Guiding Stars for the New Year: Values Based Resolutions
Happy New Year, and welcome back to a PsycHope tradition. In this episode, Dr. Jennifer McManus shares a values guided approach to New Year’s resolutions, created for anyone who loves the fresh start energy of a new year, but often struggles to get started, or anyone who wants a more meaningful way to set personal goals any time of year.
You will learn what values are, why they matter from a psychology perspective, and how values-based resolutions can reduce overwhelm and help you choose goals that feel doable and deeply meaningful. You will also be guided through a simple reflection and journaling practice, so you can identify your Guiding Star value for the new year and translate it into an actionable resolution.
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Guiding Stars for the New Year: Values Based Resolutions
Hello and welcome! You’re listening to the PsycHope Self-Help Podcast: A space for women where psychology illuminates paths to healing, hope, and personal growth. I’m Dr. Jennifer McManus, a clinical psychologist and I’ll be your host. Each episode, we’ll explore a different way to use psychology to enhance emotional wellness. Hope you enjoy the show!
Keep scrolling for the full transcript in case you want to dive into the details!
Happy New Year! It’s episode 55 and we’re back with a PsycHope tradition! Ever since we launched back in December of 2022, we’ve released a New Year’s episode to set you up for success with your New Year’s Resolutions. As always, we want to acknowledge there’s no rule that says we must set New Year's Resolutions just because the calendar flipped a page. We totally get that in many parts of the world, this season is all about slowing down, resting, and turning inward. Maybe you even feel like hibernating. It might feel like a whole lot to ask yourself to set and achieve new goals right now.
At the same time, so many people resonate with the idea of making commitments to becoming more intentional or aligned versions of themselves this time of year. I’m one of those folks who genuinely loves the fresh start energy that comes with a new year. If you do too, then this episode is for you. Even if you’re not into new years resolutions though, everything we talk about today applies to personal goals any time of year.
Before we jump in, I want to invite you to download a companion workbook for this episode, Ground to Set Them, Motivate to Get Them. You can grab your complimentary copy at psychope.com/2026 or just click the link in the show notes.
I also want to remind you that you can visit our podcast archives for even more New Year’s resolution support. Episodes 16 and 17 share a wide range of approaches and practical tips to help you set and follow through on your resolutions. If you want a more compassionate approach, check out Episode 37. And if you want to bring in DOSE chemicals, your happy hormones, to support motivation and mood as you work toward your goals, Episode 46 is for you.
Today, we’re honing in on values guided resolutions, one of the core strategies featured in the workbook and discussed in past New Year’s episodes. In those earlier New Year episodes, we talked about how success with resolutions starts with how you set them. Not just what you pick, but why you’re picking it. I like to think of it as the inner “guiding star” you want your choices to orbit around this coming year. This episode is a zoomed in version of that approach, one strategy among many, and it is one of my favorites.
Values first, then resolutions. Because when values come first, a resolution stops feeling like a random demand you make of yourself, and it becomes a direction you choose on purpose. And that matters, especially for getting started with the changes you’re seeking to make.
Before going further with our exploration of values guided resolutions, let’s define values in a way that makes sense for self-help and personal growth work.
Values are the qualities, principles, and life directions that matter most to you. They are not the finish line. They are the way you want to live along the way.
Goals are often about achieving something. Values are about embodying something.
Here’s an example. A goal is, save ten thousand dollars. A value might be stability, freedom, or stewardship. The number is the target. The value is the reason it matters.
From a psychology perspective, values function like an internal compass. They help guide motivation, decision making, and follow through. Values help you ask, what is one step closer to the life I want to live.
Values also have deep roots in human history. Long before modern psychology had vocabulary for motivation and behavior change, people were practicing values through faith traditions, ancient spiritual teachings, and early philosophical schools of thought.
Across time and culture, humans have named guiding virtues and commitments, then used rituals, prayers, contemplations, or daily practices to live by them. Different traditions use different language, but the theme is familiar. When we orient our life around what we believe matters, we feel more anchored.
That is why values are so relevant for self-help and self-improvement. Values keep growth from turning into a self-criticism project. They bring deeper meaning to our goals. They help you choose resolutions that actually fit your life, that most authentic version of you.
Here are some examples of values: compassion, kindness, patience, integrity, authenticity, courage, resilience, wisdom, hope, and peace.
Now, you may be familiar with the all too common experience of starting the new year with good intentions and then stalling out. Often this is because our resolution is too big, too vague, or too perfectionistic. Other times it’s because the resolution was too disconnected from meaning. When that’s the case, values may be the missing piece.
Values guided resolutions help because values simplify and ground the process. They reduce overwhelm, because they give you a filter. Values guided resolutions help us ask, does this support what matters most to me this year.
They reduce all or nothing thinking, because you can live a value in small ways, even if you’re not ready for a major life overhaul. They reduce guilt-based motivation, because the reason for changing becomes personal, chosen, and deeply meaningful.
So now that we’ve defined values from a psychology perspective and highlighted why they are so helpful for supporting New Years Resolutions or personal goals any time of the year, I’m going to invite you to join me in a practice that connects our Guiding Stars, our values, to our New Year’s resolutions.
If you downloaded the workbook, Ground to Set Them, Motivate to Get Them. feel free to pull it up now (or go grab it at psychope.com/2026). There are sections of the workbook that nicely accompany this practice, but any method for jotting down your thoughts works too. Like, your own journal or your preferred digital method.
If you’re driving, walking, doing dishes or other chores, you can still listen and mentally note your answers, then come back later to write.
As we transition over to this practice, I invite you to take one gentle breath with me. Take a nice slow inhale. And then when you’re ready, exhale.
It might be helpful to think or say to yourself, In this moment, Peace is Present here.
Now I am going to guide you through some prompts. I’ll invite you to pause this episode in the places where it makes sense for you to write. Take all the time you like.
I’m going to suggest using three sections that appear early in the workbook:
Brain Dump
Brainstorm Notes and
My New Year’s Resolutions
These pages help you move from reflection to ideas to a clear resolution. These pages are just suggestions though. Please use whatever writing process best supports you.
Let’s start by turning to the Brain Dump page. This is the part where you let it be messy. No editing. No judging. This is just you getting the thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
Here are a few prompts for you to help guide the process:
· When I feel most like myself, what qualities am I living out. List as many that come to mind and pause whenever you need to.
· What moments from last year felt meaningful, even if they were small. What values were present during these moments. List all the values you notice.
· What drained me last year. What value felt missing, neglected, or compromised. List however many values fell into these kinds of situations for you.
Now, circle a few values that matter most to you this year. Not all of them. Just a few. Notice them.
Now, star one or two values that feel most important, most tender, or most urgent to protect as you head into this new year.
Now in the workbook, we’re ready to move to the Brainstorm Notes page. You can write wherever you like though. This is the part where you turn values into ideas. Think of it like sketching or outlining, not a final draft. We are going to translate values into intentions, then into doable resolutions.
Here are a few prompts to help guide the process:
· If my top value is _____, I want to live it this year by _____.
· A tiny way I could live this value weekly is _____.
· A boundary that protects this value is _____.
Now we are going to brainstorm some potential resolutions. Make them behaviors, not identities. Try not to worry if your ideas feel random at this phase. That’s normal and it’s all part of the brainstorming process. Take as long as you need to brainstorm.
And when you’re ready, we’ll move to the My New Year’s Resolutions section. This is where you choose your resolutions and write them clearly.
There’s actually a short section in between the Brainstorm Notes and the My New Year’s Resolutions section that discusses how to word goals in a clear way. So I do suggest if you’re using the workbook to skim that section before moving on, but it’s not necessary for this values approach we are taking right now.
Here is a simple structure that we can use that handles the final step in translating values into intentions into doable resolutions:
Because I value X, I am choosing to Y.
That’s it. We’re keeping it value connected and clear.
Because I value X, I am choosing to Y.
Because I value _____ , I am choosing to _______.
Now that you’ve done this exercise for yourself, I want to give a few examples of how the values going from brain dump phase, to clearly worded resolution might sound like. And yes, I waited until after walking you through the process to share these examples in interest of supporting you finding your Guiding Star in the most organic way possible.
Alright so first example. Let’s say the Brain Dump values that came up were: peace, rest, simplicity, and health.
The Starred value was: peace.
Some Brainstorm Notes on that value of peace:
If my top value is peace, I want to live it this year by creating a calmer daily rhythm.
A tiny way I could live this value weekly is a ten-minute evening reset three nights a week.
A boundary that protects this value is putting my phone on the charger before I go to bed.
And now, putting it all together as a Values based resolution we have:
Because I value peace, I am choosing to do a ten-minute evening reset three nights a week in January.
Here’s another example. Values that came up during the brain dump phase were: creativity, play, curiosity, and self-expression.
The starred value for this purpose was: creativity.
Here are the Brainstorm Notes:
If my top value is creativity, I want to live it this year by making space for creative expression again.
A tiny way I could live this value weekly is fifteen minutes of writing or art two days a week.
A boundary that protects this value is treating that time like an appointment, not an optional extra.
Then the values based resolution becomes:
Because I value creativity, I am choosing to spend fifteen minutes creating two days a week.
I hope these examples help you with clearly wording your own values-based resolutions.
As we wind down now, I want to invite you to come back to the key value that emerged for you during this episode. That is your Guiding Star for 2026. Perhaps you will find a starter step you can take during the first few days of the year to bring you closer to that value. Not the full transformation. Just one step. Because our values light the way. You can return to them again and again. Any day of the year.
Now don’t forget, if you want the workbook that goes with this episode, you can download Ground to Set Them, Motivate to Get Them at psychope.com/2026. It’s full of tips and strategies to help you each step along the way with your Values Based Resolutions.
Much peace until next time.
The information shared on the PsycHope Self-Help podcast is done so with the understanding that it does not constitute professional help nor is it a substitute for professional help. If you think you might benefit from more than self-help, there are resources listed in the show notes.
Show Notes
Episode 55, originally published on December 31, 2025.
Disclaimer
The information shared on the PsycHope Self-Help podcast does not constitute professional help nor is it a substitute for professional help. If you think you might benefit from more than self-help, here are some helpful resources:
Find a therapist:
Psychology Today, directory for locating a psychotherapist. More details here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/
Mental health crisis resources:
Crisis text line: text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor for any emotional crisis
