A Better Approach to New Year Decisions

It's early January. You've made resolutions, or you've sworn them off entirely. Either way, you're probably thinking about what you want to be different this year.

That impulse is valuable. The execution usually isn't. Here's a different approach.

Why Resolutions Fail

Most New Year's resolutions are set up to fail:

• Too vague. "Get healthy" isn't actionable. What does that mean tomorrow?
• Too ambitious. Massive change attempted all at once collapses under its own weight.
• All-or-nothing framing. One slip becomes total failure, so why continue?
• Externally motivated. You chose it because you "should," not because you genuinely want it.
• No system. Motivation fades. Without habits and structures, good intentions dissipate.

The calendar change doesn't fix any of these problems.

A Different Frame

Instead of "what do I want to achieve this year," try "what do I want to be different about how I live?"

This shifts from outcomes (which you can't fully control) to behaviors (which you can). Not "lose 20 pounds" but "become someone who moves every day." Not "get promoted" but "become someone who does excellent work."

The identity shift is more sustainable than the goal.

The One Thing Question

If you could change only one thing about how you live in 2026, what would it be?

Not five things. Not ten. One.

What's the single change that would have the biggest positive impact on your life? That's where to focus. Everything else can wait.

Depth beats breadth. One habit fully integrated is worth more than five habits attempted and abandoned.

Making It Stick

For whatever you choose:

Get specific. Not "exercise more" but "walk for 20 minutes every morning after coffee."

Start small. Absurdly small. "Do one pushup" beats "do 50 pushups" when you're building a habit. The behavior matters more than the scale.

Design your environment. Make the right choice easy and visible. Make the wrong choice hard and invisible.

Plan for failure. You will miss days. What happens then? "Never miss twice" is more realistic than "never miss."

Track simply. A check mark on a calendar. Nothing elaborate. Just visibility into your consistency.

The Review That Matters

Before charging into the new year, spend an hour on the last one.

• What worked? What conditions helped you succeed?
• What didn't? What patterns kept showing up?
• What do you want more of? What do you want less of?

This isn't navel-gazing. It's data. The year you just lived tells you what actually works for you, not what "should" work in theory.

The Permission to Go Slow

You don't have to transform everything in January. You don't have to capitalize on "new year energy" before it fades.

Lasting change is boring and incremental. It's not a sprint in January followed by nothing. It's small, consistent actions across all twelve months.

Give yourself permission to go slow. The year is long. One thing, done consistently, is enough.