An Inside Peek: My 7 New Year’s Intentions for 2026

This time of year can be noisy.

But what if we stepped into the New Year, not with a longer to-do list, but a more intentional list that is aligned with our values?

January has always felt less like a reset button and more like a gentle reorientation for me. A chance to check in on the previous year and refocus on what is important and what is not. The natural feel of the seasons allows the perfect opportunity to move away from things that are no longer serving me, and see the progress (or lack thereof) on the goals I have set for myself.

I’ve moved away from rigid New Year’s resolutions over the years and instead adopted intentions: values-led, flexible guideposts that honor life’s natural rhythms. As a nurse and holistic health coach, and as a mom in a season where life rarely looks perfectly optimized, I’ve learned that sustainable wellness doesn’t come from extremes. It comes from small, aligned choices practiced consistently. So, that’s exactly my goal for setting intentions for the year ahead.

Today, I’m sharing an honest look at my 15 New Year’s intentions for 2025. My hope is that this does not come off as a checklist to complete, but as a kind of compass for getting back on track in the areas I’ve let slide. And for the spaces where I feel really good, to continue the momentum.

Why New Year’s Intentions Matter (and Why They Work Better Than Resolutions)

Traditional resolutions are outcome-based: lose the weight, make more money, be more productive. Intentions, on the other hand, are identity- and values-based. They focus on who you’re becoming rather than what you’re achieving.

From a holistic perspective, intentions:

• Support nervous system regulation (less pressure, more agency)

• Allow flexibility through changing seasons of life

• Emphasize consistency and self-trust over perfection

• Encourage reflection instead of self-criticism

When intentions are done well, they don’t live on a January vision board alone. Instead, they can help to inform your decision-making all year long.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a good new year’s goal.. and many of these “intentions” I am breaking down into tangible goals that I can plan for. But the word intention really makes sure that these goals are in line with my life currently and my values moving forward, while honoring my current capacity.

How to Optimize Your New Year’s Intentions

Before I share mine, here’s the framework I use to actually live them out:

• Anchor them to how you want to feel, not just what you want to do. In other words, this should tie into your “WHY”. For example: If you want to eat healthier, it shouldn’t just be for the sake of eating healthier. It should be rooted in a deeper purpose. Maybe this is wanting to stabilize your blood sugar levels to minimize inflammation, or manage a chronic illness through nutrition, or feel more energized so that you can show up well for your family.

  All of those “why’s” give you something to fall back on when motivation alone is lacking.

• Pair each intention with one realistic action

• Revisit them monthly, not just in January- this ensures that you are regularly checking in and pivoting as needed. Because, i promise, you will most likely not achieve your goal if you stay really rigid on the “how”. Life happens. Kids get sick. Schedules change. But throughout those changes, you can continue making progress towards your intention and goal by staying focused on your WHY, and flexible on your HOW.

  Maybe you need to recalibrate and find a different way to achieve your goal. That’s okay. What is not okay is letting something derail you just because it looks a little different than how you originally planned it.

• Let them evolve — alignment matters more than rigidity. Similar to the last point, your goal may also change. What you thought you were aiming for may slightly shift, and that is okay. When you are maintaining the same intention and honoring what you are truly working towards, you may find out that the goal was a little different than you initially thought.

Intentions should support your life, not become another thing you’re failing at.

My 7 New Year’s Intentions for 2026

Before writing this list, I set aside some time to intentionally look at the previous year. What have I done well? What needs some work? What left me excited? Disappointed? When did I feel most inspired? I brain-dumped on a few sheets of notebook paper before ever even thinking of 2026.

Once I felt like I had a good idea of what 2025 looked like (both good and bad), I felt like I had a better idea of where my focus has been. Then I could pick the areas that needed some redirection, and some that I felt really proud of and wanted to maintain that momentum.

You’ll see both in the list below:

1. Eat to feel nourished

Over the past couple of decades, I have tried so many different forms of restrictive eating. Gluten-free, whole 30, animal-based, you-name-it. And while none of those are inherently bad and can actually be very helpful for a season, none of them have been right for me long-term.

Instead, I feel best when I am focused on eating enough to feel nourished and strong. That means eating enough nutrients in every snack and meal to support my body.

Like most moms, this can be really hard to plan for. Over the last few years, we have fallen into a rhythm of rotating meal plans— and it’s my favorite way to make meal planning and nourishment really easy and mindless. In 2026, I want to continue making nourishment easy and convenient for myself and my family with this system.

Read More: My Nourishing Meal Plan as a Family of Four

2. Feel strong in my body

One area that I feel really proud of is how I have shown up for my body this past year. Since becoming a mom (nearly five years ago), I have struggled with having a consistent workout routine. This past May, I started going to a workout class at our gym that I really love and have seen so many physical and mental benefits.

In my 20s, so much of my focus on working out was aesthetics. Now, it’s ensuring that I have the physical capacity to run around and play with my kids for as long as I am able. Plus, I’ve just always really loved throwing around heavy weights haha!

So, moving forward into 2026, I want to continue the momentum and stay consistent with this workout routine!

3. Prioritize my mornings so that my day starts from a place of intention rather than reaction

How I start the day shapes everything that follows. This past year, I have had very different seasons of morning routines: months where I really, really love how my mornings make me feel, and those that, well… don’t. And honestly, the past couple of months have been leaning more towards the latter.

I notice such a huge difference in my mindset and energy when I am intentional about having some intentional, quiet time in the mornings. This is also when I spend time in the Bible, have some designated time for prayer, and really fill my spiritual cup.

But between traveling, some changes in our routines, and not being as disciplined with my bedtime, these quiet mornings have been few and far between. This is an area that I really want to prioritize for the coming year.

4. Continue having a “less is more” mentality in our home

Less clutter means less mental load. Less to clean. Less to upkeep. Less to replace. Over the past year, I feel like I was not as intentional about what comes into our home… which left me feeling like we accumulated A LOT.

I scheduled one day per week to clean out and “purge” a specific area of my home (my closet, the hallway closet, my kids’ playroom, etc). I also set up some strategies to minimize what comes into our home by being more intentional about shopping and spending!

5. Create With Purpose, Not Pressure

Over the last few years, I have consistently been so, so thankful for this growing space and community. The fact that I get to do this as a job really is the coolest thing to me. But over the last year, I’ve felt less inspired creatively and more like I am just “going through the motions”. I want to get back to intentionally creating for connection with this community, rather than just checking something off my “to do” list.

6. Strengthen My Marriage With Small, Daily Choices

This year, my husband and I will have been married for 7 years, and together for 13 🤯 Absolutely WILD. And if there is one thing I have learned, it’s that connection isn’t built in grand gestures, it’s built in the mundane. It’s in the everyday moments that we can choose to intentionally grow together.

As our kids get older, we have more activities and things to do, and I want to ensure that we are intentionally facing all of those things as a united front. For us, we have seen that daily-check ins and protecting quality time is so important to us feeling like a true partnership, especially when life gets crazy.

7. Choose Progress Over Perfection—Every Time

This one wraps it all together. My goal is progress… in every area of my life. To consistently show up, aiming for just 1% better than I did yesterday. Not some crazy overnight transformation, or productivity that is not sustainable. In this season, I want slow and steady.

8. Maintain boundaries on digital consumption

Earlier in 2025, my husband and I deleted our social media accounts. And I genuinely believe it was one of the best things we did for ourselves and our mental health. While I have since redownloaded Fb for the marketplace, I want to continue staying off any other social media. While this is technically number 8, and one more than I initially planned for, I think it is important.

Cutting digital consumption wayyyy back this past year was very profound for my holistic wellness, and it is something that I want to maintain going into the new year. So, while it is not a main intention, because we are already doing it pretty well, it is something that I want to keep progressing on.

A Gentle Reminder for the Year Ahead

January can feel very overwhelming at times.. with the pressure of a “New year, new me” mentality around every corner. And the completion of the holiday season. And the not-so-great weather keeping us indoors. And trying to “keep up” with what it “looks like” everyone else is doing. (That’s in quotes because the influencers that you see online are only showing very curated pieces of their lives).

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