Every New Year’s Eve millions resolve that “this year will be different.” Those New Year’s resolutions for 2026 that we made so eagerly at the stroke of midnight wilt away before January is out. 80% of individuals quit their New Year’s resolutions by February, and only 8% achieve them.
That does not mean that we are powerless to set goals, however. We just have to learn how to set goals in a psychologically healthy way, structuring our pursuits in accordance with the field of behavioral science rather than motivational posters. This article is here to help, with evidence-based strategies to make 2026 things your year. And if you’d like some extra help, the first step toward making that change can be a free 20-minute psychology consultation.
The New Year’s Resolutions Psychology
Why is it that when the calendar rolls over to January, we find such an irresistible urge to remake ourselves? The reason is a psychological principle psychologists call the “Fresh Start Effect,” first discovered by researchers Milkman, Dai, and Riis at University of Pennsylvania. This effect refers to the way time markers — such as the start of a new year — psychologically “reset” us, and prompt us to work toward our goals.
The new year serves as a psychological accounting period that divides our “past self” from our “future self.” That barrier of time grants us the right to let go of our past failures and begin anew. It’s why January is peak season for gym memberships, and why we all of a sudden have the energy to tackle tasks we’ve been putting off for weeks.
But this burst of inspiration, though strong in force is usually very short and stays only for a little while. The symbolism of New Year’s resolutions can set us up to fail. We expect profound transformations because it’s a “new year,” but sustainable change takes more than the flip of a calendar page. It’s the first step to setting goals that actually stick if you can understand this psychology.
Why Do Most Goals Fail?
Unrealistic Expectations
The most frequent pitfall is aiming too high. “I’m going to lose 20 kilos,” “I’ll totally revolutionize my lifestyle” and “I will never eat sugar again,” are examples of black and white or all-or-nothing thinking. It is a cognitive distortion, documented in the literature of cognitive-behavioral therapy, because it sets us up to fail — or if not to fail, to continually struggle — since it doesn’t allow for the normal business of life which is ups and downs.
Lack of a Specific Plan
Those vague aspirations — “I’ll be healthier” or “I’ll stress less” — lack the specific steps to make them happen. These targets are nothing more than a wish list without a pathway. Studies show that individuals who create concrete implementation intentions are nearly twice as likely to do what they say they want to do.
External vs. Internal Motivation
Value driven goals will always be tougher than those directed by external pressures such as what others expect from us, societal standards or comparing the self with others. Self-Determination Theory by Deci and Ryan shows that intrinsic motivation is necessary for lasting changes of behavior.
Lack of Support and Accountability
Through experience, attempting to reach goals alone largely diminishes the probability of success. Research demonstrates that when you have someone holding you accountable to your goals, the chances of realizing those goals increase by up to 65%. This might be a friend, family member or professional — such as a psychologist — who can offer supportive encouragement and gentle accountability.
Ignoring Mental Health
And then, maybe the most under-the-radar thing of all is mental health. If you are suffering on the inside (from anxiety, depression or unresolved emotional issues) it will be near impossible to accomplish any and all of those fantastic goals that are outside of you. It is the cornerstone of any other goals.
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What are SMART Goals and Why Do They Work?
The SMART model, as it is now known, cut its teeth in the 1980s within management circles before being subjected to extensive psychological research that confirmed its power to transform goal-setting from one in which about half of us generally succeed and fail on a regular basis into a structured process that all but guarantees success. Let’s go through each ingredient with real-life examples:
S – Specific
Your goal needs to answer what? Who? Where? When? Why?
- ❌ “I’ll exercise more”
- ✅ “I will go to the yoga class at my neighborhood gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 PM.”
M – Measurable
Progress demands that you have something concrete against which to measure it.
- ❌ “I’ll read more”
- ✅ “I’ll make it a habit to read 20 pages every night before going to sleep.”
A – Achievable
Goals should cause you a little bit of discomfort and be just out of reach given where you are in your life right now. If you are literally a couch potato at present, shooting for running a marathon in a month is just not possible. Running a 5K in three months is more attainable.
R – Relevant
You need goals that speak to your personal values and broader life ambitions. Ask yourself: Do I care about this goal MYSELF (and not my parents, my partner or society)? Is it going to help improve how I feel in my life?
T – Time-bound
Every goal has got to have a deadline and stepping-stones. “Someday” never comes. “By March 31” is both motivating and measurable.
According to a study by Dominican University, individuals who set their goals in accordance with the SMART structure were 42% more likely to accomplish them than those that didn’t structure them this way.
Psychological Goals for the Year 2026
Mental Health Goals
Your mental health needs to be your foundation for 2026. Think of intentions like: “I’m going to begin therapy by Jan. 31”; “I’ll spend 10 minutes every day doing stress management exercises using the Calm app”; or “Each morning, I will take at least 10 minutes for mindfulness meditation.” These are not indulgent goals — they are necessary investments in your mental health.
Looking after your mental health isn’t selfish; it’s vital. If you have unaddressed anxiety, depression or past trauma, those things will sabotage other goals. A psychologist can spend 20 minutes with you for free and help determine where you need the most focus to begin healing your mind.
Relationship Goals
We are social creatures, as humans, that network and reassociation is such an important thing to our mental health. Relationship goals could be as simple as, “I will eat one device-free dinner a week with my family,” or “I will call one friend every single Sunday afternoon,” or “I will start saying ‘no’ to social obligations that are draining.”
Setting boundaries is particularly important. This may involve spending less time with toxic people or better communication about your needs. Don’t forget: When it comes to making your relationships better, it’s not only about giving more; it is also about drawing boundaries that help protect the energy within at all costs.
Work and Work-Life Balance Goals
Burnout is rampant, particularly in Greece, where economic pressures often force people to work overtime. Healthy work goals might involve: “I will stop checking work emails after 8 p.m.,” “I will take my full lunch break and step away from my desk every afternoon” or, for workers with extra vacation days collecting dust in a jar on their dresser, “I’ll use up all of my allotted time off this year.”
Professional development goals are also important, but they should serve to enhance your life, not consume it. For example, “I want to commit one hour a week to learning a new skill related to my work,” as opposed to something like “I will work nonstop until I get promoted.”
Self-Care Goals
Taking care of self isn’t selfish; it’s integral to sustaining work. This can be sleep (“I will go to bed by 11 PM on weeknights”), nutrition (“I will cook healthy meals on Sundays for the week, instead of resorting to takeout”), exercise (“I’ll take a 20-minute walk during my lunch break”), and leisure (“I’m going to spend half an hour every day working on my hobby without feeling guilty”).
Keep in mind, everyone finds self-care in different forms. For some people, it’s a morning run; for others, it’s reading in bed. The trick is finding what actually recharges you versus whatever Instagram says it thinks self-care should be.
🎁 Start 2026 with support
One of the best new year’s resolutions anyone can make is to focus on mental health. Savina shares that initial 20 minutes with you for free to determine what are your next steps.
How to Make Your Goals “Stick”
Take Small Steps First (Get Some Little Wins)
The power of momentum is not to be underestimated. For Stanford psychologist BJ Fogg, who’s done extensive research on tiny habits, the key to achieving lasting change is starting very small indeed. Instead of “I will meditate for an hour every day,” start with, “I will take three long breaths after I have my coffee in the morning.” As this becomes automatic, you can extend the time.
Small wins produce a positive feedback loop in the brain, stimulating it to generate confidence. This neurological reward encourages you to keep doing the behavior, until it eventually becomes a habit.
Think System, not Just Goal
In his book “Atomic Habits,” James Clear writes that you do not rise to the level of your goals — you fall to the level of your systems. Instead of focusing on the outcome (“lose 10 kilos”), focus on becoming the type of person who gets to that outcome (“become someone who exercises consistently”).
This identity-based method is valuable because it changes your mindset from what you want to accomplish to who you need to become. All behavior is a vote for your new identity. Skip the gym once? You are still a person who works out. Skip it for a week? Your identity starts to shift.
Find an Accountability Partner
According to research by the American Society of Training and Development, people are 65% more likely to meet a goal after committing to another person. This percentage even jumps to 95% if you have predetermined accountability appointments with them.
Your accountability partner doesn’t have to be a professional – they could just be a friend or family member. A psychologist may be especially helpful because they offer non-judgmental support, and can assist with understanding the psychological blocks that develop. They are trained to help you get around resistance and self-sabotage.
Prepare for Setbacks
Setbacks aren’t just likely—they’re inevitable. What separates winners and quitters is how they react to loss. Psychologists refer to this as “implementation intentions” or “if-then planning.”
Have a plan B: “If I don’t get my morning workout, I’m going to walk for 15 minutes at lunch.” “If I eat trash at a party, that will be it and I’ll go back to being health-minded the following meal, not the following Monday.” This prevents the “what-the-hell” effect of screwing up once, and torching your goal altogether.
Celebrate Small Victories
Our brains are reward machines. Commemorating minor wins floods the brain with dopamine boosting the neural connections that are key to your new habit becoming routine. This doesn’t need to be parties and confetti — just checking off a box, telling someone about your progress, or giving yourself an imaginary high-five can do the trick.
Track your progress visually. It doesn’t matter if it’s a plain old calendar and you put Xs for days completed, or a more in-depth journal—seeing it grow helps build motivation. The “don’t break the chain” technique, from comedian Jerry Seinfeld, capitalizes on this psychological phenomenon perfectly.
The “New Year, New Me” Trap
The phrase “New Year, New Me” has become a cultural cliché, but the embedded implication is toxic: that your current self needs to be thrown out and replaced entirely. Such an attitude is not only unattainable but psychologically unhealthy.
You don’t need to be someone else; you need to be more of who you are. And growth isn’t about fixing what is “broken” about you — it’s about building upon your capabilities and working gently with your challenges. Expecting to become a completely different you by January 1st doesn’t take into account that real change is incremental and exponential.
Accepting yourself does not mean “settling” with what you are right now. It means accepting where you are today as the base, without self-criticism and worry. Studies on self-compassion, led by Dr. Kristin Neff, show that those who treat themselves kindly in the face of failure are more likely to bounce back and succeed than those who don’t. It’s possible to accept yourself while working on growth — these things need not be a dichotomy.
Role of Psychotherapy in Accomplishing Goals
Goal Attainment is a unique strength of Psychotherapy beyond just being held accountable. A trained therapist can also help you identify patterns that are sabotage. Maybe you always give up right before good things were going to happen because change scares the crap out of you, or perhaps perfection is your worst enemy, causing you throw in the towel at the first sign of imperfection and say screw it.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is especially helpful in fulfilling goals. It’s about learning to recognize and refute your own thought distortions which work against you. For example, if you tell yourself “I missed one day and now I’m a failure,” CBT techniques may help you to identify this as all-or-nothing thinking and reframe your thoughts in more balanced ways.
Therapy goes to the source of what causes procrastination. Sometimes, procrastination isn’t due to laziness but emotional avoidance. You may have put off developing a habit of regular exercise not because you are too lazy, but because it induces shame about your body or memories of ancient and hurtful athletic failures. A therapist can support you in processing those feelings, which will make it more possible for you to take action.
Online therapy is an avenue that residents of Chania and throughout the island even Crete are using to access professional help. It works with a psychologist who will actually work from his or her home/office and talk with you over the phone, video, email. Get therapy service at your convenience and where you need it. A free 20-minute consultation can help you decide if therapy might support your goals for 2026.
Psychologically Healthy Goals for 2026: Some Examples
Here are some tangible things you can do to promote your psychological well-being:
- “I will schedule a free consult with a therapist in January to evaluate my mental and emotional needs and make a plan for support throughout the year.”
- “I pledge to engage in 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation every morning using a guided app, beginning with just 3 minutes and ramping up.”
- “I will create boundaries around work by not working email after 8 pm and letting colleagues know this boundary by January 15th.”
- “Every Sunday afternoon from 2:00-5:00, I will be present for our family, and not have a phone or other distractions.”
- “I will get a feel for saying ‘no’ to one non-essential obligation a month without over explaining or being apologetic.”
- “Each night before going to bed I will write three things that I’m thankful for in my journal, even if they are very small.”
- “I will seek help when I need it, beginning by calling one friend or professional whenever I am struggling instead of isolating.”
They’re also S.M.A.R.T., or specific, measurable and aimed at creating lifelong rather than dramatic results. They recognize that mental health and self-care are building blocks for other accomplishments, not things to pursue after they achieve “more important” dreams.
Here’s What You Should Do When You “Mess Up” (Self-Compassion)
First, let’s reframe “failure.” Failure is not missing a goal or ditching an aspiration; it’s merely data. It’s giving you information about what doesn’t work for you, what is difficult and challenging for you, or where you may need extra resources. Thomas Edison is famously said to have remarked of inventing the light bulb: “I have not failed. I have not failed 10,000 times.”
Honest self-criticism might seem productive, but mounting research indicates that it undercuts motivation and may increase the risk of giving up. Physically punishing yourself in your mind gets the threat system of the brain churning, causing it to release stress hormones that make problem-solving and motivation more difficult. As we saw with the benefits of self-compassion in relation to stress, embracing self-compassion seems to activate your brain’s caregiving system and feelings of safety in a way that allows for learning and growth.
Give yourself some sweet self-talk as if you were talking to your best friend. Would you call your friend lazy and useless because they missed a day at the gym? Or would you tell them to try again tomorrow? Truth be told, you need to show yourself the same kindness. And this is not making excuses; it’s about establishing the emotional conditions that make sustained effort possible.
If you are stuck on the same goal, time and time again, perhaps it would serve you well to ponder whether that really is your goal or somebody else’s expectation in waiting. It’s also worth thinking about whether you need some professional support to deal with underlying problems. There’s no shame in asking for help — knowing when you need a little support is actually a testament to your wisdom and self-awareness.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Question 1: How many resolutions should I make for the new year?
Answer: Better to focus on the top 2-3 goals vs many. You’re setting yourself up to fail by loading yourself down with goals. Pick the most important one(s) for you and double down on them. The lack of quality is just as important as the quantity – if you have two main goals only, it is a lot better than having to abandon ten big ones.
Question 2: If I lost my progress, how to make it up?
Answer: It’s not unusual to slide and that doesn’t mean failure. Acknowledge the mistake, learn from it and begin anew. Self-compassion is essential — don’t beat yourself up. Keep in mind that progress is nonlinear; there are setbacks. Actually, that after a kick in the teeth it is possible to pick yourself up and carry on, is a sign of resilience — not vulnerability.
Question 3: Is it important to share your goals with others?
Answer: It depends. Studies show that sharing goals with support people can make a difference. But stay away from anyone who may criticize or put you down. A therapist, for instance, can make a great accountability partner. Also, be choosy about what you share on social media — some public declarations can create pressure that is ultimately counterproductive.
Question 4: Can I consult a psychologist for free to achieve my goals?
Answer: Yes! Savina Anastasakis provides a complementary 20-minute consultation to talk about your perspective and how psychotherapy might serve you. Book an appointment at psymt.com. This no-strings attached dialogue will help you to get clear on your objectives and see what kind of support might be useful.
Question 5: Why Is It So Hard to Keep New Year’s Resolutions?
Answer: It’s unrealistic expectations, not being very specific or clear of what you want and understanding the why (your driving force), writing it on paper, setting goals based on external things rather than internal things and no support. With the SMART approach and when helped by a professional, the chances of success are much greater. Plus, resolutions are often thought of as overhauls instead of incremental adjustments.
Question 6: How long does it take to make a new habit stick?
Answer: According to research conducted by Dr. Phillippa Lally at University College London, it takes 66 days (not 21 as has been widely-quoted) to form a new habit. This will be different for each habit and person. Easier habits may catch on sooner, harder ones take longer. Patience is essential.
Question 7: Am I a bad person if I don’t have any resolutions for the new year?
Answer: Not at all! Goals are not a requirement. It’s O.K. if you feel pressure or aren’t ready. Mission and Vision for the Year ahead: Set these at any time of the year. It doesn’t have to be January 1st. Sometimes the best goal is to try to spend time in the present moment and allowing where you are to be enough.
Question 8: How can psychotherapy be of help with goals?
Answer: Psychotherapy teaches you how to identify inward barriers (worry about failure, perfectionism), tolerate anxiety without destructively undermining intentions and work toward strengthening them in constructive, well-integrated ways. It’s an investment in yourself. A therapist can also offer insights about why you fall into certain patterns and how to break them.
Conclusion
As we near 2026, don’t feel like you have to be someone completely different. The you right now, all strong and shaky, is enough. The goals you decide on should speak to who you are and gently pull you toward growth. Small, steady strides will move you further than those giant jumps that end in burnout.
Mental health is the bedrock upon which all other goals stand. If you are feeling anxious, depressed or just plain stuck now is not the time to think about dealing with these issues as a luxury—it’s mandatory. The shame of reaching out for psychological support is starting to lift, especially here in Chania and Greece at large, as people come to realize that therapy isn’t just an option for crisis but a tool for growth.
Whether you want to advance in your career, work on your relationship or build up internal strength, know that real change takes time. Be patient with yourself, celebrate little wins and ask for help when you need it. You don’t have to do this on your own.
2026 can be your year!
Begin with a free 20-minute consultation from Savina Anastasakis to make goals you will really accomplish.
About the Author
Savina Anastasakis is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in Chania, Greece, who offers cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), anxiety treatment and personal growth.
While having worked for years as a clinical practitioner in Chania, Savina has supported hundreds of people across Chania and all over Greece to set and reach their goals whilst facing from inside obstacles.
Education & Specialization:
- Advanced CBT and Coaching skills
- Focused in anxiety and stress reduction
- Personal & Online classes available
🎁 Kick off 2026 right: Savina gives a free 20-minute consultation to discuss your goals. Book now at psymt.com!
References
- Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
- Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and intrinsic motivation support
- Lally, P., et al. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology
- Milkman, K. L., Dai, H., and Riis, J. (2014). The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior
- Neff, K. (2011). Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
- American Psychological Association. (2020). Resolutions: Tips for succeeding (and staying) on course
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