20 New Year goal ideas

How many times have you made New Year resolutions? How many times have you actually seen them through? At the start of a new year, “resolution” is the word of the day, yet many of us struggle with giving a resolution meaning, much less making it stick. We seek out New Year resolution ideas, but without a plan, they quickly fall flat. Why? Because we need to set New Year goals, not resolutions.

This year, instead of setting yourself up to fail with a resolution that’s uninspiring or unattainable, set meaningful, actionable goals instead – and make a plan to achieve them. When you do New Year goal setting right, you’re able to pace yourself and enjoy your progress along the way.

What is a New Year resolution?

A New Year resolution is a promise you make to yourself at the start of the year to start doing something beneficial or stop doing something harmful. Typical New Year resolution ideas include things like quitting smoking and eating more healthfully. The concept hinges on improving your life so it aligns with your passions.

New Year goals take it a step further. We make resolutions in the spirit of celebration, but they’re often fleeting thoughts with no real plan behind them. As Tony says, “Never leave the site of a goal or an idea without figuring some way to apply it immediately. That gives you power. That’s how you build momentum.” Once you determine what you want to change in your life, you must take massive action to make it happen – or become one of the millions of people whose resolutions fail in six weeks or less.

Create New Year goals, not resolutions

For most of us, the new year merely means a new start on old habits. Even if we have the best intentions when making a resolution, and perhaps spend the first few weeks with guns blazing, eventually our inherent patterns re-emerge, and we’re back to square one. Only now, we are left with residual guilt and frustration that we weren’t able to follow through. It’s a lose-lose situation.

This year, we suggest something new: nix those resolutions. Stop setting yourself up to fail and start placing all of the weight on New Year goals instead. Shift your focus to daily practices that you can put into action right now.

This doesn’t mean that instead of saying you are going to lose 10 pounds to shift your focus on hitting the gym every day. It’s much more fundamental. The key to turning New Year resolution ideas into real change is learning how to cultivate new habits – like going to the gym – by starting at the root: a shift in perspective. It’s these small changes that can lead to shifts in behavior, and cumulate over time to create one massive transformation.

The truth is, whatever you are after – a better body, more passion, more energy, more money – whatever you want more of, in basic terms, comes down to one thing: an extraordinary life. So this year, stop putting so much focus on a singular grand result and start focusing on what we can do now to achieve that outcome. Turn your New Year resolution into SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and anchored within a Time frame. Then take action today to accomplish them.

New Year resolution ideas

The first step to a successful New Year resolution is to identify what you want to change in your life. Take a look at these 20 New Year goal ideas and start thinking about how you’d break them down into smaller, achievable steps.

1. Embrace an active lifestyle

Living a truly healthy lifestyle means incorporating movement into everything you do.

2. Get in shape

You don’t have to become a marathon runner to get active. Anyone can learn to love exercise and get plenty of it.

3. Eat healthfully

Make healthy eating easy by stocking your pantry with nutritious, delicious foods.

4. Get quality sleep

Want more energy and vitality? Manage your lifestyle, diet and mindset to get quality sleep every night.

5. Detoxify your body

Detoxifying the body is a common New Year goal idea. Take Tony Robbins’ 10-Day Pure Energy Challenge to rejuvenate yourself.

6. Manage your time effectively

Time management isn’t about the hours in the day – it’s about your mindset. Stop procrastinating and take charge of your schedule.

7. Make more money

Create an action plan to make a profit, save more money and spend strategically.

8. Transform your workplace

Commit to creating a vibrant company culture so your entire team thrives.

9. Spend your time wisely

Let go of activities and people that hold you back, and find ones that build you up instead.

10. Sharpen your mind

Take steps to improve your concentration and mental sharpness.

11. Cultivate your intellect

Feed your mind the right fuel: Nourish your intellect by reading more books and watching less TV.

12. Increase your self-confidence

Confidence can be learned. Build strategies to believe in yourself, your skills and your natural abilities.

13. Kick stress to the curb

Stress is a state of mind. Practice mindfulness meditation techniques to manage and overcome stress.

14. Learn a new skill

What is a skill you’ve always wanted to develop? Make a New Year goal to finally achieve it.

15. Improve your communication skills

Developing your communication skills will help you achieve almost any goal.

16. Widen your network

What’s the point of New Year goal setting without meaningful relationships? Make new friends, colleagues and connections.

17. Develop your people skills

Building rapport and influencing others are top leadership skills you can use in every area of your life.

18. Increase the passion in your relationship

Even relationships can Build the extraordinary relationship you and your partner deserve.

19. Pursue your dreams

What do you really want out of life? Focus on identifying, pursuing and capturing your dreams.

20. Find contentment

Practicing gratitude can help you learn to be happy with what you have while building the purpose-filled life you deserve.

Creating a meaningful New Year’s resolution is your first step in harnessing the power of a fresh start. Discover the driving force behind your goals to create the captivating future you deserve.