My Self-Care Resolutions and a Christmas Reminder for You
December arrives with its usual blend of rush and celebration. Christmas has always been my favorite festive season — a time filled with joy, gratefulness, and peace. The lights come on, the year winds down, and everywhere we turn, there’s a sense of warmth and accomplishment.
But if I’m honest, this season also reminds me of something quieter: “How much of myself I’ve neglected? and how much I want to rebuild gently?”
This year, I shared two reflections on my platforms. “3 Resolutions I’ve Made in 2025 to Love Myself More” & “My New Year Resolutions for 2026”. They came from a deeply personal place.
Not performance. Not pressure. Just honesty.
Today, as the festive season settles in, I want to bring those reflections here. I hope to offer you a window into my own self-care journey. I also wish to nudge you to start shaping yours too.
Why I Started Setting Self-Care Resolutions (Not Just New Year Goals)
Two years ago, around this time, life delivered a hard and unexpected lesson.
My stepdad passed away suddenly from a heart condition — no warning, no time to prepare. At the same time, my biological dad was undergoing colon surgery, facing a long road of medication and monitoring ahead.
Losing one while trying to save the other broke something open in me. It made life feel painfully unpredictable. It made me realize that someone can leave this world without a single sign. Illness can strike before you ever get to enjoy the fruits of your hard work.
That season of grief and fear became a quiet calling. By the end of 2024, I made a decision many didn’t understand…
In 2025, I walked away from my corporate job…to find peace, to heal. To reconnect with the part of me I kept abandoning for work, responsibility, and expectations.
And in that process, I realized something else. While I always set goals for work, finances, and productivity…I rarely set any goals for my well-being. If I did, they were always vague:
Be healthier… Be calmer… Have more balance...
But moving through 2025 taught me that love for self isn’t a feeling — it’s a practice. And like any practice, it needs intention, clarity, and commitment.
So I created three simple, grounding resolutions:
1. Speak to myself with more kindness — especially when I fall behind.
Not everything needs my perfection. Not every mistake needs punishment. I’m learning to offer myself the compassion.
2. Honor my body instead of overriding it.
Rest when I’m tired. Pause when I’m overwhelmed. Move when my mind feels stuck.
3. Make space for the dreams I’ve been postponing.
Life doesn’t wait…
But the life I want to build won’t arrive unless I choose it consciously. These became the foundation of my 2025 journey. Small, steady choices that carried me through the year with more calm than before.
And now, with a new year ahead, I’m carrying them forward, differently, but with the same intention…
My Resolutions for 2026 — A Continuation, Not a Reinvention
As shared in my recent post, 2026 will be a significant transition for me. I am returning to the corporate world. But I’m not going back as the same version of myself.
My new resolutions are simple, but deeply grounding:
1. Build a 5-year plan toward a slower, freer life.
- A plan that reminds me why I choose to work, save, create, and grow.
- A reminder that everything I’m building today moves me closer to a life with more space and less rush.
2. Be kinder with my pace.
- Not everything is urgent.
- Not every expectation needs my immediate reaction.
- I can show up without burning out.
3. Stay committed to what grounds me — calm mornings, mindful routines, and gentler choices.
- The calmer I am, the better I live.
- And the better I live, the more I can give.
“These aren’t resolutions for achievement. They’re resolutions for sustainability. A way of living that doesn’t abandon me.”
The Festive Season Isn’t Just for Celebration. It’s Also a Season for Realignment
December can easily become a blur of gatherings, shopping, and countdowns. But beneath all that noise, it can also be a gentle invitation:
Pause… Reflect… Reset…
Before the new-year rush begins, this is the perfect moment to ask yourself:
- What have I been needing but ignoring?
- What version of myself do I want to nurture in 2026?
- What do I want to stop carrying into the new year?
Self-care resolutions don’t need to be dramatic. Sometimes the most life-changing ones are the simplest:
- Sleep earlier.
- Say no without guilt.
- Drink water before coffee.
- Speak gently to yourself.
- Start each morning with one quiet moment.
If you create just one honest self-care resolution this December, it’s already enough.
A Christmas Wish To You!
As we step into this festive season, I truly wish you a Christmas filled with calm moments, soft joy, and company that feels warm — not draining.
A gentle reminder that you deserve to enter the new year with peace, clarity, and a heart that feels safe inside your own body.
Here’s the truth I hope you carry with you:
- No amount of ambition or hard work can replace the need for self-care.
- Stress may push you forward, but it can also empty you if you never stop to breathe.
- Your dreams matter — but you matter too.
So as you celebrate and prepare for the year ahead, set at least one intention that nourishes you.
Caring for yourself isn’t selfish; it’s the foundation that makes everything else possible.
And if you’ve been waiting for the “right time” to begin…
Do not wait any longer.
Life will never slow down on its own. Your well-being deserves attention now — not later.
Thank you for being here, for reading, reflecting, and growing with me. Your presence means more than you know.
Wishing you and your family a peaceful Christmas. May it be meaningful and quietly beautiful. May the new year bring you closer to the version of yourself you’ve longed to meet!
With Warmth, @theElementofCalm
@theElementofCalm 