New Years Resolutions are often about weight, body, or “health” because of various reasons. Those reasons are worth exploring individually and as a society, but ultimately the fact of it can narrow our view of other ways to work on ourselves.
While the body is important, we sometimes give it an unhelpful amount of attention. It can be easy to forget that there are lots of ways to grow as a person that don’t involve your body or your diet at all. And many of these other types of goals have a huge impact on your overall well-being and mental health. Here’s my list of 4 other categories to consider:
Psychological Goals
Of course I’m a mental health therapist, so I’m going to include these! Think about something that would make your life better if you focused on it. Some examples:
- Replace 1 night a week with reading time instead of streaming time.
- Get dressed in “real clothes” on work days.
- Seek a therapist… and actually tell your therapist the thing you’ve been scared to say out loud.
Social Goals
- Call someone you miss and catch up. make it part of your routine after work, on the weekend, or when in traffic.
- Plan a small COVID-safe gathering.
- Pick one friend’s birthday and send them a small care package instead of a text. Bonus points if it’s not a bestie, because they’ll be super surprised!
Spiritual Goals
- Return to one practice that connects you to something bigger than yourself, such as prayer, meditation, or a visit to the ocean, river, or lake.
- Record something about today that makes you feel grateful. Repeat it weekly, then daily.
- Find a local charity that you’d enjoy volunteering or donating to. Ask them how you can help.
Financial
- Set up an auto transfer of tiny amounts to a savings account. Pick a savings account that’s hard to access and choose an amount that you won’t notice, even if it’s just a dollar. Just build the habit.
- Tell your supervisor that you want more opportunity or responsibility along with more pay, and ask them how you can develop in your job.
- Actually go live on your side hustle, etsy shop, youtube channel, or other dream.
- Apply for that job that you’re not sure you qualify for…especially if you’re female, enby, and/or a person of color; to combat that imposter syndrome.
Most of these things don’t have to be a daily commitment or painful trial. You work toward them overtime instead of having 3 perfect weeks in January & then falling off. Treat them as goals, not a promise to keep perfectly. You don’t even have to start in January!
Please note: While I’m wishing you very well in this New Year, I’m not accepting any new clients for the first half of 2022. If you’d like to get emailed with the first updates on new openings, or if you’re a returning client, please reach out to me on the contact page. I look forward to hearing from you.