20 Creative New Year’s Resolutions For Staying Happier

clendar January 01, 2020

clendar 12 minutes

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Instead of creating the same old new year’s resolutions, why not make one that you can implement, that you will enjoy practising and that will change your life?

1. Walk in the face of your fears

There’s a difference between warranted fear and unwarranted fear. Warranted fear occurs when we are in imminent danger of something happening either to ourselves or someone we love.

For example, if we are on a boat and it starts sinking. Or if a category five hurricane is heading our way, and we don’t have adequate shelter.

But we also develop unwarranted fears, such as being afraid to try something new, or afraid to show off our talents and skills. These unfounded fears often give us insight as to how we could make massive breakthroughs in our ability to enjoy life and be happy.

So, the moral of the story is to get out there and embrace your fears this year and watch how your life turns to magic. If you need some extra help with this, because you have excessive stress and anxiety, this course on managing stress and anxiety will help you.

2. Keep a Journal

Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker who inspired and influenced the likes of Tony Robbins and many other modern-day influencers, advocates the use of a journal in most of his work.

But Jim’s proposition is not just about recording your thoughts and ideas in a journal but also to work on your self-help and personal development.

According to Jim, journaling for personal development is the best way to change your life. And well, if you know of Jim’s work, you’ll agree that if Jim says it’s a good idea – it’s a good idea.

3. Take Control Of Your Home

If you spent one year, clearing out your clutter and becoming more organised, you will feel more accomplished, in control of your life and happier.

You’ll save time, money and face. You’ll inspire others, and it will be surprising when you notice how easily things just seem to fall into place.

This is a fast track toward happiness – so long as you remain disciplined and don’t take it to OCD levels!

4. Develop a Habit of Being Tidy

If you are tidy, you’ll want to skip this one. But for those messy millions, can you imagine how serene life would be if everything had a place AND you were mindful enough to put anything you use back in its place after use.

Never again will your home look like a whirlwind just passed through, hours of searching (or tidying) will be reclaimed and your reap the profound and beneficial psychological effects from keeping a tidy environment.

If you are not in the habit of being tidy, we know how hard it is to notice those moments when you do absentmindedly leave a trail of devastation behind you, which is why you might want to take a year to master this one.

Start small, by remembering to put things away in one room, then move onto the next. If you don’t have a place for something – create one.

5. Understand How To Defend Yourself

Vulnerability has its place in our personal growth. It’s most definitely something we should explore, but it doesn’t mean that we should feel vulnerable when it comes to our safety or our rights.

When we know how to defend ourselves appropriately, it opens up doors of opportunity – we feel confident as we go about our daily life that we are not going to get caught up in something we cannot safely get out of. Which, in turn, leads to happiness.

You might consider taking a self-defence class or even learning more about UK Employment Law so that you know exactly what to do if your safety or livelihood is compromised.

6. Develop A Romantic Heart

There’s something wonderful about looking at the world with rose-tinted glasses occasionally. So long as you remember to take them off when you need to. When it comes to romance, we could all use some in our life. Whether we are in a relationship or not, romance still has its place.

Though romance will most definitely perk up a stale relationship if necessary!

Allowing yourself to look at the world with a romantic heart opens up the opportunities for love, peace, mindfulness, relaxation, and joy. Which we are sure you’ll agree are necessary components for staying happier in 2026!

7. Step Up Your Social Life

Even if you’re a social butterfly, there’s always some improvements you can make to your social life.

Perhaps you might consider taking your social life in the direction of some of your goals occasionally – such as finding a badminton partner to increase your health and fitness.

If you are not particularly sociable, maybe this is the year where you make some changes.

Social activities enable connection which is known for reducing depression and anxiety. In today’s world, it can be challenging to make real connections and very easy for the introvert to hide behind their computer screen and isolate themselves from the real world.

We need social connections to be happy. We don’t need to overdo it, but there should be some social connection in everybody’s life. So, why not adjust your social life to help you find more happiness in 2026?

8. Create A Healthy Habit Checklist

Make a list of all of the healthy habits you want to develop and get working on them!

Give yourself a challenge to see how many you can master before the year is out and don’t forget to reward yourself if you accomplish your challenge. To help you get started this course on Diet and Nutrition for Beauty might be the perfect guide.

9. Get Better at Adulting!

Sometimes it’s easier to let go of responsibilities and just become a child again. But a happier life happens because we are responsible.

By thinking before we make decisions, developing self-awareness and becoming more responsible about how we live and manage our lives, we have fewer problems and more joy, which is why this is a great habit to develop for 2026.

10. Develop A Passion For Cooking

Cooking brings a lot of happiness and joy to many people. It brings friends, families and cultures together. So instead of thinking of cooking as a chore, or just learning to ‘cook’ why not make it a passion.

Combine it with other resolutions like journaling your experience, improving your adulting skills and enhancing your social life, and you’re in for a wonderful year.

This course, Culinary Skills Training, will help you learn the basics and master those chopping skills before the year is out.

11. Be On Time For A Whole Year

Time is limited for everyone, it’s a valuable resource, yet when people are frequently late, they rarely consider how this impacts the people they keep waiting and how that might set up your time together negatively.

If you think about it, you wouldn’t steal someone’s money yet most people think it’s ok to take someone’s time.

If you are always running late, we imagine that you’ve missed opportunities because of your tardiness which can lead to stress, frustration and diminished joy. So why not quit this habit for good in 2026 and watch how your life changes!

12. Become More Self-Reliant

There’s nothing worse than making plans to do something and then hitting an obstacle.

Perhaps your washing machine develops a blockage, your firewall on your computer breached, or your first cat has brought you your first experience of handling fleas!

These moments make us late, frustrated and anxious, because we do not feel in control.

When all we need to do to manage these challenges is to develop a strategy for how we will react when things go wrong (hint: try taking a calm, reflective approach) and then developing the right skills so that we know what to do if it happens again.

Before you know it, your washing machine will never block again because you know how to prevent it, fleas don’t come near you, and if you ever blow a tyre on your car, you know exactly what to do.

Self-reliance is like an insurance policy for life, and it’s one that will save you money and bring you joy and confidence.

13. Travel

Sure you might take a holiday once a year but how often do you take yourself off for a day to become a tourist in a different town? Or how often do you go out of your comfort zone when travelling abroad? Travel brings new insight and opportunities for personal growth. Why not do some more of it in 2026.

14. Become More Cultured

Why not spend 2023 learning more about music, the arts and culture either in your local area or focused on a specific area of interest. In doing so, you may develop a new hobby or interest. You may become inspired by a particular country and decide to visit it, and when you get there, you’ll already have some cultured interests lined up. This resolution will surely bring you an enhanced social life and lots of topics of interest to think about and discuss anytime you want to.

15. Make a List of Useful Kills You’d Like to Have and Implement Them in 2023

Sometimes we can get caught up with a million box sets. The thing is they may be fun in the moment, but box sets don’t help us better ourselves. Nor do they help us to remain happy for the long-term. But if you learn how to communicate better, or fix something. If you learn how to manage your money better or improve some other skills in your life, this will surely enhance your life and improve your happiness. And, when you do succumb to a box set, you’ll enjoy it more because it will be guilt-free. Our Effective Budgeting and Cost Control Course is the perfect example of how you might begin to implement such skills.

16. Sharpen up Your Dress Sense

The way that we dress can say a lot about who we are. When we feel good about ourselves, we are going to feel happier. Clothes can have a significant role to play in that equation. Science even says that what we wear affects the way we feel. If you make 2026 the year for switching up your wardrobe what an incredible year it will be. Who knows what opportunities might come your way as a result!

17. Focus on The People That Matter

Most of us spend a lot of time working, watching those box sets we mentioned earlier and doing things that don’t really matter. When we could be spending more time with the people that we love and care about. Allocating more time in 2023 to be with those you love will surely make you happy.

18. Volunteer

There’s nothing that can quite give us a sense of purpose and fulfilment than giving to someone else. Our psychology makes many of us enjoy giving, so why not make volunteering your New Year’s resolution for 2026.

19. Master Your Finances

Sometimes we just don’t get on top of the things we need to get on top of. Maybe it’s because we don’t know how, or even because some things are just boring to us. Wouldn’t you feel good if you knew exactly where you are financially? Wouldn’t you enjoy life just that little bit better if you could clear some debts or pay more money down on your mortgage or get some savings? If you would, then this is the perfect new year’s resolution for you.

20. Let Things Go

If you’re somebody who finds it difficult to move on from problems or grudges then maybe 2026 could be an excellent time to work on that. If you made it your New Year’s resolution to let things go without holding your health, well-being or your state of mind would improve.

Conclusion

There will surely be a good news resolution amongst this list for you that will enhance your life, and make you happier in the future. Just one of these resolutions will significantly change your life for the better. Remember, small steps can create massive change.

More to explore: 22 Practical Skills that Everyone Should Learn in 2023

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