If Your New Year’s Resolutions Fade by Mid-January, Try This Instead  

How many times have you welcomed a new year with conviction and determination, convinced this would be the year things finally shift?

You set goals with the best intentions.

You promise yourself you’ll show up differently . . . more grounded, more disciplined, more devoted to what actually matters to you.

And then January quietly rolls by, and suddenly you’re noticing the same familiar patterns, the same habits you thought you’d outgrown, the same internal negotiations that always seem to win when life gets busy or uncomfortable.

This doesn't happen because you have no willpower, but because most goal-setting asks you to think your way out of patterns that live far deeper than the mind.

The problem is that resolutions tend to focus on outcomes. And I’ve learned this over and over again. The things you will accomplish without ever asking who you are being while doing it.

So you try to build new habits on nervous systems wired for urgency.

You attempt to create boundaries from a body that learned safety through pleasing.

You aim for consistency while still living from exhaustion.

It’s like asking a system that’s been surviving to suddenly start thriving on command.

No wonder the loop repeats.

And somewhere along the way, you decide that you are the problem. Of course, you are inconsistent and undisciplined. It must be you.

But no. You are not the problem. Let me explain.

Eight years ago, I stopped setting New Year’s resolutions simply because they never worked. I wanted a way of moving through the year that felt alive and sustainable for a human being.

And instead of goals, I chose a single word.

Yes. A word to live with for 365 days and see what kind of miracles are possible.

And then, something changed.

That word quietly shaped everything. And I mean, e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

The way I made decisions. The way I said yes and, more importantly, the way I said no. Over time, I watched myself grow almost effortlessly.

All because of one word.

The growth, the clarity, the personal power, the things I once tried to manifest by doing more, all arrived because I was being differently. 

Not overnight, but steadily, in a way that actually lasted. Through alignment. 

The reason I chose a word, is because a single word doesn’t demand perfection. It doesn’t collapse the moment you fall back into an old habit or have a week where everything feels messy (which, let’s be honest, happens to all of us without exception).

A word simply meets you where you are and walks by you through every situation you go through.

It becomes a lens you look through.

So, I started asking better questions. What would this choice look like if I honored my word? 

Instead of pushing you forward through force, it gently reorients you, again and again, toward the way you actually want to live.

And that’s what I want for you. 

I want you to choose a word that speaks to your body, not just your mind. The one that supports regulation before motivation. Presence before performance. 

And the best part is that it doesn’t expire by the end of January. 

It becomes something you return to, especially when life doesn’t go according to plan.

Especially then.

So, do yourself a favor and pick a word that speaks to you. Any word that lights you up. Not something that sounds good on paper or in front of others, but something you feel.

You’ll see that the word you choose will reflect what’s been missing and what you’ve been postponing.

It’s the quality your system has been asking for after years of adapting and holding it all together. 

To find your perfect word, simply ask yourself, How do I want to move through my days this year? What quality am I ready to embody? 

Happy New Year!