When the champagne bottles are empty and the year has officially tallied one more number, we’re suddenly left with a year ahead of us—a year of infinite possibilities. Let’s celebrate 2023 with some positivity, high hopes, and the desire to make the world a better place!
This means to set some amazing resolutions with these 23 New Year’s resolution ideas!
As Mahatma Gandhi is quoted:
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
Choosing a New Year’s Resolution
Choosing a New Year’s Resolution for yourself should be something that’s intuitive and natural. It doesn’t have to be a chore or something that takes hours of deliberation (although you can if you want to).
1. Pick Just One Resolution
If you’re anything like me, you have about 5 different, major life goals and you want to accomplish EVERYTHING right now!
But that’s NOT productive and it DOESN’T set yourself up for success.
So choose 1 thing that is the MOST important to you in the coming year. Are you hoping to get healthy? Do you need to develop a better self-care routine? Maybe you want to spend more time with your kids.
No matter what it is, for one year, focus your intention, time, and energy on that one aspect of your life. Come next year’s New Year, you’ll feel more accomplished.
RELATED:
How to Set a New Year’s Resolution as a Work at Home Mom
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2. Consider Different Areas of Your Life
There are around 10 areas of your life that you may want to consider for your New Year’s Resolution.
- Health and Fitness
- Career
- Personal Development
- Home & Environment
- Relationship or Marriage
- Community and Volunteering
- Spirituality or Religion
- Family
- Leisure & Recreation
Many of these resolution ideas below are centered around Health & Fitness and Personal Development because these are my areas of expertise. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try a resolution in another area!
There are plenty of New Year’s Resolution ideas out there that don’t include fitting into a size 2 swimsuit for June or losing 8 pounds before your 35th birthday. So switch things up this year!
READ MORE: Your New Year’s Resolution to Live Life to the Fullest!
3. Make It a SMART Goal
SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely.
DO: I want to spend 10 minutes a day reading non-fiction books, 5 days a week.
DON’T: I want to read more.
DO: I want to lose an inch from my waist by April.
DON’T: I want to lose weight.
DO: I want to lose an inch from my waist by April.
DON’T: I want to drop 50 pounds by March 1.
DO: I want to finish writing my novel by November 30th.
DON’T: I want to finish writing my novel.
RELATED POST: What is a New Year’s Aspiration?
4. When You Get Tired, Take A Break
Don’t give up. When your New Year’s resolution is feeling tedious or difficult to attain, learn to take a break and reassess.
You might have to change your timeline, or maybe change how rigorously you were attacking your goal. It’s always good to have a back-up plan.
To develop a helpful action plan for your New Year’s Resolution, check out this article:
Execute Your New Year’s Resolution Action Plan Like the Boss You Are
5. Track Your Habits
Track your habits for more success. If your resolution is something that you’d like to add to your personal daily routine, tracking your habits is essential to success.
Download this free habit tracker (available in both landscape and circular) to help keep you focused on your goals.
6. Incentivize
Make sure you incentivize to motivate yourself! Ideally, everyone would have perfect intrinsic motivation and wouldn’t ever need to bribe themselves with stuff.
But unfortunately, we are human, and our intrinsic power is limited. What kind of things should you reward yourself with? Maybe if your goal is to lose an inch around your waist, you save money for several months so that when you meet your goal, you can purchase some new clothes. Maybe if your goal is to read non-fiction travel books for 10 minutes a day, you reward yourself with a trip to the favorite place you’ve learned about.
Food, alcohol, sex, gambling, and other potentially addictive things should NOT be used as rewards.
READ MORE: 10 Ways to Increase Your Personal Accountability & Self-Discipline
7. Learn About Limiting Beliefs
In 2023, you should absolutely include finding your limiting beliefs in your list of new year’s resolution ideas.
Learn about limiting beliefs and do some soul searching. There could be a reason why you keep failing at losing weight. Studying your own emotions, guilts that you might harbor, and ways you doubt yourself can allow you to work through past failures to come out on the other side successful.
Here’s a good, quick article to get you started on uncovering and eliminating your limiting beliefs.
8. Don’t choose something you’ve failed at before
Choose a Resolution that is fresh and new, exciting, and motivating for you! Rehashing the SAME OLD THING is likely to put you into a negative mindset and remind you of your past failures.
Starting a brand new goal will help to motivate you and keep you excited to succeed.
Make sure you read:
How to Follow Through With Your New Year’s Resolution
Who will these New Year’s resolution ideas work for?
These resolution ideas are great for anyone, but as Wild Simple Joy is geared mainly toward mothers and women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, they’re especially perfect for them! (I’m looking at you, Karen!)
The most important thing when considering these ideas is to make them your own so that they will work for you!
So let’s get to it with these 20 fantastic New Year’s Resolution Ideas!
READ MORE: What does it mean to live your best life?
23 Kickass New Year’s Resolution Ideas to Inspire Your Best Life
1. Practice Intuitive Eating
Mindful eating is not something we practice in our modern, constantly moving world. Make a resolution to sit down and focus on your eating instead of multitasking. Practice listening to your body when you are thirsty, ACTUALLY hungry, and full (or something else, like just tired!)
2. Drink more water
I aim for a gallon a day, which is about 120 ounces. I live in a very dry climate, so getting water is imperative for my health. But regardless of where you live, water is essential to keep your body healthy.
3. Stop complaining
Resolve to stop complaining for the month of January and see how you feel. Even just 30 days of a more positive mindset can help your life feel more comfortable and help you feel at peace. I bet if you do a month, you’ll want to extend it to the rest of the year!
RELATED: Using Affirmations to CRUSH your New Year’s Resolution
4. Practice gratitude.
If gratitude isn’t on your list of new year’s resolution ideas, it needs to be!
On a related idea, resolve to practice gratitude. Gratitude is merely feeling thankful for the things that are present in your life. Get a journal and write down 3-5 things each day that you are grateful for!
(If you practice meditation, try these 9 Buddhist New Year’s Resolutions.)
5. Do something that scares you
Hate speaking in public? Take a public speaking class.
Afraid of heights? Take a trip to the top of the sears tower or go skydiving (if you’re feeling extra bold).
Personal growth starts when we recognize the things that are out of our comfort zone and decide to take the first step out of that box.
6. Be an engaged citizen.
Forgot to renew your voter registration?
Feel passionate about the Black Lives Movement or climate change?
Being an engaged citizen doesn’t have to mean going to community forums or participating in protests. Even just the act of getting educated about current events and injustices happening in the world is a huge step toward a better, more compassionate, more unified world.
7. Recycle more
Every city has their own rules for recycling. Do you know what to put in your recycling bin?
Our city doesn’t take glass, for some unknown reason, so it’s been an adjustment for us to put our glass into boxes separately and driving it to recycling centers once a month.
You need to add this one to your list of new year’s resolution ideas if you want to help save the planet!
8. Adopt a houseplant
Looking for an easy New Year’s Resolution idea this year?
Filling your home with plants can be a great way to purify the air in your home and to add some homey ness to your rooms. Plus, they’re easy to care for because they only need a little water and sunlight!
Also, remembering to water them helps you practice mindfulness!
9. Konmarie Your Closet
Haven’t read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up yet?
That’s okay! You don’t have to declutter your entire house to have an effect on your mental health! Start with your closet. Clearing out things that don’t fit, are not in good condition, and don’t bring you joy can save you time in the morning as well as mental energy. Save your brain cells for things that are actually worth it.
10. Get rid of toxic scents
Scented candles and those ugly things that you plug into the walls are not only overwhelming smells, they’re actually toxic to you and pets!
If you have any of these, get rid of them immediately! Replace them with a diffuser and essential oils, or unscented organic soy candles to purify your air and make your home have fewer chemicals.
11. Get a Fitbit and use it every day
Okay, you can have a couple off-days a week, but the idea is to start a new routine.
Using tools like a Fitbit can help increase your awareness around your health. Once again, it’s all about mindful living. Being healthy and mindful doesn’t have to be hard!
Check out 18 More New Year’s Resolutions for Health in 2023
12. Cut back on disposables
Not only is it better for your health, your wallet, and the environment, reducing your disposables helps you teach your kids good practices. Mindful living and protecting our planet go hand it hand.
13. Schedule girl dates and don’t flake!
I have to admit, as an introvert I’m really bad at this. But connecting with our friends and family helps to create a sense of community in our lives. This connection helps to ward off depression, ease stress, and calm anxiety.
So for a less stressful year, schedule more time with your friends.
14. Spend less time on social media
Dude. This should be a no-brainer to increase your health and happiness in 2023.
Users of social media like facebook report less life satisfaction than non-users.
End the cycle. Delete the app from your phone and spend the time you save on worthwhile things like your kids, learning something new, or cooking healthy meals for your family.
15. Meditate 8 minutes a day
Meditation is an excellent way to introduce yourself to mindfulness. Meditation isn’t as hard as it sounds, and the nice thing is that it gets easier the more you do it.
Find a comfy spot, close your eyes (if you wish), and just focus on your breath. When a thought comes into your mind that urges you to get up and do something, gently release it.
Meditation is that simple.
16. Start a new hobby
Think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Starting a new hobby is always a great New Year’s resolution idea!
Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn the piano, or would like to join a softball league. Learning a new hobby helps to increase new connections in the brain, which can help us get out of other bad habits.
17. Read more books
Reading is an excellent way to learn new things and keep in a growth mindset as we age.
Regardless if you read non-fiction or fiction, books help your imagination and creativity, and is a far more active form of entertainment than other kinds (like watching TV or playing video games).
18. Stop procrastinating
Quitting an old habit is always going to be difficult. But stepping up and finishing all those tasks you’ve been meaning to complete for months will feel like such a relief!
19. Spend more time outside
Time in nature is another way to experience less depression.
Studies have found that even just 10 minutes a day outdoors can help reduce stress and feel calmer! Spend your new year feeling relaxed, calm, and able to handle the stress of your life!
20. Finally make that will
No, I know, it’s not ever a fun topic to think about. But everyone who lives will also die one day, and the people who you leave behind need to be taken care of.
For myself, I knew that I needed a will to designate guardians for my two young boys if my husband and I suddenly pass. Our stuff and debt are secondary, but also important.
It’s easy and a simple app like Tomorrow can help you make a starter will in less than an hour.
21. Volunteer
Looking for more ways to boost your confidence and lower your risk of depression? Volunteering isn’t only great for the community, it’s great for your own health as well.
Here are a few volunteering ideas:
- volunteer at an animal shelter
- volunteer at a nursing home or hospital
- tutor students for free
- donate to and collect for a food bank
Get more volunteering ideas here.
22. Take an adult learning class
Many colleges in your area will have 6-12 week classes for adult learners. These community classes are a great way to learn a new skills, develop your mind, or just get out of the house.
Communities often have classes like:
- photography
- cooking classes
- creative writing classes
- fitness classes (like dance aerobics, etc)
- personal finance classes
- and many more
I’ve taken many adult learning classes at the UNM Continuing Education branch of our local university and they were all excellent.
23. Go on a date with your partner once a week
Don’t forget to connect with your husband or wife. Keeping a relationship strong means devoting regular time to it.
So make sure that you and your partner or spouse get away from the kids every now and then, or at least spend time together after they’ve gone to bed.
Make sure you check out:
250 Personal Word of the Year Ideas
Top 120 Most Empowering Words in the English Language
Conclusion
These are 23 varied and creative New Year’s resolution ideas for 2023 that will hopefully expand your mind, increase your wealth, and decrease your stress. Personal development in the new year can help lead you to a healthier, more satisfying life!
Drop me a note below and let me know what YOUR New Year’s Resolution is this year!