Making a New Year's resolution that works

Are you tired of trying to make promises and New Year’s resolutions that you can’t keep or not follow through on? Whether this is due to your own busyness, laziness or even forgetfulness, or due to others’ imposed conditions that you can’t do much about, I have a solution that you can hold onto.

For several decades, I’ve instead of making a promise or a New Year’s resolution, opted for a specific word, theme or topic that represents a trait or something I’d like to improve or develop within myself. This thing is something I can work on regardless of any circumstances beyond my control or when changes forces me to alter my course. Some years, I’ve chosen traits like “integrity” or “softness”. This past year, I’ve focused on “articulating better” and “being more gentle”. This came about as a result after having had multiple teeth surgeries done for altogether three years and getting dental implants, prompting me to hide my mouth and hide my smile for just as long, until this year. And since I’ve often been told that I have a tendency to speak too fast, especially in my native tongue Swedish, getting dental implants provided me with an opportunity to try to improve this too. Being gentle, is part of my strive to embody more femininity in a cold and harsh world, such as when I brush my hair and the way I open and close doors, grab things etc.

Next year, I aim to set lower expectations and therethrough create less resistance with others, and instead focus on “hope”. Hope is a timeless asset and always needed, as well as referred to as the anchor for our soul in the Bible (Heb 6:18-20). Alas, something we always can hold onto.

Which theme or word will you focus on 2026?