Rethinking Wellbeing as Your Resolution for 2025
What if the thing to fix this year wasn't you, but wellbeing itself?
Hi there,
Happy New Year!!! Welcome to 2025 and a whole new, fresh, lovely page of life.
I love the start of something new, that moment of possibility. Of imagining better, of different, of something else. Like this year is ‘the one’ and last year, well, we’re done with that now aren’t we? It’s like an old love that was sweet for a while but this one is so much more exciting, and we have questions.
Right now, it can feel like the Christmas of New Year, with gifting replaced by selfing, with going outwards replaced with going ever inward.
The gifts are promises we make to ourselves, the sparkles come from the shiny, newness of the months ahead, and though there are no holiday movies to replay endlessly, there’s the narrative in our minds of the year to come.
Now that the world is reawakening—Christmas trees are being taken down, bubble and squeak has been scraped from the pan, and email accounts are being oh so cautiously reopened— New Year begins its annual hope cycle.
And though I can buy into this excitement and optimism, I can already start to feel a little turned around. Like I’m shopping in the sales, buying a probably not my thing maroon jumpsuit when it was a black jumper that I was looking for.
Right now I can start to get flooded by the calls to be, do, and live in new ways. You?
What If You Could Do New Year Differently?
This year, what if we could pause a moment before jumping in — and I say this as someone who loves to open a new notebook and get scribbling right away.
What if we thought about what that notebook was for? The pages we want to write — not just fill in? What’s the story we would even be telling?
And what if we started not with just us — but with wellbeing itself, because that’s kind of the relationship we’re all in right now. The boiling water around our froggy selves. That’s the thing that needs some attention first.
This January, I’m wondering if instead of crafting resolutions to transform ourselves we aim to remake wellbeing itself into something better, something deeply personal, that serves us for all the days of 2025.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of New Year resolutions, what if 2025 could be different—not about fixing yourself, but nurturing yourself? Here’s how to reset your relationship with wellbeing this year.
The Wellbeing Manifesto: 8 Ways to Reset Your Relationship with Wellbeing
OK, but how?
I’ve written this manifesto of sorts to get you started on finding a better way to well. You can return to this when you feel like you’re losing your way this month or even later in 2025.
1. You my lovely don’t need to fix yourself
You are not broken. Wellbeing isn’t about becoming someone shinier or striving to be "your best self." It can be about creating space to explore your life, to bring curiosity to your days, and to even play a little with possibility.
Rethink what it can be for you so that it supports you through your days.
Journal Prompts
What part of myself am I trying to “fix” that might actually be worth embracing?
If I stopped trying to be “better” and just explored my life with curiosity, what would that look like?
Complete the sentence: For wellbeing to feel good for me, I need it to…
2. Try to anchor wellbeing more in acceptance than transformation
Wellbeing can invite in two competing impulses particularly as we start this new year: the need to improve ourselves and a longing for self-acceptance.
On one side, we can feel the pull to change everything, shifting life as it is.
On the other, there’s a desire for gentleness, acceptance, and calm.
Transformation and acceptance don’t have to be opposing forces—we can create a way forward that honours both
Begin with self-compassion, release the pressure to perfect your life, and instead, make small, sustainable shifts that honour where you are today. Try to focus on what you want to nurture, what you like about yourself, what makes you you - and “transform” from there.
Journal Prompts
What is one thing about myself or my life that I can accept today without needing to change it?
What small, gentle shift could I make that honours where I am right now?
If transformation and acceptance could work together, what might that look like for me?
3. Make small steps your friend
Wellbeing doesn’t require grand gestures. Take what my mum called "a catlick"—just enough to feel better. Maybe 10 minutes of journaling, a walk, or stepping outside to breathe deeply.
I’m currently challenging my daughter to run with me for 1 minute every day this week. Then it will be 2 the next. 3 the week after. It sounds ridiculously tiny but within a few months, we’ll be (hopefully) happily jogging along together.
Journal Prompts
What is the tiniest action I can take today to feel a little better?
What small steps have I overlooked because they felt “too small,” and how might I celebrate them instead?
What’s one micro-action I can commit to this week that aligns with my well-being?
4. Being messy — even with wellbeing — is ok
Life is imperfect, and so are wellbeing practices. Whether it’s yoga in pajamas while the dog licks your face or a chaotic attempt at mindfulness (ie you're making shopping lists in your wandering mind) it all counts.
My morning pages were scribbled today while the cat pawed my leg for attention. But there were words on the page and thoughts outside my mind by the time I was done.
Journal Prompts
When have I been messy in life and still found joy or progress?
What wellbeing practice could I “mess up” and still feel proud of?
How can I redefine success to include imperfection?
5. Hello feelings
Sometimes it’s not about the perfect habit or routine—it’s about understanding the feelings that hold you back.
We can often forget our feelings— we’re more about our bodies, our minds maybe. We probably haven’t folded them into our thinking around New Year.
But what if you paid attention to your feelings more?
Is there an emotion standing in your way, and how can you work with it?
Or is there one you want to welcome in this year?
Sometimes we believe it’s feelings that take up too much time and energy, and we underestimate just how much we need them to get us to where we want to go.
Journal Prompts
What emotions have I been avoiding or ignoring, and why?
If I allowed myself to feel one “difficult” emotion today, how might that change things for me?
What feelings would I like to invite into my life this year, and how might I cultivate them?
6. Trends are fun, but not everything
Wellbeing can feel like the latest product to consume or a trend to follow. We can shop for habits like our next favourite beauty product. And just as it’s fun to wander the aisles of Sephora, it can be fun to try on the latest challenges and trends.
But ultimately what we choose to regularly turn to has to connect with our values, rhythms, and needs.
Don’t live someone else’s life trying to meet someone else’s goals.
That TikTok cream might work for your niece maybe not so much for you. Same with wellbeing trends.
Journal Prompts
What is one wellbeing trend that doesn’t feel right for me, and what could I do instead?
What values guide my choices about how I care for myself?
If I focused less on trends and more on what I genuinely need, how would my wellbeing look different?
7. Like all relationships it changes
Wellbeing isn’t consistent. We’d like it to be as steady and sure as a Jane Austen hero but it’s probably a little more slippery. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns, and like all good love stories that’s kind of the point.
Give yourself permission to ebb and flow. Some days will feel abundant; others will feel slow. Both are valid.
Journal Prompts
What has my relationship with wellbeing looked like in the past, and how is it evolving?
What does “ebb and flow” mean for me, and how can I make peace with it?
How can I remind myself that wellbeing isn’t about consistency, but adaptability?
8. Make wellbeing about connecting with all of life
Look beyond the physical and mental wellbeing to include emotional, relational, and even spiritual practices. We can often restrict wellbeing to one thing, but it can be expansive and contain multitudes. It can be the place we set off from to go in all directions. It can be about so much more of what we need to feel good. Cultivating our friendships, seeking out wonder, and helping others out.
Journal Prompts
What areas of my life—emotional, relational, spiritual—need more of my attention?
What relationships could I nurture to feel more connected and whole?
What does a “whole-life” approach to wellbeing look like for me?
What would you add to this manifesto?
Which principle resonates most with where I am right now?
What is one thing I can do this week to start resetting my relationship with wellbeing?
What would help you connect with a version of everyday wellbeing that is more sustainable and creative? One that will work for you all the days of 2025?
Join The Challenge
If you’re ready to rethink resolutions and start 2025 on your terms, join the 'Not that, but maybe this Challenge'—a simple, thoughtful approach to setting curiosity-driven goals.
Together we’ll explore three alternatives to traditional resolutions over the next few weeks. These will include:
- Setting curiosity-based resolutions that expand your life.
- Crafting emotional resolutions so you know what to do with your feelings this year
- Designing connection-based practices that bring you closer to yourself and others.
Join the Challenge Today by joining The Wellery (basically upgrading to a paid membership which is also half-price right now because we’ve spent up too).
As always, thanks for being here. Just a reminder that I’ll aim to post each Sunday so you can take your time, make yourself a hot coffee and enjoy a long read designed to help you feel better in your everyday life.
Take care until then.
Claire
These are great. 🙏🙏🙏