2026: Why You Shouldn’t Make New Year’s Resolutions This Year

As the new year approaches, there’s this familiar pressure: pick a resolution, fix yourself, reinvent everything overnight. It’s marketed as “motivation,” but most of the time, it just makes people feel behind... before the year even starts.

Here’s the truth that we’re screaming loud: holiday resolutions rarely create lasting change... and they often leave us discouraged before we’ve even begun.

Why are resolutions “bad”?

• They’re rooted in faults

  • The entire mindset behind a resolution is rooted in “fixing” some part of yourself (i.e. your weight, habits, productivity, goals). It instantly frames you as if you are lacking — as if who you are today is inherently not enough.

• We build them in survival mode

  • Reflect on the time of year we build resolutions: after the holiday chaos, after the disrupted routines, social overload, financial stress, travel, and general exhaustion. We sit down and think, “time to start fresh.” But your body and mind are still in survival mode. You are likely exhausted, overstimulated, emotionally or physically drained. And yet, there is this manufactured rush to overhaul your life overnight.

    Trying to create real change while your entire system is in survival mode? That’s a recipe for burnout, not growth.

• They only give you 2 options: succeed or fail

  • Resolutions leave you with a binary outcome: you either succeed, and accomplish your resolution, or you fail. We’ve all felt the weight of “failing” a resolution... cue the guilt, shame and embarrassment. And then, we do it all over again next year.

So what should I do?

Skip the pressure-packed resolutions list and lean inward to something that actually supports growth: intentions. Unlike resolutions, intentions aren’t about fixing yourself, they’re about guiding yourself. Intentions are fluid; they can bend, shift, pause and restart. They begin with self-acceptance, not self-rejection. And they can anchor you to the direction you want to evolve through the new year.

How intentions support your growth

Intentions act as a gentle compass, guiding how you want to show up each day. They focus on the small choices, mindset and habits that reflect your authentic self, rather than a rigid checklist of what society deems success or failure. By tuning into what matters most, you focus on your growth and release the pressure to succeed or measure yourself by failure.

How to switch from resolutions to intentions

A common resolution we hear is “I want to workout more and manage my weight”. This sets a hard boundary: if you don’t workout more and manage your weight, you fail.

So how do we reframe this into an intention? Try...

• “I want to move by body in ways that energize me”

• “I want to treat my body with more compassion”.

• “I want to build a healthier relationship with movement this year.”

• “I want to listen to what my body needs instead of forcing what it “should” do.”

Some other intentions could look like:

• “I want to practice setting boundaries that protect my peace.”

• “I want to create more space for rest without guilt.”

• “I want to slow down and be more present in my daily routines.”

• “I want to choose behaviors that align with the version of myself I’m becoming.”

And remember: intentions don’t demand perfection. They don’t shame you when life has different plans. They don’t put you in a box, and expect you to fit it perfectly. The best part of setting intentions is the shift from “I need to change everything about myself” to “I deserve to care for myself the way I actually am.”

Emerald Mental Health wishes you a safe and grounded new year.

Having trouble evaluating your intentions for the new year? Reach out to emeraldcounselingllc@gmail.com or visit https://www.emeraldcounselingllc.com/contact