2025: The year to ditch resolutions and vision boards

Happy New Year you lovely people!

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably a bit freaked out that it’s almost half way through January already. You’re also probably sick of seeing New Year’s Resolutions and Vision Boarding clips all over social media - so am I, I’m actually going to scream if I see one more stylised pictures of beaches, mediation and inspirational messages. And don’t even get me started on the smug “smashing it in 2025 posts…”
I hear you - “Why are you writing yet another article on setting yourself up for success in 2025?”

Good question. Especially when February is almost looming and we should all be heads down, beavering away in achievement mode like everyone else. Well it’s because I’ve spent the last 2 weeks recovering and recharging after a super busy Christmas, and when I’ve had a bit of space, I’ve been loosely reflecting on last year, trying to understand what worked / didn’t work when it came to achieving success in 2024 (mixed bag frankly!) and I’ve had a bit of an “AHA" moment.

New Years Resolutions and Vision Boards are no help to me at all.

Sure, they’re a nice statement to the world or a pretty picture for my wall / desk, but personally, by February I feel like they’re taunting me because they feel so far away or so difficult to achieve. And the end result, they always end up quietly getting side-lined, or put in a drawer before they completely demoralise me further.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of manifesting a holiday in the sun, but a picture of a deserted beach doesn’t actually help me think through the actions that I need to profitably grow my business to afford the plane fare for a family of 5. The facts support this - 80% of New Year's resolutions are abandoned by February and only 1% persisted for 11 to 12 months. This is failure is usually because NYR or Vision Board statements are:

• Unrealistic: They set unattainable objectives which make you demoralised and lead to early abandonment.
• Hard to track: Without monitoring, it’s easy to lose motivation. Conversely, the burden of daily tracking (hello health apps!) can be overwhelming and unsustainable.
• Overcommitting: We set too many resolutions or objectives, which we can’t manage at the same time, overcommitting or diverting our time and energy leading to exhaustion and burnout

So, because I do still want to build on 2024, and make progress and accomplish new things in 2025, I’ve been thinking about what I need to do differently this year. I spent some time researching what does work in actually making meaningful progress - rather than endless hustle or the adoption of unsustainable new habits.

My answer? A framework that I’ve stitched together from the tonne of articles, podcasts, and emails that I’ve seen over the last few weeks, which helps me get not just specific, but also realistic. I’m now looking at what I’ve sketched out of the year and I have bitesize actions that I can take each week / month (much less overwhelming) and I’ve already reached out to others to support me to avoid the same pitfalls that I struggled with last year. The result? I’m more energised and optimistic about this year, and I’ve already got some small wins under my belt. I couldn’t say that this time last year when I was trying to be a 5am morning person and showing up on social media with nothing to say each day. Sound familiar, read on…

Introducing the Goals - Impact - Growth Framework

So what is my new approach? First, I’m throwing away resolutions, and focusing on goals, impact and growth.

First up, goals. Goals are more structured, intentional, and focused on action and the process, not just the outcomes (white sand beach). They encourage adaption when you face challenges (where NYR drive abandonment when you fail early on). Finally, it’s easier to tie goals back to your values which give you intrinsic motivation, compared to resolutions which often stem from societal pressures or fleeting trends, making them less meaningful. Already sounds better, doesn’t it?

Next focus is on impact - this is all about translating why your goals matter - to you, to others and beyond. I’m a firm believe that impact inspires and has a multiplier effect on motivation. When we understand what is really going to change, how we’re going to feel when we succeed, and the good we can effect more broadly, we find it easier to deal with the inevitable challenges that pop up.

And finally, Growth. Growth isn’t an absolute, it’s a variable. It talks to progress not perfection, to consistency not opportunism, to meaningful mindset changes not hard to keep habits. Growth is all about learning on the way and adapting the journey to our destination. It’s not linear, it can’t be - there are going to be peaks and troughs along the way and we need to allow for flexibility in our approach in getting there.

Putting Goals, Impact, Growth into action

So this year, I’ve gone through the following process: Reflected on my longer term Big Hairy Audacious Goal for 2035, and reflected on where I’ve got to, and then focused on what’s going to move the needle in 2025 breaking it down into a small number of intentions for the year. Next, I articulated the Impact it will have for me, my clients and my wider community, and then I’ve reflected on what I need to put in place to achieve growth. If you want to follow the same process, then here are the steps I’ve followed in more detail:

1. Start with your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

Let’s dream big for a moment. What’s your North Star? Maybe it’s launching a business that feels aligned with your values, creating a new product, or finally taking the leap to work for yourself full-time. Whatever it is, a BHAG gives you a sense of purpose and excitement, it should be inspiring to you and your team, and it should be so audacious it scares you a bit - which is where breaking it down into manageable pieces is important!

2. Breaking Down Your BHAG, creating Intentions for 2025

Here’s the key: focus on intentions for this year. What 3-5 milestones will INTENTIONALLY bring you closer to your long-term goal? For example, if your BHAG is to grow your business, your intentions might include building a simple website, gaining your first five clients, or streamlining your current processes. Choose 3 intentions based on which will have the greatest impact but require the least amount of effort.

3. Get SMART

Once you have your intentions. get SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound. Move away from fluffy, resolution sounding intentions. Think of ways to tangibly measure success, set yourself achievable timeframes that you’re going to work to.

4. Embrace Mess

Once you’ve picked 3 intentions, quickly spend no more than 10 minutes brainstorming as many actions as you can to move forward, as small as possible. These are your "messy actions" - small actions that you can get cracking on, with minimal preparation and small consequences e.g. reaching out to a potential collaborator, sharing your story on social media, or attending a networking event in the next 3 days. Imperfect action is better than no action at all.

5. Reflect on Impact

Why does this goal matter? Think beyond the task list and consider the ripple effects. Ask yourself “If I achieve this intention, how will this positively benefit me in 2025”. Then do the same for the benefit it can bring your clients, family, friends. Finally, think more broadly about the wider benefit it can bring to your community, to collaborators, your network. Try to think of 3-5 different benefits for each.

6. Growth Is a Journey, Not a Sprint

As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to have it all figured out right away. But growth is about learning, adapting, and embracing challenges. It’s about turning setbacks into opportunities and asking for support when you need it. Essentially, it’s about developing a growth mindset, and getting comfortable with three things:

• Celebrating progress over perfection.
• Reframing challenges as opportunities to learn.
• Reflecting regularly on what’s working and where adjustments are needed as you go

7. Growth is not a solo effort

You don’t have to do this alone. In fact, you’re more likely to be successful if you enlist the support of others to help you (inspired by the impact your success will have on them!). When you’re thinking about your intentions and messy actions, I also want you to reflect on what you need to put in place to support you to stay on track:

• Boundaries: What boundaries do you need to put into place to protect you and your time, to propel you forward, or let go of because they limit you.
• Support: What are your strengths and superpowers that you can use to accelerate progress? And what weaknesses or blind spots do you have where you might need to engage the support of others to overcome? What skills might you need to develop this year to help you take meaningful action?
• Accountability: How are you going to hold yourself accountable? How frequently are you going to check in with yourself to assess progress and pivot (hint, pretty frequently, and you’re going to time block that in your diary now!). Do you struggle with holding yourself accountable? Then who in your network can act as an accountability buddy, who will ask you for updates, who will help you take a step back and reflect on progress?

Slow down to speed up

It’s not rocket science, but it does take more time than picking out a resolution or sticking some pictures on a piece of cardboard. Create the space and time, pick somewhere you can get focused and inspired to reflect. Don’t worry that it’s already too late in the year to set goals - you can do this anytime of year. In fact, you should be looking at doing this a couple of times a year - looking at your BHAG, assessing your current intentions and priorities, banking what you’ve achieved, celebrating small wins and course correcting when you’ve mis-stepped. If you’re feeling overwhelmed now catching up after the Christmas break, then look for a time in February where you will have the headspace to think clearly.

Remember that sometimes you need to slow down to speed up. Figure out when you’re going to be able to take a pit stop, schedule it in, hold yourself accountable and follow through. Otherwise, 2025 risks being another year that flies by, where you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, exhausted trying to spin loads of plates to achieve outcomes that you don’t know how to achieve. Harsh but true people.

If you’re ready to go, then I’ve come up with a couple of ways to help you in the next couple of weeks.

If you want to get going straight away brainstorming the best actions to take to make progress on your Big Hairy Audacious Goals in 2025 then you can download this rough and ready workbook

DOWNLOAD THE WORKBOOK

For those who aren’t ready to do this, or want some help, I’m also going to try and get a workshop in the diary to do this process real time. Head to my events page to let me know you’re interested

JOIN THE WAITLIST

That’s it for now. I hope you’ll subscribe for more of my musings in 2025 and if you’ve found this helpful, i’d love it if you shared this with one other person who could benefit. If not, then i’ll see you on that white frond beach, this time next year!