As the calendar turns to January, many of us feel an unspoken pressure to reset, reinvent, and resolve. New Year’s resolutions are everywhere, promising transformation, productivity, and self-improvement. While it can be meaningful to set goals and intentions, the intensity of this cultural push can take a toll on mental health, especially when our energy and emotional reserves are already low.
From a mental health perspective, it’s worth pausing to ask: Is this actually the most supportive time to demand big changes from ourselves?
When Motivation Feels Hard to Find
January is often framed as a time of fresh starts, but for many people, it can feel heavy and exhausting. The holidays have ended, daylight hours are shorter, and cold winter weather can limit movement, social connection, and time outdoors. These seasonal factors can significantly impact mental health, contributing to lower mood, fatigue, and reduced motivation.
For individuals already navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, or chronic stress, the pressure to feel motivated and disciplined can increase feelings of self-criticism or shame. If you find yourself thinking, “Why can’t I get it together?” – you’re not alone.
Struggling with motivation in January is not a personal failure. It’s often a natural response to winter and the demands we’ve just come through.
The Hidden Mental Health Cost of “Shoulds”
New Year’s resolutions often come loaded with “shoulds.”
I should be more productive.
I should exercise more.
I should finally fix myself.
While these thoughts may seem motivating on the surface, they can negatively impact mental health by reinforcing the idea that who we are right now isn’t enough. Over time, this can increase anxiety, lower self-esteem, and make change feel unsafe rather than empowering.
Mental health tends to flourish not under pressure, but in environments of compassion, patience, and understanding. Sustainable growth is far more likely when it’s rooted in self-kindness rather than self-criticism.
Looking to Nature for Mental Health Wisdom
One way to reframe New Year’s expectations is to look to the natural world. Winter is not a season of visible growth. It’s a season of rest, conservation, and slowing down.
Plants conserve energy beneath frozen ground. Animals hibernate or reduce activity. Nature doesn’t resist winter. It adapts to it.
As humans, our mental health is also influenced by seasonal rhythms, even if modern life encourages us to ignore them. It’s okay if this time of year calls for lower expectations, gentler routines, and more rest. Rest is not a lack of progress, it’s a crucial part of long-term mental health and wellbeing.
After the Holidays: Naming Burnout and Mental Health Strain
The holiday season can be emotionally complex. Social gatherings, family dynamics, financial pressures, travel, and disruptions to routine can all contribute to stress. By the time January arrives, many people feel depleted, overstimulated, or emotionally worn down.
From a mental health standpoint, immediately pushing for major life changes without allowing time for recovery can lead to burnout. Instead of asking, “What should I be achieving right now?” it may be more supportive to ask, “What does my mental health need to recover?”
Sometimes the most healing New Year’s intention is tending to your nervous system, prioritizing sleep, nourishment, gentle movement, and moments of quiet or connection.
Redefining Growth in a Mental Health–Focused Way
What if personal growth didn’t have to be dramatic or intense? What if it could be slow, subtle, and responsive to your mental health needs?
Rather than rigid resolutions, some people find it helpful to set intentions or values that guide their choices without demanding perfection. Others choose a word for the year, such as balance, gentleness, or grounding, to anchor their mental health throughout changing circumstances.
From a counselling perspective, sustainable mental health growth often looks like:
- Making small, realistic changes
- Allowing goals to shift based on emotional capacity
- Measuring success by self-awareness rather than outcomes
- Recognizing rest as a meaningful and productive choice
Quiet progress is still progress.
Holding Space for Rest and Mental Health Growth
It’s possible to hold two truths at once: you can want growth and healing while also honouring your current limits. You can feel hopeful about the future while acknowledging that right now might require slowness.
If January feels heavy or emotionally complex, that doesn’t mean you’re failing at the New Year. It may mean you’re listening to what your mental health is asking for in this season.
Self-compassion allows us to meet ourselves where we are, rather than where we think we should be.
When Mental Health Support Can Be Helpful
If the pressure of the New Year is increasing anxiety, low mood, or a harsh inner critic, it may be a sign that additional mental health support could help. Counselling offers a space to explore expectations, process emotions, and reconnect with your values in a way that feels safe and supportive.
At Kingsway Counselling, we believe mental health care isn’t about forcing change, it’s about creating the conditions where growth can happen naturally, at a pace that feels sustainable.
Moving Into the Year With Compassion
As this New Year unfolds, consider approaching your mental health with the same care you would offer someone you love. Notice small moments of effort. Honour your need for rest. Trust that growth can occur beneath the surface, even when it isn’t immediately visible.
Winter doesn’t last forever. And neither does this season of uncertainty or fatigue.
For now, it may be enough to simply be here, resting, reflecting, and allowing yourself to move forward with compassion.
