This Year Will Be Different: 5 Questions That Guarantee Your Goals Stick

There’s something magical about New Year’s resolutions. Every year, I look forward to making them. I love the rush of committing to a new project or life goal. There’s an excitement that comes with tracking my progress, seeing small wins, and pushing myself to grow.

For a while, anyway.

If I’m being honest, I’ve made far too many resolutions that felt full of promise on January 1st, only to find myself in April struggling to even remember what they were. And if you’re like most people, you’ve probably experienced something similar.

But here’s the thing I don’t want to miss this time around: Those resolutions, even the forgotten ones, came from somewhere. They weren’t random. They came from a small, steady voice inside saying, “You can do better.”

And most of us know that voice is right. We can do better. So, why don’t we? And more importantly, how do we make this year different?

Here are the five questions I’ve found essential for setting resolutions that actually stick.

1. Does It Really Matter?

Not all goals are created equal. Some stick because they matter deeply. Others fade because, truthfully, they just aren’t that important.

If you’re going to set a resolution, it needs to be rooted in something that truly matters. Not "nice to have" goals, but "must have" ones. The kind that will impact your life in a meaningful way.

Here’s what I mean: Imagine my resolution is to grow my business by 25% this year. Great. Sounds ambitious, but why does it matter? What does that 25% growth actually mean for my life? Is it extra revenue that helps pay for my child’s education? Does it mean we can take that long-awaited family trip or finally buy a reliable car?

Now, flip it. What happens if I don't hit that goal? Can I make the pain of missing it feel as real as the reward of achieving it? If I can visualize the costs and benefits clearly, I’ve tapped into something powerful.

When you understand the "why" behind your goal, it becomes more than a wish — it becomes a mission. That kind of clarity makes quitting feel a whole lot harder.

2. Can I Actually Do This?

I’m in decent physical shape. Could I get in better shape? Absolutely. But if I set a goal to look like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson by the end of 2024, I’d be setting myself up for failure. I don’t have the time, the lifestyle, or frankly, the genetics to pull it off.

But could I make a realistic goal to improve my strength, lose weight, or build healthier daily habits? Yes. I can make a plan to exercise daily or build better nutritional habits. Those are goals I can control.

If you want your resolutions to last, you have to ask yourself: Is this achievable? There’s nothing wrong with setting big goals, but they have to be possible. Otherwise, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.

3. How Will I Know If I’m Succeeding?

This is where most of us go wrong. We make vague, feel-good resolutions like, “I want to be healthier” or “I want to build a better online presence.” Those goals sound nice, but they’re impossible to track.

If your goal is to “build a greater following online,” what does success look like? Is one new follower enough? Ten? A thousand? Without clear milestones, you’ll never know if you’re winning or losing — and that’s a surefire way to kill your motivation.

The antidote is simple: Measure everything. Break your goal into smaller, trackable milestones. Instead of "get healthy," try "complete 30 workouts this quarter." Instead of "grow my audience," aim for "gain 100 new followers by the end of the month." When your progress is visible, you’ll build momentum — and momentum is addictive.

4. Who Will Have My Back?

I love this one. Humans are social creatures. Our survival, growth, and dominance as a species didn’t happen because of fur or fangs. We survived because we leaned on each other.

So, why do so many of us try to tackle our goals alone?

This year, don’t go it alone. Find a community or accountability partner. If you want to grow your business, surround yourself with other entrepreneurs who are doing the same. If you’re trying to live by a budget, find a friend or spouse who can keep you on track. If you want to write comedy, join a writer’s group.

There’s a reason “iron sharpens iron” is a cliché — it works. The more support you have, the stronger your resolve becomes. It’s a cheat code built into human nature, and you’d be foolish not to use it.

5. Is It Worth Starting Over When I Get Off Track?

Spoiler alert: You’re going to fall off track. It’s not a matter of if — it’s a matter of when. The real question is: Will you be ready for it?

Maybe you catch a cold and can’t work out for a week. Or daylight savings time kicks in, and suddenly your 6 a.m. alarm feels like 5 a.m. Maybe you get swept up in the thrill of football season and eat your weight in pizza. It happens. It’s normal.

The real test isn’t in how long you can keep your streak going. It’s in how fast you can recover when it’s broken. Will you treat it as a sign of failure, or will you get back up? This is where most people fail. They miss a day, feel discouraged, and give up altogether.

Here’s how to prepare for it: Decide right now that your goal is worth starting over. Imagine you’ve been working out for six months straight, and then you miss a week. Is that one missed week enough to make you quit entirely? It shouldn’t be. The sooner you accept that missteps are part of the process, the more resilient you’ll be.

When you fall, you get up. No shame. No guilt. No quitting.

This Year Can Be Different

This year could be your best year yet. It could be the year you finally break through and do the thing.

But it won’t happen because you wrote down a list of goals on January 1st and hoped for the best. It’ll happen because you made better decisions this time around. You focused on what matters. You set achievable goals. You tracked your progress. You surrounded yourself with people who had your back. And when you hit a wall, you got up and kept moving.

So don’t just “hope” this year will be different. Make it different. The energy and momentum of a new year is a gift — don’t waste it. Grab it, use it, and commit to being better.

This could be the year. But it’s up to you to make it happen.