What if it’s a New Year but not a New You?

By:  Caitlin Hancock

 I don’t know about anybody else, but growing up, and even now in my early twenties, the concept of a new year and feeling like you have to reinvent yourself has always felt a little daunting to me. Social media is flooded with influencers telling us the hobbies, habits, workout routines, diet changes, and trends to try to become the ‘best version’ of ourselves but what if the best version of yourself is the one that’s gotten you through the previous year? And the one before that? 

If you’re also feeling swamped by New Year’s resolutions and reinventions, here are my tips on kinder ways to rethink the concept of “New Year, New You”. 

1. Resolutions vs Intentions 

The idea of having to fully resolve so many parts of your life as soon as the clock strikes midnight on January is, to be frank, entirely unrealistic. If you’ve never consistently woken up at 6am everyday, I hate to break it to you, but you probably won’t now. Instead of telling yourself that you ‘must’ do a certain thing each day or multiple times a week, try making more intentional and realistic improvements each day and set a long-term goal instead of an immediate resolution. Intentional improvements allow more grace for setbacks instead of the feeling of immediate failure. There are some great Substack articles that expand further on this!

2. Practicing Gratitude 

Why should you feel the need to reinvent yourself if you’re proud of the person that you’ve become in the past year? I promise you there’s absolutely nothing wrong with ‘the old you’. Starting your year with gratitude and reflection on everything you have already achieved is the perfect stepping stone to attracting more of the life you already feel so grateful for. It’s important to remember that not every year of life has to contain huge achievements or major goals; learning to enjoy the exciting and the mundane parts of your life can be more than enough and is always something to be proud of. 

3. Make the most of January 

Let’s face it, January is a pretty arbitrary month. The first day of the year does not DEFINE your year. Changing your habits on January 1st has no more impact than changing your habits on March 1st does, despite what social media might be telling you right now. You can restart, make changes, or reinvent yourself whenever YOU want. Besides, January is hardly the most motivating of months. If all you do this month is get through it and look ahead to longer, brighter days whilst letting January pass you by, that’s okay. Surround yourself with your favourite things, gentle routines, and your favourite people, and look forward to the year full of opportunity that lies ahead. 

Whether you plan to lock in and change your whole life this January or take things a bit slower and get ready for the year ahead, I wish you the happiest and healthiest 2026. Remember that not every day and every decision has to be full speed ahead; sometimes taking the time to reflect and reset can prove more beneficial than anything else.