The new year is right around the corner — and a new year means new resolutions. Here are 3 ways you can set mindful New Years’ resolutions going into 2022 and why exactly they matter.
What are mindful New Years’ resolutions and why do they matter?
Mindfulness is the practice of giving wholehearted, non-judgmental attention to the moment before you. Applying mindfulness to your goal setting yields a whole range of benefits. When you’re mindful while setting New Year’s resolutions, you’re more likely to create actionable goals. These goals are often concrete, and more meaningful in the long term. They help you become the person you want to be instead of fulfilling some kind of superficial goal. The benefits don’t stop there! As a whole, mindfulness helps improve decision-making, cognitive control, emotional regulation, and improving optimism. These are all traits that could help you make better New Years’ resolutions!
3 ways you can make mindful New Years’ resolutions
#1 Reflect
The best way to set mindful New Years’ resolutions is by truly understanding your goals — and for that, you first need to look into your past. Reflect on your 2021 and understand where things went right and where things could have gone better. Of these events, which were within your control and a direct result of your actions? What would you do again and what would you change? Once you have these reflections, you can objectively create New Years’ resolutions moving forward.
#2 Have a quiet planning space
Mindful New Years’ resolutions come from peace of mind — and that’s usually achieved in a quiet space. In order to be present and in the moment with your goal setting, create your New Years’ resolutions in a quiet, distraction-free zone. But that’s not always so simple during the holiday season when children are running about excitedly and you have family coming over to visit. We suggest that you carve out just 15 minutes of quiet time to plan your New Years’ goals. Using a Timeqube, or any other mindful time tracking tool, you can watch the clock while being mindful about your New Years Resolutions.
#3 Create a routine
Both mindfulness and New Years’ resolutions are very lofty concepts. But these concepts can be made more tangible with routines. People who create routines assign tangible actions to rather intangible goals. This makes them more achievable, thus giving you a better outcome. With this in mind, you should start early by creating a routine for your 2022 New Years’ resolution. Lay out the groundwork — this small step will go miles in encouraging you to achieve your goals in the year to come. And this doesn’t have to be a big commitment. If your goal is to go to the gym every morning next year, for example, then you can start small right now by slowly waking up just a little earlier every day. Just like creating a mindfulness routine, creating a routine for your New Years’ resolutions will encourage you to be mindful and consistent in your new goals.
With that, we wish you a happy – and very mindful – New Year!