intention. Not setting resolutions to be different, but connecting with values, making sure another year doesn’t go by without you doing that thing you always wanted to do.

Here are 5 alternatives to New Year’s Resolutions

WORD OF THE YEAR

Reflect on your values, aspirations and challenges and then choose one word to serve as your compass for 2026. Use this word to help you make decisions and take actions from a place of intention.

Don’t know where to start? Download my free values workbook. Maybe identifying your core values will give you some words to work with.

BUCKET LIST

Make a list of 26 things you want to do in 2026. Consider a wide range of activities — some that are pure joy and some that encourage growth. Good things to include on your bucket list are things you’ve always wanted to try, places you want to visit, things you want to learn, experiences you’ve never had, etc.

MAKE A BINGO BOARD (OR TWO)

Identify 5 categories and identify 5 activities/experiences in each category. When you have done 5 in a row, you get a BINGO and earn a treat.

When making the board, consider adding one challenging/outside your comfort zone in a different row in each column so that any completed BINGO requires a little challenge.

Sample categories: New Dishes to Try; Books to Read; Send Birthday Cards to; Socialize & Connect; Museums; Local Trails; New Trails

“BEST OF” RANKING

This is the year that you find your new favorite spot in town.

Think of types of small business (coffee shop, burrito joint) or community resource (playground, trail) that you enjoy and make a list of all of those in your city. Make an effort to visit as many as you can throughout the year.

It’s a great way to check out new places that offer things you enjoy while also engaging with your community. Make it extra fun and design your own rubric, take notes and share your results at the end of the year.

DEEP DIVE

Pick one thing to become obsessed with this year. Learn everything about it. Take classes. Read books. Watch documentaries. Get real world experience. Interview experts. Geek out.

There are literally no limits to what you can choose or the directions you take it. Choose something totally unrelated to your line of work and something that gets you experiencing new people/places.

CELEBRATE THIS YEAR

Before diving head first into what’s ahead, pause and take stock of what just happened. WHATEVER it is that you did this year— even if it’s just surviving another year in our new wild post-Covid reality — deserves to be recognized. And it helps provide some foundation for what comes next. So take a moment and ask yourself, in 2025 what did I…

Learn

Accomplish

Overcome

Change

Do with courage

Nurture

Do with intention

Let go of

Begin

End

Create

Try

These alternatives to New Year’s Resolutions help you focus you year on growth, learning, joy and connection. They are about supporting and developing your strengths instead of highlighting weaknesses. Choose activities that light you up and make you feel alive! Move from a place of intention and get what you want out of the year ahead