2026 is the year of Building a Life Worth Living!

DBT-Inspired New Year’s Resolutions for 2026: Building a Life Worth Living

As we step into 2026, the familiar pressure of New Year’s resolutions returns. Promises to fix, improve, or finally master ourselves often come wrapped in urgency and self-criticism. By February, many of these goals quietly fall away—not because we failed, but because they were never sustainable to begin with.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers a different and far more compassionate framework for the year ahead. Rather than chasing perfection, DBT focuses on balance, skill-building, emotional effectiveness, and self-respect. It reminds us that meaningful change happens through small, intentional steps—not harsh self-demands.

For 2026, consider resolutions that help you respond to life more skillfully, rather than control it more tightly.

🧘‍♀️ 1. Resolve to Practise Mindfulness in Real Life

Traditional resolution: “I’ll be more focused and productive.”
DBT-informed intention: “I’ll practise being present—without judging myself.”

In DBT, mindfulness is about noticing what is happening right now, on purpose and without judgment. It doesn’t require long meditation sessions or special conditions. Mindfulness can be woven into ordinary moments.

2026 intention:
Choose one daily activity—showering, drinking coffee, walking—and practise doing it mindfully. Notice sensations, thoughts, and emotions without trying to change them. Presence is a skill that strengthens with repetition.

💪 2. Resolve to Support Emotional Health Through the Body

Traditional resolution: “I’ll completely overhaul my health routine.”
DBT-informed intention: “I’ll care for my body so my emotions are easier to manage.”

DBT’s PLEASE skills highlight how physical wellbeing directly affects emotional vulnerability. Sleep, nutrition, movement, and health care are not about discipline—they are about creating a stable foundation.

2026 intention:
Focus on one supportive habit at a time. This might mean improving sleep consistency, adding gentle movement, or eating regularly. Small changes can significantly reduce emotional intensity.

🔥 3. Resolve to Respond to Stress With Skills, Not Impulses

Traditional resolution: “I’ll stop overreacting.”
DBT-informed intention: “When I’m overwhelmed, I’ll pause and use a skill.”

Stress and emotional surges are part of being human. DBT’s Distress Tolerance skills help you get through intense moments without making situations worse.

2026 intention:
Create a short list of go-to distress tolerance skills—such as paced breathing, temperature change, grounding, or self-soothing—and practise using one before reacting during high-stress moments.

🗣️ 4. Resolve to Communicate With Self-Respect

Traditional resolution: “I’ll avoid difficult conversations.”
DBT-informed intention: “I’ll practise asking for what I need with clarity and respect.”

Healthy relationships require both boundaries and connection. DBT’s Interpersonal Effectiveness skills support assertive communication that balances self-respect, relationships, and goals.

2026 intention:
Practise one intentional conversation each month using DEAR MAN skills—clearly describing the situation, expressing feelings, and asserting needs while staying mindful and respectful.

🌿 5. Resolve to Practise Acceptance When Life Is Unchangeable

Traditional resolution: “I’ll stay positive no matter what.”
DBT-informed intention: “I’ll practise radical acceptance when I can’t change reality.”

Radical acceptance does not mean approval—it means acknowledging reality as it is, rather than exhausting yourself fighting what cannot be changed. Acceptance often reduces suffering and frees energy for effective action.

2026 intention:
When faced with frustration or disappointment, gently remind yourself: This is what’s happening right now. Notice how acceptance softens emotional resistance.

🧠 Final Reflection: A Year of Skillful Living

DBT is built on a powerful dialectic: you can accept yourself and work toward change at the same time. For 2026, consider resolutions that focus less on becoming a different person and more on responding to life with greater awareness, flexibility, and compassion.

Progress doesn’t come from harsh goals—it comes from practising skills, one moment at a time. This year, let your resolutions support a life that feels not just productive, but meaningful, balanced, and truly worth living.

Curious about whether DBT is right for you? We have programs commencing four times a year in February, April, July and October. Our individual therapists can usually see you within a week of your initial contact.

You can get in contact with our team via email to intake@dbtclinics.com or go to our appointments page for more options at https://dbtclinics.com/appointments/

New Year’s Resolutions That Go Beyond Self‑Control

Radical Openness for 2026: New Year’s Resolutions That Go Beyond Self‑Control

As the calendar turns to 2026, many people once again feel the familiar pull of New Year’s resolutions. Promises to do more, try harder, be stricter, or finally get it right often dominate this time of year.

If you tend toward perfectionism, emotional restraint, or high self‑control, these resolutions may sound sensible—but they can also quietly reinforce patterns that lead to burnout, disconnection, and emotional loneliness.

Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (RO‑DBT) offers a different starting point for the year ahead. Rather than focusing on tightening control, RO‑DBT invites us to practise openness, flexibility, and genuine social connection.

So for 2026, what if your resolutions weren’t about becoming more disciplined—but about becoming more open?

🎭 1. Resolve to Be More Openly Yourself

Traditional resolution: “Be more professional, polished, or put‑together.”
RO‑DBT reframe: “Practise showing my authentic self—even when it feels uncomfortable.”

Individuals with overcontrolled coping styles often hide parts of themselves to avoid judgment or rejection. RO‑DBT teaches that emotional expressiveness and authenticity are not liabilities—they are pathways to connection.

2026 intention:
Once a week, allow yourself to be a little more visible. Share a genuine reaction, show enthusiasm, admit uncertainty, or let your humour come through. Notice how openness, not perfection, invites closeness.

🎲 2. Resolve to Loosen One Rigid Rule

Traditional resolution: “Stick to my routines no matter what.”
RO‑DBT reframe: “Question rules that create stress rather than meaning.”

Many people live by internal rules they rarely examine—rules about productivity, rest, emotions, or how things should be done. While these rules may have once been adaptive, they can quietly restrict flexibility and joy.

2026 intention:
Identify one personal rule that feels constraining (e.g., I must always be efficient or I shouldn’t need help). Experiment with gently bending it and observe what happens—not just internally, but in your relationships.

💬 3. Resolve to Practise Honest Emotional Expression

Traditional resolution: “Keep the peace and avoid upsetting others.”
RO‑DBT reframe: “Share my inner experience with care and courage.”

Radical openness involves sharing emotions—not just facts or solutions. RO‑DBT recognises that emotional withholding, while protective, often contributes to emotional loneliness.

2026 intention:
Commit to expressing one honest feeling each week with someone you trust. This might be naming disappointment, appreciation, longing, or vulnerability. Emotional truth builds intimacy—even when it feels risky.

🌀 4. Resolve to Practise Flexibility When Things Change

Traditional resolution: “Stay on track at all costs.”
RO‑DBT reframe: “Respond flexibly when life doesn’t follow the plan.”

Overcontrol often brings comfort through predictability. Yet life inevitably disrupts plans. RO‑DBT encourages meeting change with curiosity rather than threat.

2026 intention:
Create intentional space for spontaneity. Allow someone else to decide. Say yes without over‑analysing. Let discomfort come and go without trying to control it. Growth often lives in the unplanned moments.

🫶 5. Resolve to Prioritise Playful Connection

Traditional resolution: “Be more responsible or helpful in relationships.”
RO‑DBT reframe: “Build connection through shared enjoyment, not just reliability.”

Individuals high in overcontrol are often valued for being dependable—but intimacy grows through warmth, play, and emotional presence. RO‑DBT highlights that joy and silliness are powerful social signals.

2026 intention:
Schedule time for lightness. Laugh with someone. Be playful. Do something purely for enjoyment rather than self‑improvement. Let connection be felt, not earned.

🌱 Final Reflection: A Different Kind of Resolution

As 2026 begins, RO‑DBT invites a radical shift in how we define growth. Instead of asking, “How can I control myself better?” the more transformative question may be:

“How can I open myself more fully to others, to feedback, and to life?”

Radical openness is not about abandoning values or discipline. It is about balancing competence with warmth, autonomy with connection, and control with flexibility.

This year, consider making resolutions that don’t just change what you do—but change how open, engaged, and connected you allow yourself to be.

Because meaningful change often begins not with striving—but with letting yourself be seen.

Maybe it’s time to be radically open.

Curious about whether RO-DBT is right for you? We have programs commencing four times a year in February, April, July and October. Our individual therapists can usually see you within a week of your initial contact.

You can get in contact with our team via email to intake@dbtclinics.com or go to our appointments page for more options at https://dbtclinics.com/appointments/