New Year’s resolutions are famously short-lived—some estimates suggest that 80% are abandoned by February.
We start out in January brimming with ambition: exercise daily, give up sugar, learn a new skill, save money. But willpower and motivation fade fast when there’s no clear plan to sustain them.
Research shows that goal-setters often rely on sheer determination in those early weeks (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011). Yet willpower isn’t an endless resource; as the weeks go by, everyday decisions and pressures exhaust our ability to stick with those lofty resolutions.
Vague, unmeasurable goals also speed the decline of our best intentions. Saying “I want to get in shape” or “I’ll call friends more often” lacks the specificity and clear action steps needed for true behavior change.
Studies confirm that specific, quantifiable objectives—like “I’ll walk for twenty minutes every day at 7 a.m.”—fare better than broad ideals (Locke & Latham, 2002).
Even so, establishing a new habit doesn’t happen overnight. Dr. Philippa Lally’s research on habit formation suggests that, on average, it takes around 66 days of consistent effort to cement a new behavior (Lally et al., 2009). No wonder so many of us feel discouraged by mid-February: we rarely give ourselves enough time to evolve our habits into something automatic.
One Mindfulness Habit Can Change Everything
Most mindfulness habits are easier to implement and stick to than many of the typical New Years resolution go-tos; and they can lead to deeper change across multiple life areas.
This is because mindfulness practices provide a space to become aware of our thoughts and feelings without judging them (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). They can be done virtually anytime, whether you have just a few minutes to spare or a larger chunk of time available. You can also engage in mindfulness practices no matter where you are, making it a habit that is truly easy to integrate into everyday life.
Three Mindfulness Habits To Consider Adopting In the New Year
Here are three easy mindfulness practices which deliver real impact with even a small amount of time and effort. Consider adopting one of these practices this coming year, in lieu of making a more traditional yet less effective New Year’s Resolution.
Journaling
One such practice, journaling, brings mindfulness into everyday life by creating a simple space to process experiences, track goals, and reflect on personal growth. Research has connected regular journaling with lowered stress and anxiety levels, as well as improved mood and overall well-being (Pennebaker & Beall, 1986).
When you write down your reflections, you’re also taking advantage of the powerful link between goal-setting and follow-through. Dr. Gail Matthews’s study at Dominican University found that people who wrote down their goals—and revisited them—were far likelier to achieve them than those who only kept goals in mind. Journaling can be your daily (or even weekly) check-in, the time you spend asking yourself: “Am I moving in the right direction? If not, how can I adjust?” Even spending just minutes a day journaling can deliver myriad benefits, so it’s a mindfulness practice well worth considering.
Meditation
Many people believe they cannot meditate because they can’t perfectly quiet their minds. However, that’s not what meditation is about; it’s about observation, and the openness to what you can learn by simply focusing on what thoughts float into and out of your mind.
For those who have been frustrated with efforts to meditate in the past, guided meditations can be extremely helpful. Using an app like Insight Timer or Headspace (both free, with premium upgrade options) makes it easy to explore recordings of various lengths across a huge variety of topics such as anxiety relief, manifestation, improved sleep, etc.
Even just five minutes per day to start can develop into a long term habit that benefits your brain, body and heart.
Gratitude
Few things are as transformational in terms of recognizing or highlighting the joy in your life as a gratitude practice. Whether you jot down gratitude lists in a plain notebook or use a more structured journal designed to guide your gratitude practice there are seemingly countless benefits to adopting the more positive state of mind that a gratitude practice offers. Even just making it a habit to stop and truly relish a feeling of appreciation in the moment when something triggers your gratitude can improve your life; physically noting such moments by journaling supercharges this mindfulness practice by providing you with the opportunity to remember and reflect the many joys life unfolds for you along the way.
How to Make It Stick
To avoid the New Year’s resolution trap, consider one of the most practical strategies for lasting behavior change: habit stacking. Popularized by James Clear (2018), habit stacking means anchoring your new routine to something you already do. Instead of hoping you remember to journal at some vague point in the day, tie it to a well-established habit. If you drink coffee every morning, leave a notebook right next to the coffee maker. The moment you pour your cup, you open your journal and write for a couple of minutes.
Our brains love these kinds of triggers. When an existing habit cues a new behavior, you’re tapping into the brain’s autopilot system—the same mechanism that tells you to buckle your seatbelt as soon as you get in the car. By pairing an unfamiliar routine (journaling) with a familiar activity (morning coffee), you reduce the mental energy required to get started (Wood et al., 2005). This small tweak vastly increases the chances you’ll keep journaling when motivation flags.
Remember, too, that the best journaling habit is the one that fits your life. If your mornings are rushed, try the routine just after lunch or before bed. Dr. Lally’s research on the timeline of habit formation is a reminder that you don’t have to feel guilty if it doesn’t fall into place right away. Slow and steady is more effective than bursts of effort that quickly burn out.
A Year-Long Exploration
Mindfulness isn’t a static practice. Think of it as an ongoing conversation with yourself. Some days, you might explore gratitude for a person, experience or event; other days, you might brainstorm professional goals or explore your mind’s thoughts around your personal dreams. As you grow accustomed to approaching your life from a more mindful perspective, you’ll see that many of the answers you seek in your life are already available to you, inside of you.
Final Thoughts
Rather than flooding your January with a dozen new goals, focus your energy on one accessible, mindfulness-oriented habit. By stacking it onto an activity you already do, you build consistency without relying purely on willpower. Over the course of a year, this simple act of reflection can foster genuine self-discovery, bring clarity to your aspirations, and keep you grounded when life gets hectic.
The reason so many New Year’s resolutions fail is not that we’re lazy or unmotivated; it’s that we often aim too high, too fast, and with too little structure. Mindfulness sidesteps these pitfalls by keeping your focus narrow, your actions simple, and the benefits clear. Give it a try, and let each day’s mindfulness activity become a stepping stone toward the clarity, growth, and well-being you’ve been seeking. One small, consistent habit might just change your entire year.
References: Baumeister & Tierney (2011); Lally et al. (2009); Locke & Latham (2002); Kabat-Zinn (2003); Pennebaker & Beall (1986); Wood et al. (2005); Clear (2018).
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