Are you feeling disoriented or unmotivated to start the new year? You have probably felt like this in previous years after the holidays. Still, this year it might be even more challenging to get moving after a year of chronic stress. Instead of allowing these feelings to keep you from embracing all that the year offers, here are six evidence-based ways to get your energy back.

It's January, and it is time for us to put into action all the promises we made to change our behavior in 2021. Even though we have known long before the new year what we needed to change, we gave ourselves permission to continue these “bad” habits until now. Logic would say that if you're going to change a habit or behavior, any time is an excellent time to start. However, year after year, we pick arbitrary times like Mondays or the quintessential day of January 1 to begin. Why?

After months of socially restricting our interactions, we are restless and long for the company of family and friends. Some of us are even showing signs of more serious psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety. And, during the holidays, we saw people choose to ignore the advice from experts and participate in family gatherings, often flying to see them while others complied and stayed at home. So, why do some people comply and others do not?

Most of us set goals or resolutions for the upcoming year. And with the disruption to our lives prompted by the pandemic, many of us probably have an extra-long list of things we would like to change. Even though most of us have not been successful in previous years’ resolutions, each year we are confident that this year will be different. Here are some ideas to improve your chances of success this year.