An unconventional approach to your new year’s resolution

Written By Rachel Ann

You may be surprised that I'm writing this almost a full month into the new year. That’s because of the unconventional approach I take in creating goals for the new year - instead of coming into the new year with a list of pressure inducing to do’s, I take the month of January to figure out what I want the year to look like. Going into the new year with already-set goals doesn’t work for many people, including me - like I just finished the holiday season, now I’m supposed to come up with goals for a whole year? Nah. It don’t work like that for me.


So let’s dive into what I do for setting goals and intentions for the new year -

Get rid of ‘new year, new me’ mentality

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you don’t become a new person from 11:59pm December 31st to 12:00am January 1st. You’re still you, with your thoughts, feelings, energy, mindset, all of that. What can change throughout the year, though, is anything you’re not a fan of:

  • Starting to unlearn hustle culture

  • Starting a new side business adventure

  • Exploring a new outdoor hobby

  • Getting to the root of your codependency 

So you’re still you, but the goal is that throughout the new year, you’ll be able to make changes in a way that makes your life healthier and enjoyable…but you’re still you, which is great! Why is this great? Because it teaches yourself that you don’t need to become a different person to get those things; it means that you, not someone else, is capable of growing and making things happen.

Chill out in January

Each January, I typically take the month and unplug from a lot of things - for my Christian friends we call this fasting. This allows me to start the new year by emptying a lot of my bodily desires and getting filled up on a soul-level - when I clean out my gut and internal systems, I find that I’m able to experience things fuller and healthier. Things impact me differently during this time: I become more aware of my impatience, my everyday experiences feel deeper and more meaningful, and I feel connected to my spirituality which grounds me.

This is the type of mood I wanna be in when I think about the new year. I don’t want to make plans or goals from a place of being frazzled or stressed, which clouds my vision and makes me feel all gunky inside. I want to make these plans from a place of clarity and refreshment.

It can look like many things:

  • Avoiding certain foods that make you feel really full

  • Only listening to music that is uplifting

  • Scheduling exercises daily to move your body

There’s many ways to get in touch with your whole self, so doing that allows me to see things on a deeper, clearer level.

Find a word or motto, not a new to-do list

Resolutions never really worked for me. If they work for you, then great! But for me, they didn’t because I focused too much on the external piece and neglected the ‘why’ value behind it. The goal was to work out more, but what I was really trying to get at was wanting to feel flexible and less stiff in my body. Working out is one of the ways to do that, which means it’s a method to achieving the goal, not the actual goal itself.

So instead of resolutions, I do a word or motto for the year; and for my spiritual practice, I also find a verse for the year that really encompasses what God is saying to me about the year. I find that the word/motto connects me to my ‘why’ more, and the actions naturally flow out of it.

For example, if your word of the year is ‘bold’ then the actions that follow might be:

  • Saying “yes” more to new adventures

  • Speaking up in work meetings

  • Finding new ways to advocate for social justice causes

So that’s how I do the new year - lots of praying, reflecting, sometimes crying, thinking about what’s tugging at my heart, wondering what changes I’d like to see - how do I want things to be different this year? What’s the root of it? What tangible, micro changes can I make?


Whatever your new year word/motto/resolution/goal looks like, I hope you find it in a way that works for you. It’s not too late to book your 2023 Goal Setting Session, where I help you get clarity on your 2023 goals in a realistic, non-pressure-inducing way!

Here’s to 2023 and the wonderful you that will grow this year. :)

Need more support? Lemme help you sis:

Rachel Ann
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