Journal Prompts for the New Year
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Here’s a fun factoid for you - a study conducted by Strava suggests that most people will give up on their New Year’s resolutions by January 19th. Yikes!
This could happen for a variety of reasons, obviously, but something I’ve noticed in my 8+ years working in the wellness industry is this: most people tend to come in way too hot with their resolutions. By planning overly ambitious resolutions they set themselves up for failure and then (shocker!) give up a few weeks in because their goals are completely unsustainable.
Sound familiar?
Often resolutions focus more on a goal than a feeling. So, for instance, somebody might say I want to lose 60 pounds this year instead of I want to feel more energized this year. By focusing only on a goal we completely discount how we might be feeling, and often lose the why behind our resolution in the first place. If New Year’s resolutions are your thing, you have to have a clear purpose behind them. It has to be something that you genuinely, deeply believe in. Or it just ain’t gonna work.
Since we are rounding the corner on the day that resolutions go to die, I wanted to share two of my favorite journal prompts for the New Year (originally shared by my friend Kaija). These New Year’s journal prompts are focused on reflecting on the previous year (spoiler: it wasn’t all a dumpster fire) and considering the New Year in a more holistic, self-supportive way. By envisioning how you want to feel at the end of the current New Year, I find that most students I work with are able to create resolutions they are excited about.
New Year’s Journal Prompts
In what ways did I become more myself in 2020?
In what ways do I seek to become more myself in 2021?
My favorite part about these journal prompts is that they bring the focus of the New Year into becoming more yourself, instead of changing yourself. In all my years working in fitness/wellness, I have yet to see a resolution founded in self-hatred (ex: I have to work out at 6 AM every weekday so that I can fit into a smaller size) stick. It just doesn’t work. By connecting and reflecting with yourself you’ll come up with resolutions that feel exciting, nourishing, and attainable. You’re going to have an epic year.