Let’s Go Beyond Resolutions with Gentle, Creative Ways to Honor the Past and Welcome the New Year
The start of a new year can signal an exciting shift, another beginning, and it can also come with a lot of pressure—to improve, reset, or “do better.” For many people, that framing can feel overwhelming or disconnected from the realities of grief, burnout, trauma, or ongoing stress. Rather than focusing on rigid goals or resolutions, this post offers a variety of gentle, creative practices that honor what has been carried through the past year while making space for hope and intention setting. These activities draw from narrative, somatic, and art-based therapeutic traditions and are designed to be accessible, compassionate, and adaptable for individuals, families, and caregivers.
Narrative-informed New Year Practice
Narrative therapy approaches are grounded in the idea that our lives are shaped by the stories we tell about ourselves and our experiences. As one year closes and another begins, storytelling can help people name what mattered, what hurt, and what they want to carry forward. This process can help people reflect on their experiences in ways that honor resilience and reconnect with a sense of authorship over their lives. Rather than focusing strictly on what went “wrong,” narrative practices and activities invite curiosity, meaning-making, and compassion. Narrative work in particular can help support externalization, which can reduce shame and help people see themselves as more than their struggles. Reflecting on experiences as a story can strengthen a sense of agency (Adler, 2012) and continuity during times of transition (McAdams et. al., 2006).
→ “The Three-Page Goodbye + Welcome” Activity:
For each page, write freely for a few minutes.
Page 1: “What I’m releasing”.
Page 2: “What I’m grateful for from this year.”
Page 3: “What I am making space for in the coming year.”
At the end of the exercise, tear or burn Page 1 (if safe), and keep Pages 2–3.
Somatic New Year Practice
The body often holds memories and experiences that may not be remembered consciously or accessible through words. Somatic therapy focuses on how emotions appear within the body, and practices can invite people to slow down, notice physical sensations, and release tension. These practices can be particularly effective because emotions and stress are also stored in the nervous system, rather than solely the conscious mind (Price & Weng, 2021). Somatic awareness helps regulate the nervous system and can build awareness and trust in internal signals. By integrating breath, movement, and interoception, somatic practices can support emotional processing and increased emotional regulation skills (Price & Hooven, 2018).
→ “Body Scan + Felt Sense Word” Activity:
- Sit or lie comfortably; soften the jaw, belly, and shoulders.
- Gently scan attention from the top of the head down through the body.
- Notice sensations neutrally (temperature, tension, heaviness, buzzing, openness).
- Ask yourself: “If my body could choose a word for the year, what would it need more of?” Some words that may come up: rest, steadiness, courage, warmth, protection, movement, space.
- Write or say the word out loud. Think of one action aligned with your chosen word for the year ahead.
Art-based New Year Practices
Art-based practices, such as journaling, scrapbooking, collage, painting, and DIY crafts, offer a unique way to explore emotions without needing the “right” words. These activities allow individuals to engage creativity, sensory experience, and symbolism, often making complex feelings more accessible and less overwhelming to process. Research indicates that engaging in art “influences, emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and social connectedness” with significant benefits for mental health and overall well-being (Jean-Berluche, 2024).
Art therapy and creative interventions help to regulate emotions and build resilience by engaging brain networks that support expression, self-reflection, emotional flexibility, and the integration of complex feelings, such as both grief and hope (Barnett & Vasiu, 2024).
Even at home, art-making provides individuals with a structured, nonverbal activity that can support emotion regulation by activating cognitive and emotional pathways, helping individuals explore their emotional experiences, process feelings, manage mood, and strengthen coping skills (Gruber & Armstrong, 2018).
→ Intention Stones Activity:
Gather smooth stones and use paint pens to decorate them with 1–3 words (e.g., “Ease,” “Courage,” “Boundaries”). Paint designs that reflect those qualities. Use the stones as grounding objects during moments of dysregulation.
→ “Hope Collage” Activity:
Gather images that represent resilience, joy, values, relationships, nature, or possibilities. You can use magazines, photos, fabrics, or digital collage tools. This collage can then be used as a visual anchor during low-hope moments.
An Invitation, Not a Resolution
Entering a new year doesn’t require reinvention or perfection. Sometimes, it’s enough to pause, reflect, and honor what has been carried—while curiously imagining what could come next. These practices offer invitations rather than demands, supporting a more compassionate, embodied, and meaningful transition into the year ahead.
References:
- Adler J. M. (2012). Living into the story: agency and coherence in a longitudinal study of narrative identity development and mental health over the course of psychotherapy. Journal of personality and social psychology, 102(2), 367–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025289
- Barnett, K. S., & Vasiu, F. (2024). How the arts heal: a review of the neural mechanisms behind the therapeutic effects of creative arts on mental and physical health. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 18, 1422361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1422361
- Gruber, H., & Armstrong, V. (2018). Emotion regulation strategies and effects in art-making: A narrative synthesis. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 59, 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.12.006
- Jean-Berluche, D. (2024). Creative expression and mental health. Journal of Creativity, 34(2), 100083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yjoc.2024.100083
- Khalsa, S. S., Adolphs, R., Cameron, O. G., Critchley, H. D., Davenport, P. W., Feinstein, J. S., Feusner, J. D., Garfinkel, S. N., Lane, R. D., Mehling, W. E., Meuret, A. E., Nemeroff, C. B., Oppenheimer, S., Petzschner, F. H., Pollatos, O., Rhudy, J. L., Schramm, L. P., Simmons, W. K., Stein, M. B., Stephan, K. E.,… Interoception Summit 2016 participants (2018). Interoception and mental health: A roadmap. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 3(6), 501–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.12.004
- McAdams, D. P., Bauer, J. J., Sakaeda, A. R., Anyidoho, N. A., Machado, M. A., Magrino-Failla, K., White, K. W., & Pals, J. L. (2006). Continuity and change in the life story: a longitudinal study of autobiographical memories in emerging adulthood. Journal of personality, 74(5), 1371–1400. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00412.x
- Nicholson, W. C., Sapp, M., Karas, E. M., Duva, I. M., & Grabbe, L. (2025). The Body Can Balance the Score: Using a Somatic Self-Care Intervention to Support Well-Being and Promote Healing. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 13(11), 1258. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13111258
- Payne, P., Levine, P. A., & Crane-Godreau, M. A. (2015). Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 93. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00093
- Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: the health benefits of narrative. Journal of clinical psychology, 55(10), 1243–1254. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1243::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-N
- Price, C. J., & Hooven, C. (2018). Interoceptive Awareness Skills for Emotion Regulation: Theory and Approach of Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy (MABT). Frontiers in psychology, 9, 798. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00798
- Price, C. J., & Weng, H. Y. (2021). Facilitating Adaptive Emotion Processing and Somatic Reappraisal via Sustained Mindful Interoceptive Attention. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 578827. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.578827
