Planning to step into 2026 with a set of goals and affirmations? Check out our Thrive Journey guide first.
The new year is a clean sheet – a chance to start 2026 with a clutch of goals and affirmations, but research has shown many resolutions fail before we reach the end of January!
In fact, according to the Forbes Health/One poll survey just 8% of respondents stick with their New Year resolutions for a month, while 22% last two months, another 22% last three months and 13% last four months. (1)
So this year, with insight, planning, mindfulness and manifestation – you can strive to make those good intentions stick.
The New Year’s Resolution Paradox: Why Most Goals Don’t Stick
It’s easy to fall into the trap of setting too many New Year resolutions which are unachievable, too vague or overwhelming.
But there are some simple guidelines you can use which help to strengthen the success.
So, make this the year that you manifest your goals – that you truly believe you can create these changes within your life.
It’s important to make sure your goals are within your reach. Consider steps or mini goals to reach your ultimate intention. So instead of running a half marathon, aim to run for 1km by the end of January. When you achieve your mini goal – celebrate your achievement and then set another mini goal: perhaps 2km by the end of February! Write it down and truly believe it will happen. And soon you will be celebrating your ultimate goal.
A Mindful Alternative: Manifesting Your Goals in 2025
Take some time to reflect and meditate – on what is working for you in your life – and what isn’t – and then set personal goals for the New Year.
Putting things on paper can often give you clarity. So, grab a pen and write everything that boosts your mood and causes your soul to sing.
Then on another page write down what isn’t working for you – anything that is draining your energy and sapping your spirit.
This exercise can help you see what is adding to your life and what is detrimental to your wellbeing. It helps you see clearly what it is you love doing and what it is that is not helpful to you and then you can start to align your goals to things that boost your mood and vitality.
What is Manifestation? (And What It’s Not)
Manifestation is based on the law of attraction – think of the popular saying: where your focus goes, your energy flows. If you believe in something, then it can become a reality. When you use this for goals, you open yourself up to all possibilities.
It is a simple and accessible way to focus on your power of attention and aligned action.
Manifestation isn’t just saying things for the sake of it, or a way of hoping for something without putting in the effort.
It’s consciously focusing on a goal and aligning yourself to that. To embody what it is you are aiming to create and placing your thoughts and energy into that goal.
The Mind-Body Connection: How Manifestation Works
Think of manifestation as rewiring your brain. Our minds are busy places – and at times we get caught up in an endless stream of negative thoughts or ruminating over what someone has said or done.
In this state, we can become stressed or depressed which starts to impact us physically – we may feel depleted, tense and possibly sleep badly. Our energy becomes low and stagnant.
But on the flipside, we can turn this around with a positive mindset and manifestation. Think of what it is you want to achieve and embody that goal. Believe it in your heart and you start to become more aware of what it is you are creating. As you do this you will feel your energy rise.
This is because manifestation taps into our energy. Everything is energy – including our thoughts and actions. When we are feeling low then the energy we give out is also low. But when we are feeling positive and joyful then our energetic state lifts and we radiate at a higher frequency.
Energy attracts energy, there is almost a magnetic pull – think of a time when you have been with someone who is upbeat and happy – it naturally tends to lift your energy to theirs. And likewise – a negative energy will also impact you.
The fabulous thing about this is that we can help control our energy frequency – so by focusing on love, joy and abundance we can start to attract that energy into our orbit and life.
Your 5-Step Guide to Manifesting New Year Goals
Setting New Year goals is a positive exercise – one which helps keep us following our dharma (our passion and purpose), it helps us to feel inspired, motivated and challenged.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your “Why”
Don’t rush this process – set time aside to focus on this question and feel into it. Spend a few days pondering this and write down or journal your thoughts. In time a clarity should appear around what it is you want to achieve.
Resist the urge to have too many goals. Ideally choose no more than three – and in different areas of your life. You could choose a health, relationship and finance goat. Think about what you would like to focus on first – and once you have achieved that you can move on to the other goals.
Step 2: Craft Your Intentions with Clarity and Positivity
In yoga, Sankalpas mean intentions. They start with a seed of an idea and when you focus your energy on them regularly they start to take root and grow, until they are intrinsically part of your life.
Have some fun creating intentions. Short and simple phrases in the present tense. If you are struggling, then it can often be easier to think what it is you don’t want! And then you will start to see what it is you would like to manifest.
Once you have an intention then repeat it as a mantra.
It could be:
- I create my own happiness
- I feel at peace with myself and the world
- I am healthy, fit and strong
Step 3: Visualise Your Success
Don’t just visualise your success – feel it, taste it, hear it! Immerse yourself in what it is you are trying to create. This is where day dreaming can help your goals! Research has shown that multisensory imagery can actually be up to five times more successful than simply goal setting. (2)
To help you do this, create a vision board – you might like to use a cork board and stick on images and affirmations. Add colourful stickers, motivational sayings, illustrations and photos that inspire and raise your energy.
Put your board somewhere you will see it regularly – perhaps beside your bed, on your fridge or behind the bathroom door! (if you don’t mind your house mates or family knowing your deepest desires!).
Add your goal to your phone’s lock screen – embed it into your brain so it moves from idea to reality.
Step 4: Take Inspired Action
Make a commitment and stick to it. Be prepared to take action to make it happen and identify and remove obstacles that could hold you back.
And if you do fail, then don’t give up. For example, if one of your goals is to quit smoking and you have a cigarette then, don’t berate yourself. Find out what the trigger was and learn from that and know that when you return to your goal you will be stronger and more committed.
And perhaps reframe your goal as smaller steps, rather than an overwhelming concept. For example, if you want to save to go on holiday, work out how much money you will need to save up – what is an achievable and realistic timeframe to reach that goal and then set your first goal. It could be saving $1,000 by February 15. If you save that money before that date – then even better! When you do meet your goal replace it with another goal – save another $1,000 by March 31.
This way you feel like you are making progress. If you don’t meet the goal in the allotted time, don’t be hard on yourself, reflect on what you need to do to make this more achievable for yourself.
Step 5: Practice Gratitude and Trust the Process
Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is believed to raise your vibrational energy! In fact, psychiatrist Dr David R. Hawkins in his book, The Map of Consciousness Explained placed gratitude at the same level as love.
And resonating at this high vibrational energy will naturally lift your mood and help you feel more positive.
At the end of the day, you might like to consider what you were grateful for – write it down and then go to sleep with an uplifting memory from your day.
And when you wake up – start the day with a positive mindset. Think about how grateful you were for a bed for the night, for having the day to look forward to and being present in the moment.
Studies have shown that being grateful helps us not only socially and mentally (3) but can even help our cardiovascular health (4).
And trust the process of manifestation, know that things will happen at the right time.
Amplify Your Manifestation with Yoga and Mindfulness
Yoga is about being in the moment – trusting in the flow of your life and cultivating Santosha (contentment). It is the perfect practice to help you stay focused and aligned with your life, breath and intentions.
Yoga for Intention Setting: Poses to Align Your Energy
Poses such as Balasana (Child’s pose) and Tadasana (Mountain pose), encourage us to feel grounded and present. To calm a busy mind and shift our focus to our body and breath.
Mountain pose: If you find your mind is racing, then take a moment to place your feet on the floor. Feel as if you are plugging back into the earth, stand tall and feel your breath flow up your body on your inhale and down your body on your exhale.
Breathe in your Sankalpa (intention) on your inhale and release the breath and any negative thoughts or energy on your exhale. Do this for a few minutes to help you feel calm and centered.
Child’s pose: From tabletop (on all fours), sink your hips to your heels and let your chest rest over your thighs. Extend your arms out wide, with your forehead resting on the ground or to the sides of your body, head turned to one side.
Alternatively take your knees wide and sink your hips towards your heels. Either stretch your arms in front or cup your chin in your hands.
This is a lovely pose to nurture your nervous system and feel as if you are returning home to yourself. Take a few deep breaths and release.
Mindfulness for Manifestation: Staying Present and Focused
Mindfulness is about staying in the present moment. We don’t want to be stuck in the past and we don’t know what the future will hold, but we do know this present moment.
Being mindful helps you stay in the moment and become more self-aware as you are noticing thoughts and beliefs. You do this with a certain detachment (not getting caught up in the thoughts) but being an observer, this helps us to bring our inner compass back to who we truly are and who we want to be – and align with our goals and dharma (life’s purpose).
Mindfulness techniques include breathing practices – where you imagine the breath like an anchor – keep bringing your awareness (like an anchor) to the rhythm of your breath so you stay in the moment.
Meditation also helps people cultivate mindfulness – there are many different techniques – such as repeating a mantra or doing a body scan, but essentially you are stilling the mind and coming into the present moment.
Inspiring New Year Goal Ideas for a Thriving 2026
New Year resolutions are an opportunity to reflect on what has worked for you this past year – and what hasn’t! You may like read our 8 pillars of wellness article and perhaps consider which area of life you need to focus on – don’t choose too many goals – a maximum of three in different pillars, should be just enough to help you feel focused and not overwhelmed!
Wellness Goals
These could be nutritional, exercise, sleep or lifestyle based. If you are often tired or reaching for that third coffee by 11am, perhaps you should focus on sleep hygiene. Can you swap your device for a journal as part of your bedtime routine? Can you aim to go to bed and wake up at a consistent time?
Perhaps cultivate the affirmation: I wake feeling content and energised.
You might like to focus on your eating habits? Rather than counting kilos and calories, switch to a healthy approach to food. An intention of: I nourish my body with mindful eating, could be a good starting point.
Career & Personal Growth Goals
Are you fulfilled by your career and job? Or do you feel that your life/work balance is out of whack? You might feel a bit stale and so enrolling in a new course might be a goal or perhaps cultivating a more positive work-life balance. Look at steps you can take to achieve this.
Relationship Goals
Are you spending enough quality time with loved ones, can you deepen your connection? Perhaps organise date nights or practise active listening? Think about the relationships in your life – it could be time to reassess how you are spending your time and energy.
Perhaps use a traffic lights system. Think of the people who make you feel uplifted and raise your vibration into the green light section. These are the relationships you should nurture.
People in your life who are neither particularly uplifting or draining can be in your amber section.
And finally think about any people in your life who deplete your energy and drain your vitality. These can be in your red section. And these people aren’t worth that extra energy and time!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How long does it take to manifest a goal?
It depends on the scope and nature of the goal. If it is a major life change then it is likely to take longer, but smaller goals can be created in a matter of seconds.
There is no definitive time frame – it is about being in the flow of your life, staying mindful, present and true to yourself. If you are too rigid, then you might not be able to move with the flow of your life and as your goals will shift during your journey.
Can I manifest for someone else?
You can’t manifest for them, but you can send them positive energy. It is up to them if they are receptive and able to receive that energy.
What if I have negative thoughts or doubts?
It is natural to have negative thoughts and doubts. The important thing is to recognise these thoughts and not act on them. The more mindful you become the more detached you will be from these negative thoughts and the clearer your perspective.
How often should I practice manifestation techniques?
At first manifestation is something you actively practise, but over time it becomes habitual and an intrinsic part of your nature. You will find your positivity, presence and focus shifts a gear or two and becomes your new normal.
Finally
Good luck manifesting your New Year goals and creating affirmations and intentions. Please don’t put too much pressure on yourself – enjoy the process not just the outcome!
At Thrive Journey we are here to support you, join up and attend our live online classes – where we teach a range of holistic practices including yoga, qi gong, mindfulness, yoga and breath work.
References:
(1) Forbes Health/One poll survey, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/
(2) International Journal of Obesity, 2018. Solbrig, L., Whalley, B., Kavanagh, D.J. et al. Functional imagery training versus motivational interviewing for weight loss: a randomised controlled trial of brief individual interventions for overweight and obesity. Int J Obes 43, 883–894 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-018-0122-1.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366-018-0122-1
(3) Florencio F. Portocarrero, Katerina Gonzalez, Michael Ekema-Agbaw, A meta-analytic review of the relationship between dispositional gratitude and well-being, Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 164, 2020, 110101, ISSN 0191-8869, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110101. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886920302907
(4) Cousin, L., Redwine, L., Bricker, C., Kip, K., & Buck, H. (2021). Effect of gratitude on cardiovascular health outcomes: a state-of-the-science review. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(3), 348–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1716054 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2020.1716054