January is a time when many people think about their goals for the coming year — a new job, a promotion, hitting the gym or overall better health — but research from Baylor College of Medicine and psychologist Richard Wiseman shows 88% of people actually fail to achieve their New Year’s resolutions.
But according to the experts we asked, you should forget about New Year’s resolutions and do these things instead.
Reprogram your brain
“Repetition, not intention, changes behavior,” says Cherian Koshy, author of Neurogift. “Resolutions fail because they depend on willpower, and willpower is unreliable. What works is design.”
“The brain follows what is easy, not what is ambitious, and behavior changes more quickly when [it] requires less decision-making,” Koshy adds.
According to Koshy, good intentions live in an imagined future, but behavior lives in today’s default values. The brain learns who you are by what you repeat, not by what you explain.
If something is important in 2026, stop promising to do it later and practice it now. This is how you achieve your first victory of the year.
Make a to-don’t list
Resolutions can help us be more intentional about how we spend our time in the coming year. At least, that’s the theory.
But because so many people are already overwhelmed by their to-do lists, adding New Year’s resolutions in January will likely only lead to burnout, says Sally Helgesen, a women’s leadership expert and co-author of How Women Rise.
“That’s why it might be useful to focus on what we want to avoid in 2026: our to-don’ts instead of our to-dos,” she says. “For example: don’t use the phone on Sunday (or Saturday), don’t make promises without thinking about it for a day, and don’t set the alarm one morning a week.”
Ask yourself: what do you want to leave behind?
Start with small rituals
Instead of big resolutions, try small daily rituals.
“Taking three slow breaths before you get out of bed or into the morning light when you wake up can have a powerful impact and help life feel more grounded, clearer, and more stable long after January is over,” Marsha Ralls, founder and CEO of wellness retreat The Phoenix, Asheville, tells Fast Company.
“My top recommendation is to identify habits that fit naturally into your daily routine and integrate them right away, whether that means taking an afternoon walk outside or sticking to a more consistent bedtime, even on weekends,” she says. “Over time, these small daily actions can go a long way in supporting overall well-being.”
Try New Year’s resolutions
“I would recommend having New Year’s resolutions instead of good intentions, [which] are often based on shame and focus on what you are missing,” therapist Esin Pinarli tells Fast Company.
“Be more emotion-based than action-based,” Pinarli adds. “What’s one thing you learned this past year? What’s one thing you won’t take with you into the new year, whether that’s a person, behavior, or habit?”
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