🌟A New Year, a Blank Page & How to Make Your Goals Stick.🌟

Hello & Happy New Year!

Celebrating New Year’s Eve and looking ahead to the coming year is a shared human milestone. Like seasonal changes, harvest festivals, birthdays, solstices, and lunar cycles, the New Year marks a moment of reflection and renewal. It invites hope, possibility, and the sense that a fresh chapter is beginning.

Most years, we ring in the New Year with a small gathering of neighbours and dance for hours — though we rarely make it to midnight. This year was different. We celebrated both the turning of the year and my husband’s 70th birthday with an outdoor water spa — hot tub, sauna, and steam room — followed by a delicious dinner. We didn’t make it to midnight, but we had a glorious sleep.

On New Year’s Day, I offered my Annual Free Online Yoga Class — and more than 20 people joined. Over the next week, I’ll be returning to a tradition I rarely skip: reflecting on the past year and planning intentionally for 2026.

Some years, my intentions unfold beautifully. Other years, life has different plans. Curious about that inconsistency, I decided to dig deeper into the psychology of resolutions and goal-setting — not just for myself, but for anyone who has watched their motivation quietly fade by February.

Rather than disappearing into endless articles, I focused on resources from Psychology Today, Harvard Health Publishing, and the work of Dr. Katy Milkman, a leading researcher on behaviour change and author of How to Change.

Why Do Resolutions Fail?

Research suggests that many people give up on resolutions surprisingly quickly — in some studies, as many as 80–90% abandon them by late January. Why, then, do we keep making them? Because making resolutions reflect that we are hopeful and believe in possibilities. The challenge isn’t setting goals — it’s keeping them.

Every New Year, I used to write long lists with 10 or more resolutions: learn a language, master an instrument, and run a marathon. They were enormous, vague and completely misaligned with my daily life. Predictably, the motivation for these grand goals evaporated within weeks.

A Better Approach

✨ Choose up to three meaningful goals.  Less is better.
✨ Start small and build momentum.
✨ Make them realistic and specific.  Also, Instead of eliminating things, add things. For example, if your diet hasn’t been the best, instead of starting strictly by removing sugar and fast food, ease into it by adding things one at a time, such as one big, green salad a day and 8 glasses of water.

If you haven’t exercised in years or even own a pair of running shoes, setting a goal to run a 10K almost guarantees frustration. Ease into a more supportive path: buy a good pair of runners, walk daily for 20–30 minutes, and build from there.

Harvard Health notes that big, abstract intentions like “eat healthier” or “exercise more” rarely succeed without supportive systems and routines. Small, repeatable actions win every time.

What the Science Says About Making Change Easier

Dr. Katy Milkman’s research shows that change becomes easier when we match strategies to the real obstacles we face. Here are some of her most helpful tools — with simple ideas to try:

1️⃣ Use “fresh start” moments.
A New Year, Mondays, birthdays, new months — they reset our mindset.
👉 Start a habit on a date that feels meaningful.

2️⃣ Turn vague goals into specific plans.
👉 Instead of “exercise more,” try:
“I’ll walk for 25 minutes at 7:30 a.m. on weekdays, right after coffee.”

3️⃣ Make good habits more enjoyable (temptation bundling).
👉 Only listen to your favourite podcast while walking or cleaning.

4️⃣ Reduce friction.
👉 Lay out workout clothes, prep snacks, unsubscribe from tempting emails.

5️⃣ Build routines and cues.
👉 Habit-stack: “After I brush my teeth, I meditate for two minutes.”

6️⃣ Plan for setbacks — and forgive yourself.
👉 If you miss a day, simply restart. Progress isn’t linear.

7️⃣ Use accountability.
👉 Tell someone what you’re doing and check in regularly. Maybe find a partner-someone you can walk with, or meet at the gym.

8️⃣ Learn from people just ahead of you.
👉 Join a class, group, or community working toward similar goals.

9️⃣ Make progress visible.
👉 Track streaks, steps, or minutes — visually. Seeing improvement fuels motivation.

“I’m becoming someone who cares for myself consistently.”

After a lot of trial and error, I’ve been pretty consistent with my three-times-a-week gym routine, and the key to my success is simple — and maybe a little odd.

On Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights, I pack my gym bag — right down to the clothes I’ll change into afterwards — and leave it by the door. I also prep the coffee maker and set the timer so it starts brewing about ten minutes before I want to get up. I love coffee, and it’s a huge motivator for me first thing in the morning.

When I take these small steps ahead of time, there’s no friction. I don’t give myself space to negotiate or talk myself out of going. Everything is ready — all I have to do is show up.

And on the rare occasion I forget to set the coffee pot, I notice how quickly my brain jumps in with, “Well, that’s why I can’t go to the gym today.” It’s such a clear reminder that even tiny barriers can derail good intentions and that removing them really does make change easier. Sometimes, simply committing to meet my friend Liz early in the morning has also helped enormously.

Another powerful motivator for me now is becoming a grandmother. Working out regularly helps me stay strong and healthy, and I think of it as an investment in being around and fully present to watch my grandson grow up.

Of course, there are moments when the plan gets derailed — sleepless nights with our dog Peggy, a Lyme symptom flare-up — but I always return to this routine. That, more than perfection, is what truly makes the difference.

Change doesn’t happen just because the calendar turns — even though milestones and fresh start dates can be wonderful motivators. Real change happens when we design small systems that support the person we want to become.

Whether your intention this year is movement, mindfulness, relationships, financial well-being, creativity, or overall health, I hope these ideas help you move gently — and steadily — forward.

What Do You Really Want?

If your goals don’t always get accomplished, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy or failing. It simply means you haven’t yet clarified your priorities or built systems that make follow-through easier. Sometimes the first step is slowing down long enough to get clear about what you truly want.

I highly recommend checking out Mel Robbins’ Best Year Workbook: It’s thoughtful and in-depth — not something to rush. Give yourself a few days, or even weeks, to reflect and work through it at your own pace.

So instead of saying, “Someday”, “That isn’t for me,” or “That’s not possible” “I’m too ____,” try saying: “Watch me” or “I’ve got this”

Life is short, and our time here is precious. Here’s to a year of clarity, compassion, and small wins that quietly grow into something meaningful.

Be well.

Anita 🙏🌟❄️

County Yoga Loft

Zoom Yoga Class Schedule 

Resources

1.    Psychology Today

2.    Harvard Health

3.    Dr. Katy Milkman

DISCLAIMER; The information provided on County Yoga Loft’s website blog is for general health care informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith. However, it should not replace consultation or advice from a physician and/or other healthcare practitioners. The use or reliance of any information contained on this site is solely at your own risk.