Ever set a New Year’s Resolution only to find by the end of January you already gave up? I’m giving you my best advice on how to quit quitting so you can reach that goal!

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Let me start off by saying that I’m not a huge fan of the traditional New Year’s Resolution. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea but not the pressure or attention that tends to come with it. I LOVE goals, planning, and reaching a desired result. But the actual New Year’s Resolution? I think it’s pretty ineffective.

If you really want to do, achieve, or change something in your life, you (hopefully) wouldn’t wait until a new calendar year to start. I would hope that you are so excited about the thing you want to accomplish that you would just…START.

I realize that’s easier said than done and I have the unpopular opinion here. And I’m not discouraging anyone from making a goal and working towards achieving it. I’m thrilled you’re making a goal at all to work toward! But in order to avoid the typical burnout that comes from setting a New Year’s Resolution, I am suggesting that you start small, make a realistic and reasonable plan toward reaching your goal, and build momentum through consistency in order to achieve your goal.

“Okay, but how do I do that, Naomi?” I’m so glad you asked. Let’s break it down together.

I think people set unrealistic and unachievable goals, meaning that their expectations for success are usually set unreasonably high with no room or allowance for error. And if you walk into the new year expecting yourself to reach your goal as quickly as possible, making no mistakes or missteps along the way…I’m really sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you’re probably going to fail.

Setting goals is great, but they need to be realistic to you and your life. If you decide your goal this year is to make a million dollars, but you work one job, Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, that makes you $50,000 a year before taxes…you’re in for a rude awakening at the end of the year when you find you did not make a million dollars. You’re going to need at least one other very well paying job, probably a really lucrative side hustle or two, and a miracle to reach that million dollar mark.

However, if instead you decide you are going to make $10,000 more dollars this year, that is definitely possible. You could get a part-time weekend job or a side hustle when you aren’t working your job that ensures your bills are paid. That is realistic and totally possible.

It’s also important to acknowledge that you might run into some delays or hit a road block or two along the way while working towards reaching your goal. When people are building or renovating a house, a good contractor will build in an additional 10% to the budget for unexpected expenses. Not because the contractor is hoping to get people to spend more money, but because they know that unexpected expenses come up sometimes that weren’t part of the original plan, such as plumbing issues, electrical fixes, or mold.

These are all things that you can’t actually see until you start opening up walls and, believe you me, for that reason you’ll want to have money set aside to cover those unanticipated costs. The point is to be ready in case something like that comes up.

The same is true of your new goal. You need to have a 10% allowance for error. Assume something will come up that could derail your progress along the way and have a plan for how to handle it. Whether it’s extra money set aside, making up for lost time, or taking a step backward to course correct before pressing on. Write down all possible setbacks and walk yourself through how you’ll handle it if it comes up.

But do not expect to sail through the upcoming year without bumps in the road or finishing your goal by the third week of January when realistically it will take you until November. Be real.

Just saying “I’m going to make $10,000 more this year” and then expecting the money to flow in…won’t work. You need a plan. Goals are the end result. Plans are the map to get there.

How are you going to make an extra $10,000? What do you need to do to get more money? Where will you put the money so you don’t spend it? How are you tracking your goal so you know how far you are and how much you have left to make? Do you need to have the $10,000 by a certain time?

Sit down with a pen and paper and write it all out. Just like in grade school, use the 5 W’s. Who, What, When, Where, + Why. You may laugh because it sounds way too easy, but…do you know the answers to those questions? Could you rattle them off without missing a beat if someone asked you?

Often times when we start thinking through the most basic questions, we start realizing where there are holes, road blocks, or circumstances we may not have initially considered. You can start redesigning or planning to make your goal easier or more realistic to reach by using this template. Here’s a rough example of what this would look like if I were doing it:

My 2025 Goal: Make an additional $10,000

Who:

Myself (I will be the one making the $10,000).

My boss (talk to her about working more hours and picking up some available overtime).

My husband (hanging out with our daughter while I work extra hours + OT).

What:

Make an additional $10,000 to my current salary to have in my savings account.

Talk to my boss about extra hours + OT.

Contact my bank to open a savings account just for this money.

When:

Have an extra $10,000 by December 31st, 2025.

I will work extra hours or OT when it is available, including weekends.

My work will be completed during working hours + whenever I can pick up additional hours for OT.

Reach out to boss by this Monday about interest in extra hours + OT.

Where:

I will work at the office or my home office with the door closed when I am able to work from home.

The extra money I am making will go into a separate savings account at my bank where I will not accidentally spend it.

Why:

I want this extra money to pay for a vacation to Hawaii without using any credit cards.

When you go through the 5 W’s, think of every possible question pertaining to each W and write it down.

Who is involved in this goal? Who do you need to help you? Who do you need to be away from to get this done? What exactly do you want to accomplish? When do you want to realistically reach your goal? When are you going to work towards your goal? Where do you need to go to reach your goal? Where are you going to work on it? Where will you put the money as you make it? Why do you want to reach your goal? Why is this important?

This will help you look at your goal from all sides and close any gaps that you might have or answer any questions you might have accidentally overlooked when you initially set your goal.

Write down any other details that you think of outside of these categories if you can’t figure out where to fit them in.

You just did all this work of setting your goal, casting the vision, and working out a plan to make it happen. Now go EXECUTE! Your goal isn’t going to reach itself. You have to do the work. I know sometimes it’s scary to take the first step, but you have to start somewhere if you want to see any type of progress.

Take a small step to get you going. In this case, the very first step is to try and get some extra hours to make more money, so sending an email to your boss or setting up a meeting to chat about it would be the first small step in achieving this. Keep in mind that if your boss says there are no extra hours or overtime available, you would want to have a backup plan to make that money, like getting a second part-time job or a side hustle, otherwise your goal is dunzo.

This is the hardest part for people to do in goal setting. It’s easy to think about your goal and even to put a together a plan on how to reach it. It’s the actual doing that stops people dead in their tracks.

80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February because your brain doesn’t understand vague goals and becomes confused. Having unrealistic expectations, like making a million dollars, leads to overwhelm and makes you want to quit. And having the mindset that you must succeed-or else!, sets you up for failure because at some point you will hit a snag and it will crush your excitement.

As human beings, our brains like efficiency, which is why habits (both good and bad) are so effective. Anything your brain can autopilot, it likes–including bad habits. When you try and change too much at one time and “go all in” your brain gets overwhelmed and defaults to old patterns and habits when you don’t get a quick win or any kind of positive reinforcement. This is why it’s so important to take a small step first, rather than a huge leap.

Having a plan with your goal is brain-friendly because you can refer to it when you have doubt, feel overwhelmed, or forget what to do when you hit a snag. You’re less inclined to quit when you have a plan.

Remember, a goal is the final destination, not the road map to get there. You have to follow the map to get to the destination. Use your plan to create consistency in reaching your goal so that over time it feels effortless and your brain treats it like a new habit or pattern.

It’s also important to offer your brain a reward. Setting small, achievable steps triggers a feel-good chemical (called dopamine) in your brain. This makes you want to keep working towards it to get another feel-good hit. I love checking boxes and get incredible satisfaction from using a pen to cross something off or check a box when it is completed. This is my dopamine hit, so I use a list of step-by-step actions and check them off as I go.

And don’t forget to celebrate your wins! If your goal will take all year, try a quarterly reward. Or, using the $10,000 goal as an example, celebrate when you’ve made your first extra $1,000 with a cupcake. Celebrate every time you make $1,000 more.

Most importantly, try not to punish yourself if you make a mistake or hit a road block. You don’t suck. You’re not a failure. Stay away from the negativity and refer to your plan and come up with a way to move forward and what’s next. If you buy into your brain’s negativity, you’ll feel inclined to quit altogether. One of my favorite things I’ve ever heard came from a podcast I listened to and I’m going to share it with you: You do not have to believe every thought your brain thinks. Read that again, slower.

Actively choose to remove the negative thought. Say it out loud if you have to: “No, I don’t believe that. I can figure this out.”

Share your goal with someone you trust that won’t judge you or make fun of you for wanting to achieve your goal. You are more likely to succeed when someone is watching. If you don’t have someone you trust to tell your goal to, find a community of people that are working toward the same type of thing you are. Surround yourself with those people to keep you accountable and motivated.

One of my like-minded best friends is my “business bestie.” I talk to her about all of my goals no matter how crazy or big or ridiculous they sound when saying them out loud. She talks through them with me and helps me figure out next steps, how to execute, and even checks in with me on my progress. In turn, she does the same thing with me and I talk through her goals and ideas too.

We send voice memos to each other several times a week. We check in with each other when we’re feeling unmotivated, lost, or need some hype to get to the next step. We also praise the heck out of each other. It feels great to have your own personal cheerleader, especially when you are feeling like you aren’t where you want to be or are hitting some major setbacks. Having a calming, practical person to talk sense into you and help you get back on track when you want to quit everything is such a gift.

Find your people. They’re out there. And if you need a cheerleader, look no further. Find me on Instagram or send me an email. I will be your biggest hype girl and simultaneously offer you a dose of reality and tough love when you need it.

I use this outline for every single goal I work towards and so far I’ve had a 100% success rate in reaching them when I follow my own advice 😉 So take a deep breath, grab some caffeine, find a quiet place alone with no distractions to put pen to paper, and get to it. Whatever your goal for this new year is, I can’t wait for you to achieve it!