THIS YEAR, MANY people have been bucking the trend of making New Year’s resolutions because one of the main outcomes seems to be a great feeling of disappointment come December. Looking back at a year’s worth of unmet goals can spoil the holidays and leave you dubious about your chances of achieving success the following year. But if you can learn from your missed opportunities, there’s no reason every year needs to end the same way.
Perhaps the best goal for the new year is to find better habits or tools to help you set and keep goals so that, come the countdown to 2026, you can look back with pride at one of the better years in your life. If your goals are particularly difficult, this might involve learning more about resources such as rehabilitation centers. But maybe you don’t need to go to those lengths, or you need to work up to that. Here’s an early key you can take in hand right away: the best advice is advice you can put to work right away, today. Take action and make changes today that you’ll thank yourself for at the end of the year.
Visualise success by working backwards from your goal
Here’s some of the best advice you’ll get today: imagine the person you want to be, and then do what that person would do. It seems simple, but don’t assume it’s an oversell. It’s a life coaching technique sometimes called reverse engineering. It asks you to envision your ultimate goal and then understand the steps that lead to it. It gives you smaller, more manageable steps that you can begin to take right away. Completely transforming yourself is difficult, but changing a little bit here and there is doable, right?
Having a plan also helps you to keep things realistic and anticipate the challenges and roadblocks that will get between you and your ultimate goal. Unanticipated challenges are one of the main things that will set you up for a disappointing December, but knowing where your pain points are–and the effort it takes to get past them and move on–will help you reach your end goal.
Leverage technology to streamline your process
“Breaking down my long-term goals into smaller steps sounds like work,” you might think. It’s January, which is the Monday of months, and who needs more work? Luckily for you, there are apps and tools that can help you brainstorm through this process. An AI-powered life coach is just an online search away, and the instructions, “Break down each of these goals into ten easy steps I can begin today,” are surprisingly easy for a computer to execute.
There are plenty of other tools that provide personalized feedback and analytics for your specific situation and goals, all support that you can access and begin working with today without any need for appointments and waits. Mindfully integrating these tools into your routines can help you have more productive and meaningful days (or more tranquil and relaxing days if that’s your goal) right away.
Make flexibility and support networks work for you
Success isn’t a straight line, and embracing flexibility is vital when challenges arise. By staying adaptable, you can turn obstacles into opportunities, pivoting as necessary to keep moving forward. Building resilience through micro-habits—small, consistent actions—can make those pivots feel less daunting and more manageable. Whether it’s writing a sentence a day or dedicating a few minutes to reflection, these habits create a foundation for growth.
Equally important is the support of a network. Collaboration and accountability keep you motivated, provide fresh perspectives, and make the journey more enjoyable. Combine these strategies with strong step-by-step goal-setting and some new and powerful tools to keep you on track, and you’ll find yourself well-equipped to turn your goals into achievements by year’s end.
Switzer Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content
