New Year’s Resolutions don’t really work for me.

I find New Year’s resolutions easy to make.

In the heady excitement of a fresh year, I can convince myself that this is the time to be fitter than I have been in a decade, finally achieve that big goal or make a life-changing shift. With a few clicks, I can sign up for a new gym membership, buy a masterclass subscription, or start journaling with renewed energy.

I often start well.

I get to the gym every day for those first few weeks. I spend a few hours a day improving myself. I get to work on those important projects.

But these new habits die hard.

My gym memberships are often used much more in early January than by the middle of the month (when winter keeps me inside or summer pops up a party every few days!). My self-development and those big projects trail off as the realities of work, life, and the daily alarm clock chip away at them.

In recent years, I’ve stopped making New Year’s resolutions and instead have been making end-of-year resolutions. Quite simply, I decide where I want to be by the end of the year.

In January, I decided by Christmas 2025 that I wanted to:

- Weigh a certain amount.

- Have published my new book.

- Be at the beginning of a one-year trip around the world.

In January, I blew out that target weight with Nicaraguan rum, too much wine and lying on the beach. But I completed a copy edit of my book and booked a one-way flight for the family to Uruguay.

By July, I was sitting consistently at my target weight, had found a publisher, and had planned the flights and places for the first five months of the trip.

By Christmas, I was still at my target weight, the book was on its second print, and I was in Uruguay.

I’m setting my end-of-year resolutions for 2026 this week. I know January will be a lost cause because I’m in holiday mode, but I’ll begin to put in place the habits that will power me towards 2026.

For you, I wish you a happy New Year. If you choose to set some end-of-year resolutions, all the best with them. If it feels good to share them with me (it’s sometimes nice to have some accountability), send them my way, and I’ll cheer you on!

Best,

Aaron