The New Year is Near | Enter 2023

Welcome to 2023!

As we reflect on the memories and moments, big and small, from 2022, we look forward to the new year. Gardenuity is hoping to implement inspiration, growth, and even more well-being into 2023 in an effort to positively impact our bodies, minds, and souls, as well as spread good to the people that we surround ourselves with. 

Before diving into new resolutions, it is important to think about the year before – a time for your own great reflection. These insights can have profound changes on our approach to life, business, and the new year ahead.

Ideas to Kickstart 2023

New Year’s resolutions are great, but how do we actually kickstart the growth and change that we want to see in ourselves in the new year? Actions, of course, speak louder than words, so we are dishing out inspiration and ideas on how you can start off the “new year, new you” mindset with a bang. 

First and foremost we like to think of resolutions in terms of “microsteps”. What are microsteps? Arianna Huffington describes them as “small incremental, science-backed actions we can take that will have both immediate and long-lasting benefits to the way we live our lives”. Implementing small microsteps can help us build habits that significantly improve our lives and make “resolutions” easier to adopt and stick with. Microsteps are at the heart of behavior change.

Every year millions of us make New Year’s resolutions. Research indicates that 38.5% of US adults set New Year’s resolutions every year, based on the average of five different studies over the past year.  52.6% focus on one big New Year’s resolution, whereas the other 47.4% set multiple goals.

59% of young adults (18-34) make New Year’s resolutions, which makes them the largest demographic that sets these goals. 48% say they are going to exercise more, with 23% quitting in the first week and 36% making it past the first month. 9% successfully keep their New Year’s resolutions. People over 55 are 3 to 1 times less likely to have resolutions compared to young adults. Interestingly, 54% of parents with children make New year’s resolutions.  (Stats from InsideOut Mastery)

We asked the Gardenuity team and here are our best suggestions for 2023 New Year’s Resolutions:

A great place to start for a nudge in the right direction is making your annual journal entry of New Year’s Resolutions. While this practice has been around for decades, we believe it holds a lot of power in setting you up for success in the new season. We love resolutions because they provide a glimpse into what it is we are craving and hoping for in our lives. Resolutions don’t just have to be tangible goals like exercising or eating healthier. We encourage you to dig a little deeper with resolutions this year, thinking about your mind, mental health, and emotional well-being. Perhaps a resolution is “spending more time with family” or “creating space each day to utilize gratitude practices.” Get creative and have fun with it!

Take a Mindful Moment:

Life can get busy! Whether you are a mom, a student, a dad, a young professional, a CEO, or a seasoned pro, it can feel like the buildup of to-dos and expectations never cease. To be your best self in the new year, it is important to set an expectation for yourself: an expectation of self-care. Setting time aside for mindful moments is one of the best ways to ensure you are recharged, energized, and putting your best foot forward in other areas of your life. Taking a moment for yourself can look like sitting outside and reading, taking a bubble bath, creating a dish with fresh herbs, or tending to your garden to remind yourself to slow down and connect with nature. Even if your mindful moment is just a few minutes at the beginning of your day, these moments can make all the difference. 

Set Yourself Up for Success:

Even the best intentions and resolutions can be forgotten or left behind unless there are systems in place to keep you on track and moving in the direction you want. You are probably not going to eat as clean as you wish if there are donuts and cookies surrounding your kitchen. You are probably not going to read as much as you hope if the television is always on. You may not feel as inclined to go for a walk if you do not have the proper running shoes and outerwear. So, set yourself up for success! Make sure you have the time, space, capacity, materials, and motivation to choose a resolution and really stick with it. There is no benefit in going from 0 to 100, as it will leave you feeling discouraged and inadequate. Instead, resolve to implement microsteps of wellness to build you up to something bigger. 

Create Positive Energy:

We know your parents said this over and over when you were growing up, but we will say it once more for good measure. The people and circumstances you surround yourself with make all of the difference. If you want to invite positive energy into your life, you need to surround yourself with positive situations. Whether we like it or not, what we do, who we do it with, and the mindset surrounding it, can make or break the way that we see the world. Positive energy can be multiplied when it is passed on from one person to another. Being mindful enough to speak without negativity and instill positive affirmations throughout your day, can speak volumes to changing your headspace for the better. 

Let Nature Nurture You:

Finally, create some positive energy by spending time with the energy of the earth around you. There is power in nature. The birds chirping around us, the vastness of the moon, the energy of the sun, and the budding of plants rising up through the soil. Gardening is a great way to connect with nature and see the ever-changing growth of the world, firsthand. Moving your hands throughout the soil can give you a sense of grounding and calamity, taking you straight back to your roots. Giving nourishment and love to a garden can serve as a reminder to give those same gifts to yourself. 

No matter how you are approaching the new year, we hope you instill some of these practices into your life for grounding and wellbeing. Taking on a new year can look different for different people. To some, a new year can feel daunting, with taking on new challenges, as well as carrying over challenges from the year prior. To others, the new year can feel like a reset or a clean slate, filled with possibilities and opportunities, a chance to start fresh. There are still more that may view the coming of another time like just another year, another routine, another cycle. 

However you view the new year, we hope that you can make space for yourself to dive into the excitement, the growth, and the positive vibrations to make this new year the best one yet, as well as make the new you, a little bit stronger and better.