Issue #25: New Year, New You?
Reflecting back on your mental health the past year and looking ahead by making new year resolutions
Dear mental health advocate,
The new year has arrived! I hope you all had a great New Year’s Eve and spent it the way you wanted to. When one year ends and when another ones begins, many people reflect back and look ahead. So, I thought it would be nice to focus this edition on 2023 and give you some advice about new year resolutions.
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New Year Resolutions
It’s that time of the year again. While waking up on the first day of 2023, I cannot help but reflect on 2022. I am thinking about this past year, what occurred in my life and what the state of my mental health is. I can safely say it was a year full of changes. To give you all a glimpse: I started my own company, I moved, I quit my job, found a new one, I created this Substack. But there were also times that really challenged my mental health. I lost my father and struggled with being overwhelmed at work. Grief and burnout are difficult to navigate, so at times I really had to take a step back and process everything. It resulted in me taking quite some time off to recharge and take care of my mind.
I know that many of you likely had a year full of ups and downs. Some might have had a great year. Some might have had a really bad one. When we move on to a new year, the old one becomes history, with moments in our past we will never forget. In a lot of cases, it takes time to process everything that happened. I want you to think about all the defining moments of 2022 for you personally. What were the highlights? What were the toughest moments? It is possible that you have the tendency to block the hardest moments or memories in your mind. Be kind to yourself, it is okay. But don’t forget that sometimes introspection, reflecting and remembering can help to heal.
All this reflection helps with understanding your feelings and the impact of certain experiences on your mental health. If you do so, you can boost your emotional intelligence. Not only that, but it can give you the opportunity to know what you ideally would like to change about your situation or how to increase your psychological wellbeing. And that is where a famous tradition at the beginning of the year comes in: new year resolutions. For many people, this is a way to push themselves to change for the better by making plans how to do things differently in the new year. If done right, these resolutions can not only improve your life, but also your mental health.
How to create good resolutions and stick to them
Planning new year resolutions can be fun, and they are often made with the best intentions. I mean, it is always a good idea to look ahead and create a list of the things you would like to improve in your life. The only thing is that this has to be done in the right way and not just randomly or without much motivation. Setting yourself up for failure can have a significant negative impact on your mental health. So, if you do it, then do it in a way that will work for you. Don’t just create a resolution like ‘I want to be in a better financial situation’ or ‘I want to lose weight’. Do it properly. Want to know how? Here are some tips:
Stay positive. Don’t let a misstep make you believe you cannot do it. Try to talk back to your inner critic that keeps on attacking your confidence. If you believe in yourself and if you can stay positive, it is easier to reach those goals you set.
Pick a resolution that motivates you. If you try and make a resolution about something you absolutely hate doing or which will not push you, then chances are high it will be difficult to succeed. It really has to be important to you and preferably align with your dreams and ambitions in life.
Do not create too many. If you are planning on improving your life, that is great. But do not make huge lists of everything that you want to change. A long list makes it not only harder to commit, but it will also make it harder to manage.
List these resolutions somewhere. Don’t keep these goals only in your head. Instead, write them down on a whiteboard, in your notes app or another location that makes it easy to check. If you do, it makes your new year resolutions more tangible and easier to commit to. Also, it can serve as a reminder why you want to do these resolutions in the first place.
Make specific and small resolutions. If you want to be successful with resolutions, it would be best to work them out in detail. For example, keep the resolution as a one year goal, but break it down into a few smaller goals and write down how to achieve them. If your goal is to have a better financial situation (year goal), have smaller milestones listed like creating monthly budget overviews and/or ‘save X amount per month’ (monthly goals). Specific and smaller goals are easier to achieve.
Review your resolutions and progress regularly. Every goal has a journey towards attaining it, but it likely is not a linear progress. You might have setbacks, failures, moments where you forget or just do not have the energy. That is fine. Just keep track and try again next time. Readjust your goals if you have to.
Get help from other people. It is way easier to succeed with a new year resolution when there is support or when someone close to you is involved. Really want to exercise more? Go with a friend to that spin class or take walks outside in nature with a loved one. It is less lonely and there is more incentive to actually commit.
Examples of new year resolutions
Sometimes, you really want to work on yourself or have new goals this year. But maybe you do not really know what to do yet. Or you need some inspiration. Well, I have some ideas here that you might find useful. Remember though, it is all voluntary and don’t pick too many. There are only so many hours in a day!
Read more books. Try and finish 10 pages each day, for example before going to bed.
Not a big fan of reading? Try using applications that offer audiobooks.
Increasing your fitness levels. Try and take a walk outside for an hour, a few times a week at least.
Don’t like walking? Then there are plenty of other options to exercise (classes, team sports, gym).
Working on becoming happier. Try and keep a gratitude journal. Each evening, write down three things that happened that day that you are grateful for. It definitely helps with feeling more positive about your life.
Spend more time with loved ones. Try to block moments in your agenda to see people you like.
Is your work-life balance a challenge? Try and set more boundaries and say ‘no’ to things you do not want to do.
Eat healthier. Try and research online or in your favorite cooking books recipes (for example, once a week) that contain healthy foods. It will make you feel more energized throughout the day.
Spend money in a healthier way. Try and keep a monthly overview of all your expenses and based on that, make a budget.
Do you have money left? Try and make it a goal to save X amount of money each month.
Happy new year and let’s make 2023 better than 2022!
Join the 31-Day New Year Challenge!
I have partnered up with online platform OPEN, which is a great way to do daily meditations and breathwork exercises to ground yourself. According to Fortune, OPEN is “The best place online to practice breathwork, meditation, yoga, and pilates whenever and wherever.”
This year, you can join for free to do a 31 day new year challenge. Each day a new meditation or exercise under 10 minutes to be in the present moment. I love doing such exercises myself, because it helps to feel calmer and sleep better. If you are interested, you can sign up below. You can cancel at any time.
Help me raise awareness 💌
My name is Alf Lokkertsen and I am a psychologist and writer, creating mental health content for you. My passion is to raise awareness about topics related to psychology, as it has helped me greatly in my personal life. I strongly believe that many problems could be avoided or dealt with better if everyone had some in-depth psychology knowledge.
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