A few years ago, I was camping with a friend over NYE when we made up a tradition on the spot of “throwing into the fire” everything we no longer wanted or needed from the current year. Even when I’m not camping or near a fire, I’ve started framing my “New Year Resolutions” this way instead.
I am leaving ___ behind in 2025 …
I am bringing ___ into 2026 …
I like thinking about it this way for several reasons. For one, not everything needs to be something new. If something is good, if something is working, I want to acknowledge that and continue it—carry it with me into the new year.
This framework also leaves a lot of space for what types of things you list—because it encompasses everything from behavioral patterns to relationships (expired or renewed) to health practices to a road trip. Anything you can think of.
Rather than establishing a new daily habit on Jan. 1, what if you thought of one big bucket-list goal OF YOUR LIFE that you are committed to achieving this year. What if this is the year you quit smoking or write the book. Those types of things.
Misogi is a traditional Japanese ritual for purification of mind and body, but in contemporary culture, it has come to mean setting a personal challenge for the year. Whether you use the word “Misogi” or not, I think this framework is another good one.
I started this a few years back and still ponder it going into each year, whether a full sentence or a single word. The question is: What word or mantra do I want to put at the center of my year? Where do I want my mind and heart to be focused?
I’ll borrow from some of my own, to give you an idea:
Walk the narrow path and your world will widen (2017)
Get comfortable being uncomfortable (2018)
Don’t lose sight of the grand vision of your life (2019)
Let the heart lead (2020)
Create (2021)
Engage with life (2023)
Be present (2024)
Build the foundation (2025)