The New Year comes with a large set of expectations for everyone, but when you’re grieving, the pressure to turn a page, set goals and become some newer, better version of yourself just doesn’t feel right. It’s a pressure that can feel heavy, unfair and wholly impossible.
If you’re carrying loss into the new year, this is your reminder that you don’t need to fix anything, you don’t need to change a part of who you are and you don’t need to set any New Year’s resolutions if you don’t want to. If you’d rather just act like the first day of January is any other random weekday, then you’re allowed to do just that.
Or, if you’d like to set some gentle intentions over more heavy New Year’s resolutions, then we’re here to help. Small, optional acts of care like these can help you feel more supported and steadied as you move through your grief journey. These intentions aren’t about moving on or finding closure, because that will never be the case. Instead, it’s about allowing yourself some self-care, kindness and patience.
5 New Year’s Resolutions for When You’re Grieving
Give Yourself Permission to Feel What You Feel
One of the kindest New Year’s resolutions you can make while grieving is to stop policing your emotions. Grief isn’t something you can predict, and every day is going to feel different. Just because today you’re feeling sadness and anger, yet yesterday you felt lighter and moments of joy doesn’t mean you’re healing wrong or badly. All of this is part of grief and completely human.
So we suggest that for this New Year, you remind yourself to stop judging your own feelings. You can let sadness exist without pushing it away and allow feelings of happiness and peace enter your life without the guilt. Giving yourself permission to feel every aspect of grief can relieve an immense amount of pressure you’re holding over yourself without you even realising it.
Create a Memorial Keepsake That Keeps Them With You
As time moves forward, one fear many people carry is that moving through the year means moving further away from the person they’ve lost. First of all, you deserve to know that’s not true. Your love for that person or pet will always be with you, no matter how much time passes. And to remind yourself of that, some people find that having something tangible to wear and hold onto can help soften that fear and offer comfort in everyday moments.
This might be the year you choose to create a memorial keepsake that keeps them close. Something you can hold, wear and return to when you need grounding. Memorial jewellery, for example, allows you to carry a physical reminder of love with you, whether that’s through ashes, handwriting, fingerprints, a photo or another deeply personal detail.
Reach Out for Support
Grief can feel like an incredibly lonely experience. Even when you’re surrounded by others missing the same loved one, your own experience is completely unique, and it can be hard to speak about how you’re feeling. That’s why one of the best gentle new year’s resolutions for those grieving is to find a way to feel supported, however that may be.
That might mean joining a grief or bereavement support group, where you can sit alongside others who simply get it. It might look like booking an appointment with a therapist or counsellor, even if it’s just to talk things through without needing answers. Or it could be something as simple as letting one trusted person know how you’re really doing. Sometimes it’s just knowing you’re not alone with your experience that can help you along your grief journey.
Care for Your Body in Small, Compassionate Ways
Anyone that has experienced grief knows that it’s something that lives in the body just as much as it does in the heart. It can affect so much of your daily routine, including your sleep, your appetite, your energy levels and even your concentration. Rather than setting rigid health goals, you might consider thinking more about what your body needs.
That could mean prioritising rest without guilt, making sure you eat regularly, even if meals are simple but nutritious and moving a little more each day to get fresh air and exercise. This form of self-care isn’t supposed to be aesthetic or impressive, but simply kind.
Make Space for Something New
Grief has a way of sucking every once of joy out of your life where even the things you used to love no longer bring you happiness. Just know that this is totally normal and a natural part of grief and some day, whether it’s soon or later on in life, you will find joy in the things you love again. But in the meantime, a simple New Year’s resolution can be making space for something new.
Do it without any pressure or expectation and just start a hobby or try something new that you’ve always wanted to try. It could be journalling, creative writing, painting, gardening or just walking new routes near your home. Remind yourself that there’s no expectation for this to feel good straight away. Sometimes it won’t. But over time, these small additions can offer moments of relief, distraction and even a little enjoyment, and that matters.
Conclusion: New Year’s Resolutions for When You’re Grieving
If you’re entering a new year while grieving, you deserve to take it slowly. You are allowed to need help, take your time and honour the person or pet you’ve lost in ways that feel right to you. The most important thing we want you to take from this today is that there’s no pressure or expectation. Do what you need to do; it’s as simple as that.
And if, at any point, you feel ready to explore something tangible to honour that bond, such as memorial jewellery and keepsakes created with care and intention, we’re here to support you. There’s no rush and no expectation, just support and guidance whenever you need it.
