If I’m honest, New Year’s resolutions have always felt a little like a trap to me. In fact, for years I had sworn off making them altogether. After all, every January, as the familiar story goes, you start with the best intentions, telling yourself that this year is the year where you finally “get it right”, whether you pledge to eat better, to move more, or to be more disciplined about work or social plans.
And yet, by February, the wheels inevitably start to come off, whether we blame a missed workout, a great party getting in the way of ‘dry Jan’, or a lack of productivity as we try to kickstart our brains post-Christmas. Then, faced with an increasingly unused gym membership, a pile of half-read self-help books, and a ‘that would be fun’ craft project left to gather dust, you eventually become so convinced you’ll always fail that you stop all the resolution-setting altogether.
Still, I don’t think it’s wrong to consider January as a chance to reflect and set intentions. In fact, a new year stretching fully ahead of you can feel surprisingly hopeful – a blank page to consider what you actually want for yourself, your family and your career.
So, as 2026 was rung in by Big Ben in London, I started thinking. Maybe it isn’t our resolution setting itself that is the problem, or even our perceived lack of determination to stick to our own goals at the start of the year. Perhaps, instead, it is the way so many of us approach New Year’s resolutions that sees them doomed to failure.
After all, many traditional New Year’s resolutions are what we would call punishment-based resolutions – those driven by guilt, restriction, or even just a real feeling of ‘I must do this’ pressure, which means they tend to rely on shame as motivation. But shame, as it turns out, is remarkably short-lived. It might spark action for a few weeks, but it rarely supports meaningful, long-term change.
In contrast, after years of speaking to wellbeing experts and helping share their insights, one thing has become quite clear to me: any goal rooted in carefully considered care for yourself, is far more likely to last and succeed.
That’s why, this year, I’m trying something different. I’m reframing resolutions as the ultimate act of self-care.
Self-care isn’t just about reacting to stress, overindulgence or burnout after it happens. That’s reactive self-care: the bubble bath after a stressful day or the salad after a week of takeaway meals. True self-care is proactive, helping you form a lifestyle that bolsters the mental and physical wellbeing you need to thrive and achieve your goals in the future.
Resolutions then, when keeping self-care in mind, can stop feeling like punishments or solemn commandments and start feeling quietly empowering. Instead of asking, ‘What do I have to do?’ this year, try asking, ‘what do I want to feel like?’ and ‘which choices energise me rather than drain me?’. In the process, you can shift resolutions from being obligations into invitations to do things that excite, embolden and motivate you.
Even manifestation – the increasingly popular if slightly ‘woo-woo’ idea of willing your dreams into action – works better framed through self-care too. After all, at its core, it’s simply about clarifying a vision so your actions naturally follow. A resolution like “I want to feel energised and strong in my body” is certainly less daunting than ‘I’m going to get up at 5am and run every day’, but it can still lead to movement that changes how you look and feel. This intention-led approach is not only kinder to your mind and body; it’s far more sustainable than rigid, rules-based goals.
For my own resolutions this year, I’ve written down intentions for what I want to prioritise, but it’s a ‘to-do list’ without deadlines. In fact, I’ve committed to developing it throughout the year, seeing it as an agile list of priorities rather than stern commandments. Equally, I know this approach probably won’t be perfect: there will be weeks when I forget all about my goals, when life gets messy, when old habits creep back in. But this time, instead of seeing that as failure, I want to see it as part of the process, meaning there’s no ‘giving up’ or ‘failing’ on my resolutions.
And if you think it’s too late to start, it isn’t. There’s no rule that resolutions must begin on January 1st. This year, I even gave myself permission to ease in slowly – the 1st was a Thursday, after all.
So, forget the “perfect, everything-at-once” resolutions of old; wellness trends are shifting toward more realistic (and even, dare we wish it, enjoyable) methods. All celebrate progress over perfection, showing that resolutions can be less about punishment and more about making life actually feel better.
Here are four resolution trends that can help ease you into positive change for 2026 and beyond.
FOUR NEW APPROACHES TO TRY IN 2026
1. Monthly momentum
If the classic cliché of resolution making – you start with high hopes, your momentum falters and you abandon the resolution entirely – is painfully familiar, a more effective approach could be to break the year into twelve monthly resolutions instead. This gives you room to address multiple areas of your life in smaller but meaningful ways throughout the year. These goals can be connected to a larger focus, such as learning a new skill or improving your health, but they don’t have to be. For example, February could be a goal focusing on scheduling weekly social catch-ups and March about improving your sleep habits. Each month then becomes an opportunity for a fresh start and a small victory, giving you tangible results without the pressure of a 100 per cent success rate. It can also make resolutions less intimidating so you actually start them, and at the end of the year, you might be surprised at how much progress you’ve made.
2. Indulgent resolutions
Who said resolutions had to be serious, uncomfortable, or stressful? Enter the indulgent resolution, the complete opposite of strict regimes of restriction or control. Instead, the idea is simple; you make pampering a real priority in 2026 and beyond, not just a ‘nice-to-have’ when time allows. What that means for you can be flexible. It could be giving yourself permission for a midweek bubble bath, committing to a long, relaxing massage every month, or actually savouring your coffee in the morning instead of rushing straight out the door. The main point though is that you should ‘achieve your goal’ without having to earn it, helping you invite more joy into your life rather than more stress. Plus, by intentionally building time for rest into your schedule, you give yourself a chance to recharge and show up for the rest of your goals with more energy. In other words, treating yourself isn’t just indulgent, it’s a way to help you pursue your other ambitions too.
3. Bite-sized goals
For anyone who’s been burned by overambitious New Year’s resolutions before, bite-sized resolutions offer a much gentler approach. Instead of launching headfirst into a massive lifestyle overhaul, this method treats wellness like a warm-up before a marathon. The aim is to start small, build gradually, and allow your momentum to accumulate from there. A bite-sized resolution might involve committing to just five minutes of stretching in the morning, taking a short walk after work, or making small changes to your sleep schedule instead of attempting a full reset overnight. Each tiny habit then acts as a building block that prepares you for more significant changes over time. Unlike the typical “January blitz,” where enthusiasm often leads to burnout, bite-sized resolutions celebrate consistency over intensity, and small victories along the way serve as motivation to continue. After all, meaningful change doesn’t happen in a single day, but through repeated actions that gradually shape habits, mindset, and routines.
4. Themed resolutions
Not quite sure what you want your wellness resolution to be? Or perhaps you find long goal lists or strict wellness rules rather overwhelming? If so, try a theme-based resolution instead. Rather than relying on ‘do this’ or ‘don’t do that’ guidance, this approach sees you pick a guiding word or theme for the year (or month) – popular ones might be ‘curiosity’, ‘rest’ or ‘joy’ – which then help you gently shape your choices. Maybe curiosity inspires you to explore a new hobby, sign up for a class you’ve been eyeing, or seek out fresh experiences. Rest might mean prioritising sleep, taking regular breaks from work, or learning to say no to commitments that drain you. The magic of themed resolutions is their flexibility: they give you direction without pressure, helping you align your actions with progress towards your goal more naturally. There’s no rigid standard to measure yourself against either; just a guiding principle that turns self-improvement from a series of chores into a journey of personal development.
Becki Murray is Citizen Femme’s Beauty and Wellness Director. As one of the only UK journalists to hold a Distinction-grade diploma in cosmetic science, she combines her unique knowledge with an editor’s eye to help you make smarter choices about beauty, wellbeing, and aesthetics. Becki also heads up CF’s spa guide so you could say she’s an expert in the science of relaxation too…
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