7 New Year’s Objectives for People with Anxiety

Living with anxiety often heightens discomfort with change — even when it is positive. This new year, learn how to take small, manageable steps towards self-improvement by identifying objectives.

The beginning of the new year often signifies an opportunity for a fresh start, with many people making resolutions to improve their personal routines or habits. However, expectations for significant life changes at the beginning of the New Year can be incredibly stressful, especially if you are struggling with anxiety. Instead of committing yourself to hard-to-maintain resolutions, here are a few objectives to consider pursuing during the new year.

Objective 1: Take Small Steps

Though setting New Year’s resolutions is an extremely popular practice, studies have shown that around 80% of resolutions have been totally abandoned by February. The reason that resolutions often aren’t successful in the long term is linked to the stress and discomfort around making sudden, major life changes. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t aim for positive change in life, but what it does indicate is that building capacity to handle the change is a critical element in achieving it.

Creating objectives for yourself can be more constructive to personal growth in the long term. Unlike resolutions, which require significant change that starts immediately, objectives indicate a process towards a long-term goal. This allows you to start with smaller, more manageable steps towards change, increasing your chances for success and reducing your anxiety.

Objective 2: Cultivate Optimism

An optimistic attitude is clearly linked to good mental health, but looking at the world in a positive light doesn’t always come naturally – or easily. Being able to see what is good in ourselves and the world around us takes concentrated practice. Like any good habit, it’s something we have to remind ourselves about and engage in daily in order to see long-term impacts.

You can begin by finding ways to pull yourself out of negative or anxious thoughts, and into positive, calming ones. Consider taking a few minutes each day to write down positive things that have happened – a phone call from a friend, a beautiful sunrise, catching your favorite TV show, remembering to take the trash out, or a compliment regarding your work. Try to avoid categorising something as “small” or “meaningless.” What brings us peace, calm, or happiness is immeasurably important, and the recognition of these things each day can help us shift our mindset in a positive way.

Objective 3: Make a ‘Calm Kit’

As you are identifying things or activities that make you feel calm or happy, collect these and keep them for when your anxiety starts to shift into high gear. These could be physical objects like a yoga mat, a particular type of tea or coffee, aromatic oils, or books.

Alternatively, it could be a list of written reminders to go take a walk, call a trusted friend, or do deep breathing exercises. Anxiety often makes people feel confused or scattered, which can delay engaging in activities that can help reduce it. By having a kit at the ready, you will be prepared for when those feelings come on, and can start easing them right away.

Objective 4: Build Self-Trust

As you continue to make small, yet important things happen in your life, begin to tell yourself “What I say to myself is what I do.” This is a critical element of building self-trust, which improves confidence and can help alleviate anxiety. When you trust that you can do what you need to do, this predisposes you to success, even in challenging situations. However, it is important to remember that setting unreasonable goals, ones that require immediate major change or skills that you don’t yet have, can jeopardise your self-trust.  Keep your steps towards change small and in tandem with a personal growth rate you think is manageable given where you are at in life, and your self-trust will stay strong.