#20 Why I Don't Set New Year's Resolutions

I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions.

Not because I don’t care about progress.

And not because goals don’t matter.

I’m not immune to the surge of energy that hits every January.

It’s because resolutions usually start on the wrong side of the equation.

They jump straight into action - when a bit of consideration would be more useful first.

January is loud.

Update the resume.

Apply to roles.

Message recruiters.

Doing something feels responsible. Urgent. Necessary.

But action without a clear sense of direction is just churn.

I like to start here:

Who are you trying to be this year?

Not in a lofty or aspirational way.

In a practical one.

Because that answer quietly changes how you show up - long before you set a goal or change anything on paper.

For example, if you decide you want to operate more strategically this year, that has consequences.

It changes:

• how you talk about your work

• what you spend time explaining (and what you don’t)

• which decisions feel obvious instead of effortful

You’re not waiting for permission to feel different.You start showing up differently on purpose.

Could you then set a goal to support that?

Of course.

But now you’re moving with direction.

A simple thing to do this week:

Before you rush into action this month, decide who you’re trying to be.

Then write down two or three things that would naturally change if you showed up as that person now.

• how you’d talk about your work

• what you’d stop over-explaining

• where you’d take up a bit more space

That’s information - not a to-do list.

We’ll talk about what to do with that next week.

For now, it’s enough to notice it.

Happy New Year.

Here’s to being intentional - not panicked.