Have a Happy, Blessed and Successful New Year! A Mindful Take on Resolutions

Let's face it: New Year resolutions are pointless.

Without an action plan to back them up, they remain little more than wishful thinking.

For those of us in leadership roles, creating project plans and breaking ambitious goals down into actionable steps comes naturally. We could apply exactly the same approach to our personal lives. But where is the fun in that? Do we really want to reduce our life to a road paved with milestones and to-do lists?

A mindful, balanced approach to taking charge of your life means staying aligned with your values while making meaningful progress throughout the year. It allows you to achieve big things and enrich your daily life with connection and joy.

Find your North Star

What are your core values?

What motivates you?

What makes you wake up in the morning with a smile on your face?

What makes you say in the evening "This day was worth it"?

If the answers don’t come easily, the following exercises can be powerful tools for self-reflection:

Childhood Memories

Take some time to list the activities that you most enjoyed as a child.

Then note why you enjoyed them. What did they give you?

Recall Your Journey

Look back over your life so far, and list the most impactful events.

Reflect on why they mattered and how they shaped who you are today.

Daydream

Close your eyes and imagine your perfect life. How would you spend your days if you did not have to worry about money?

Once you’ve completed one or more of these exercises, look for recurring themes. Themes could be Growth, Creativity, Caring, Adventure, Connection, etc. Your life, your words!

Set Aligned Goals

Once you've found your North Star – your personal answer to life, the universe and everything – the next big question is how to manifest this in your life. What makes sense for you right now?

My own North Star is 'helping people grow', so my goals have revolved around developing a professional mentorship programme, teaching yoga and of course guiding my son to becoming an amazing human being – kind-hearted and confident in his abilities.

Goals that align with your deeper mission are far easier to stay committed to. They feel meaningful, not forced.

Aim for goals that stretch you just beyond your current abilities. Aim too low, and there is little satisfaction in achieving them. Aim too high, and you risk frustration and disillusionment. Aim just right, and keep expanding your boundaries step by step, rather than creating unrealistic expectations for yourself.

As a rule of thumb, limit yourself to no more than two or three goals at any given time, to stay focused. Setting more than 2 or goals can lead to pushing yourself too hard, resulting in exhaustion or burnout. Or, dividing your efforts across multiple things mean you stretch yourself too thin, preventing meaningful progress on any of them, and leaving you disheartened and unmotivated.

Break Them Down into Simple Actions

Big, meaningful goals often take three to twelve months to achieve. They are not only time-consuming but complex, made up of many smaller actions. This can be daunting. You don't know where to start. Or you procrastinate because you still have nine months left to write that thesis paper. Until you don't.

The antidote is simple: break your goals down. Set milestones to measure progress.

The nine months for the thesis can be broken down into three months for research, three months for conducting a survey and analysing the results, and three months for writing the paper.

The 3-month-long research phase can then be broken down further into smaller monthly and weekly segments, and actionable to-do items for each week, such as signing up for a library membership or emailing a supervisor for recommended reading.

Review and Celebrate Your Achievements

Setting targets without reviewing progress is like standing on an archery range blindfolded and hoping to hit the bullseye.

A monthly review – even just an hour – can make all the difference.

Ask yourself:

✅ Have I reached the milestones I set?

📊 If not, how much progress have I made?

🧱 What got in the way, and how can I remove that blocker?

⏰ What can I do differently next month to improve?

If you have made progress – any progress! – towards your goals over the month, don't forget to celebrate it and give yourself a pat on the shoulder.

You're doing great, working towards something amazing!

When I first started using a structured planner, I found that while I was already very good at setting goals, breaking them down and ticking them off my to-do list, I struggled to fill the "Reward if achieved" section, and I struggled to find the time to actually give myself the reward I promised myself. How crazy is that?

Useful guidelines to reward yourself for your achievements:

🤩 Choose rewards that you genuinely want.

👟 Align the reward with the goal! If you're training for a 10K, promise yourself some cool running gear that will help you stay on track, rather than sugary treats that undermine your fitness goals.

💆‍♀️ Stay accountable! If you promise yourself a spa day for hitting an important milestone, get it booked in.

🫂 You don't need to break the bank with the reward (especially if one of your goals was to be more frugal), going for a hike with your family or visiting a friend could be just as valuable.

Make Every Month Fun

Making progress towards big goals is sweet, ticking tasks off your to-do-list is awesome but isn't there more to life? All work and no play make Jack a dull boy...

The same exercises that help you identify your North Star can also reveal what truly recharges you and brings you joy.

While you steadily work towards your objectives, don't forget to schedule in time to decompress, and find something that will make every month and every week FUN!

Visit a friend you haven't seen for ages, pick up a random craft kit or go to the theatre with your partner, whatever you need to restore your vitality and sustain momentum.

Enjoy the Ride

"You're happiest when you're planning" - My partner once observed.

There are no silver bullets and one-size-fits-all's when it comes to planning, we continuously experiment and refine our planning methods to build a system that works for us – one that feels more like a trusted friend or an encouraging coach cheering us on, rather than a stern teacher demanding us to work more and do better.

Digital or paper-based, structured or free-flow, the choice is yours. Stickers and washi tape to decorate and theme your pages, and make them a joy to look at? Why not! Gold star stickers to mark off achievements? Go for it! Colour-coding life areas to give a one-glance overview on where you spend most of your focus and what needs balancing? I love it.

For structured planners, I personally love Legend Planner, and I am currently rediscovering the flexibility of Filofax. The Bullet Journal method has millions of devoted followers. For a gamified digital approach, Habitica is well worth exploring.

Happy planning, and enjoy creating a better version of yourself in 2026.

The light in me honours the light in you.

Namaste