5 Strategies to Make Resolutions Enjoyable

1. Reframe Habits as Discovery

When trying to develop a new habit, it's common to view the tasks as chores. For instance, with surveys reporting the top New Year’s resolutions being health and exercise,⁴ repeating the routine of packing a lunch or performing the same workout every day can start to feel lackluster over time. However, what if you shifted your mindset to approach these habit-building activities as micro-adventures instead?

New directions in habit change include not only changing beliefs and perceptions but also changing situational factors.¹ This underscores the importance of considering both psychological and environmental elements in the process of habit-building. By reframing resolutions or required tasks as discovery filled with colors, sensations, and experiences breathes new life and vibrancy into any resolution goal. Don't just go through the motions, dive in each micro-adventure and view it as a small part of a longer journey.

In exploring new flavors, turn meal prepping into a culinary adventure. Instead of robotically throwing ingredients together, try discovering new flavor combinations – with different colors or textures? Step out of your comfort zone and let your inner foodie take a turn. Similarly, inject a sense of play into exercise by regularly exploring new activities. Rotate between dance classes, try the machines, take the bike out or scale a rock-wall. A hike or a walk still works wonders. Be curious, when you rediscover activities through the lens of a beginner, it sparks natural motivation and enjoyment.

2. Align with Your Unique Brain

We often force rigid frameworks on our brains that go against our inner rhythms. We drag night owls to early morning meetings when their peak performance comes alive after dark. Or insist early birds burn candlelight to match tasks to a standard 9-to-5 schedule.

In 'Atomic Habits,' James Clear suggests the importance of tailoring habits to align with individual strengths and preferences. Further, he advocates that “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become,” highlighting the idea that effective habit formation should adapt to one's unique cognitive and psychological combination.

Try aligning your resolutions to harmonize with your one-of-a-kind neural circuitry - whether you rise at dawn or only come alive when the moon shines. Give yourself permission to tackle goals during hours when it feels effortless as neurons light up your rested brain. Of course, structure matters too. But building frameworks that flex with our wired-in ways helps unlock untapped potential and makes progress more pleasing. It’s about discovering where you uniquely thrive, then crafting goals to accelerate your superpowers. Resolution or not, balance is key.

3. Embrace Missteps as Teachings

When you slip up, don’t judge. Reflect. Mistakes are lessons. Forgot your new habit for a day? Brainstorm adaptable solutions. In the face of slip-ups, our default is often self-judgment versus self-compassion. When we miss a day at the gym, overspend, or revert to bad habits, we load ourselves with criticism rather than step back and reflect.

But what if you took moments of supposed failure and turned them into valuable information helping you adapt? Without self-blame, analyze what specifically tripped you up each time you stumble on your resolution journey. Distracting environment? Competing priorities? Emotional barrier? By objectively understanding the root issues behind each misstep, you gain insights that help modify your path ahead.⁵

Consider setting more reasonable or smaller goals aligned with the flows of motivation week-to-week. Focus on approach-oriented goals (focused on achieving a positive outcome) which are more successful than those with avoidance-oriented goals (focused on avoiding a negative outcome).⁴ This aligns with the concept of positive goal framing and its effectiveness in habit formation and goal achievement.

At the end of the day, setbacks provide feedback to help us sharpen self-improvement skills long-term. Reframe each one to help you incrementally fine-tune the right approach, versus a waste of time. Progress flows easier when you assume missteps as a compass versus shortcomings.

4. Balance Mindful Focus with Mental Wandering

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Rather than rigid mindfulness, forcing our attention on breath or sensations, give your brain space to wander as you contemplate goals. In the context of resolutions, consider blending this rigid focus with some mental meandering as well. Daydream around what inspires you, why certain ambitions connect with you emotionally, or how your passions might evolve and reveal what conscious analysis alone might miss.

We sometimes force productivity or linear thinking around resolutions, but a phase of exploration is underrated for its power to help us organically unearth authentic aspirations and unexpected solutions³. Through relaxed, mindful attention paired with imagination, we allow the mind to explore different scenarios and goals to emerge and form intuitively⁶.

It may feel indulgent, but try mindful brainstorming for 5 minutes daily. As insights surface, capture them and soon you’ll have a source of inspiration and innovation to guide you and your resolutions. You may even start to feel excited to follow through because they align with your inner compass, not external pressures.

5. Hardship is Part of the Adventure

What if we viewed challenges as necessary steps on our journey? Attempting big life changes often serves up challenges, setbacks, and frustrating plateaus hiding the summit we envisioned. But what if you framed difficulties and pitfalls not as annoyances or signs to surrender, but as plot twists making your adventure more remarkable?

Rather than react with irritability when things go unexpectedly, harness mindfulness tools like centered breathing and reframing struggles through the spirit of curiosity. What hidden gifts or unexpected turns hide behind this apparent roadblock? And most importantly, what can I learn from this?

Framing challenges positively can activate neural reward pathways². This suggests that viewing hardships through a lens of future-oriented self-affirmation not only helps us cope better but also engages parts of our brain associated with positive valuation and reward. Each obstacle presents an opportunity to level up your resilience, empathy and wisdom that will serve you beyond resolutions.

Remember

Achieving resolutions doesn't have to be a dreary task or a drawn-out struggle. By blending techniques like mindfulness, play, and self-compassion into our plans from the start, we can make self-improvement feel enjoyable all along the way. Everyone experiences ups and downs, but by staying present to little breakthroughs and not judging temporary slip ups, you may just find yourself unlocking better habits and your best-self month by month.