I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. They’re all or nothing. If you miss the mark, it feels like a failure—and let’s be honest, most resolutions fail.
Studies show that about 80% of people abandon their resolutions by mid-February, and only 9% feel they succeed by the year’s end.
This year will be more discipline-focused than goal-focused.
- Discipline: Practice of behavior.
- Goal: Desired Result.
You can still be "goal-oriented" but not "goal-focused".
A goal should be a North Star, not an obsession.
Instead, focus on habits.
Habits shape success. They’re repeatable, reliable, and not tied to a single outcome. Every year, I reflect on the habits that worked and the ones that didn’t.
2024 was a grind. It felt like I was losing most of the year. Then October came, and I decided to finish strong. It was a 4th quarter comeback.
More on that in my No Tumorrow series on YouTube. Episode 1 is already live here.
The Problem with Goals
Here’s the thing about goals: they’re results-based.
- Discipline: Posting weekly YouTube videos.
- Goal: Gaining 100,000 subscribers.
- Discipline: Exercise daily.
- Goal: Lose 10 pounds.
One is in your control, the other isn’t. Chasing numbers (like vanity metrics) can make you hate what you’re doing. I’ve been there. But when you focus on the practice, you win just by showing up.
A Look Back at 2024
In 2023, I committed to this newsletter—almost every week. That was a discipline. In 2024, I shifted to a goal-focused mindset.
I made progress. Big life moves in business, home, and relationships.
But I also experienced burnout and overthinking, two things I’d managed to avoid before. I learned (again) that goals without the right disciplines can leave you feeling stuck.
Missing a big goal makes it easy to feel like you failed, even if you’ve crossed smaller milestones along the way. It’s why I’m pivoting back to discipline for 2025.
Practicing the Swing
Golfers don’t focus on where the ball will land while swinging. They practice the swing and trust it’ll get them closer to their target.
That’s the mindset I'm suggesting.
This year, I’m simplifying my process—starting with this newsletter.
In 2024, I over-engineered it. I tied it to too many dependencies, like YouTube uploads. That made it hard to stay consistent.
So today, I’m just writing. Not worrying about perfect formatting or a new 2025 design. That can evolve. The discipline is showing up and writing.
Changes for 2025
This month, I’m making changes to how my business and content come together. On the surface, you might not notice much. But behind the scenes, it’s all about simplifying and serving better.
One of my disciplines for 2025? Weekly newsletters, just like this one.
Next week, I’ll share the habits I’m committing to and how I chose them.
I’ll also revisit exercises I’ve used before to set direction, like the ones I wrote about last year in Playing the Long Game.
Let’s make this year about practice and purpose.
