A majority of Americans (82%) plan to make at least one New Year’s resolution, according to the 2026 Healthy Minds Poll released this month by the American Psychiatric Association.
Many people focus their goals on physical fitness (44%), financial goals (42%), and mental health (38%).
Best-selling author and podcaster Mel Robbins has her own New Year’s traditions that help her “change my mental settings,” she said on the Dec. 15 episode of “The Mel Robbins Podcast.” It’s a ritual she and her husband have practiced for 22 years.
This exercise will help her reflect on the past 12 months and look forward to the new year. “You’re intentionally building a bridge between who you are now and who you want to be in the future,” she says.
Robbins asks himself six reflective questions.
What has been your low point this year? What has been your high point? What have you learned this year? What will you stop doing? What will you keep doing? What will you start doing?
“You can’t plan your way to where you want to go if you don’t know where you’re starting,” she said of the importance of these questions.
Another powerful exercise she mentions on the podcast and recommended by experts is writing a letter to your future self. Gail Purvis, a New York-based therapist, previously told CNBC Make It:
It also helps people get closer to the future versions of themselves they want to be, according to research from the University of California, Los Angeles and California State University that Robbins cited in the episode.
No matter which exercise you try, Robbins says, “If you never stop and force yourself to reflect on your life, you’re missing out on an opportunity to take control of your life and make it better.”
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