It’s February. How are those resolutions going? That’s what we thought you might say.
A 2023 study suggested that “by February, only 22 percent had stuck to resolutions entirely. 54 percent had “mostly” stuck to them”[i] Maybe the resolution game is a little like horseshoes: “mostly” is better than nothing. Or perhaps, the word “resolution” is what’s anachronistic, connoting a broad, sweeping action that spans a year’s timeline.
Times have changed since 1907 when the first ball dropped in New York City’s Times Square. Our world is moving at the speed of AI and viral spin that can distort our sense of time, identity, and reality. Plus, the first seven weeks of 2025 have already felt like a very long year. Therefore, it might be useful to think of our time-honored New Year’s Eve tradition as an intention-setting exercise—more about guidelines than goalposts. This mental framing can help dissipate some of the pressure for instant change and diminish “resolution fatigue” down the road. Sometimes, one more thing on the to-do list can push you over the edge.
Still, setting lofty self-improvement goals is fundamentally a healthy and helpful pursuit—if performed in the context of self-compassion and self-care. New Year’s resolutions today are an opportunity to give the future you a little gift—even if it’s accomplishing a micro-goal or making a behavior change. The little things matter, like walking around the block three days a week. Small changes can make a big difference. So, it’s less about grand declarations and more about making a personal priority list, a roadmap to find more joy. In some cases, this might even include a more fulfilling job or career track. It’s always the right time to pursue a better life.
Inspiring Resolve
Starting with intentions helps you clarify what you value most, which may help you attract more of it. Focusing on micro-achievements also can help you integrate those mini-changes that build over time. Here are five steps to help you take the first steps:
- Know What You Want
This may sound obvious but checking in with yourself helps you make more productive daily decisions that are better aligned with your dreams. Focus is potent and so is the power of “no.” Your personal strategic plan could relate to your career, personal growth, relationships, health, or creativity. And no need to tackle it all at once. Decide what’s most important to you this year.
- Turn Big Goals into Small Steps
Dismantle your large goals into smaller tasks. For example, if you want to write a book, a step could be to write 500 words a day or 30 minutes every other day. This makes big goals feel less overwhelming and gives you more opportunities for success along the way.
- Write it Down
Writing anything down can be transformative. It magically connects your psyche to your muscle memory, often helping you make discoveries that surprise, delight, or challenge you. Its physical action reinforces your commitment, too. Whether it’s a physical journal or a digital note on your phone, write down exactly what you want.
- Celebrate Small Wins Early and Often
Pat yourself on the back along the way, and don’t reserve the champagne for the big wins. Recognize and celebrate progress, no matter how small. This fuels your sense of accomplishment and reinforces the micro-habits you are mastering.
- Go With the Flow
Don’t be afraid to regroup or re-evaluate. Stuff happens and circumstances change. Most of life is spent adapting to the unexpected. “Your mistakes don’t define you,” counselors say. “But what you do after they happen does.” So, at the end of each week, month, quarter, or day, reflect on your progress and what’s next. What’s working? What’s not? What have you learned? Then, adjust, refresh, and breathe. Tomorrow is another day.
We are all works in progress, and our opportunities for a more fulfilling life are often hidden in plain sight. For every human, it’s an inside job that’s a messy stew of failures, wins, accomplishments, joys, pains, losses, and surprises, so be gentle with yourself.
Programmer and author Simon Sarris writes this in Efforts and Goals and Joy:
“If you make lists of lofty goals, it can be easy to leave them to accumulate, as happens sometimes, into a mountain of to-dos and notes and half-forgotten plans. Dreaming alone is seductive, even a little sweet, since it lacks the pain of trying. So it feels proper to prize attempts more than dreams. You should have ideals, but you cannot only love an idealized future, you must cultivate a love of effort, too. If you really want something, then the soul must make demands of the body.”
Regarding your professional efforts, we are here to help. At Spot On Talent, we stand ready to partner with you on your career journey—any time of year.
[i] https://discoverhappyhabits.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/
