01/06/2026
Real talk: New Year’s resolutions kind of annoy me. If you’re the type of person that sets goals & metrics, you’re doing it all year long and January 1 is no different. And if that works for you, keep doing it! 🙌
But this notion that we’re going to come off the most indulgent time of year full of sugar, travel, booze, sleeping in and general disregard of routine and emerge days later (in the dead of winter I might add) a phoenix of lofty goals and unparalleled discipline is a pretty good way to set ourselves up for failure. And the stats agree:
The reality?
• 38.5% of adults make New Year’s resolutions
• 23% abandon them within 7 days
• 43% give up before February ends
• Only 9% actually succeed by December
The good news is lasting change is always possible, but it doesn’t happen with the fall of the new years ball.
Where should you start?
1. Understand how you got here
What do you want to change and why? If you don’t know how you arrived at where you are, how will you find your way out? What’s driving your current choices - convenience? Outdated conditioning? Simply routine? Identify the patterns and behaviors you wish to change, then look at your triggers.
2. Focus on habits, not willpower
No one says this better than in Atomic Habits. The gist: willpower fades quickly, habits are enduring. Lasting change comes from daily practices, not goals you white-knuckle through.
3.Build in accountability
Change doesn’t (often) happen alone. Most people need at least one other person who would notice if you quietly drop out. Even better if that person or group is pursuing similar goals, who understands that setbacks are part of growth, not total surrender.
As you think about what you want to change this year, start here: Don’t just ask what you want to change.
Ask how you got here. That’s your real starting point.
AND, if you are not the picture of motivation at the moment, that’s ok. Seasonally we should be slower, resting more and if anything, doing deep introspection before the real renewal and growth of spring
