Now that I’ve sufficiently checked in and thoroughly reflected upon 2025, it’s time to turn my focus to 2026. I know goal-setting isn’t for everyone, and there have certainly been years that, for a variety of reasons, it just hasn’t felt right to set goals.

I always think about a huge vision-board crafting night I went to in 2020, only to have a global pandemic hit and laughingly mock every single plan we all had for that year. Then, in 2021, I optimistically set goals, only to have my dad die unexpectedly a few weeks into the year, thrusting me into a deep chasm of grief. Who cares about goals when you can’t breathe? It can feel risky and like you’re almost tempting fate to put your enthusiastic idealism out there. It’s true. You can’t predict the future and life (or death) happens, and you have to be flexible with how tightly or loosely you hold to those intentions.

However, I have found I like the way setting goals sets me up for life satisfaction and small improvements throughout the year. I like how even if I fall short or completely fail on what I set out to do, I am almost always a little bit closer to living my values, raising the bar in my own circumstances, being curious, conscientious, and creative. I’m learning new things and exposing myself to just a tiny bit of gentle pressure to create a life I love.

It’s funny. One of my close friends recently left me a voice note where she was describing the various planners and organizational tools she has in place and said, “We need to have an acutal phone call in which we can talk about our goals for 2026 because I’d love to talk about that with someone who cares because nobody I know really wants to talk about goals.” I almost died laughing when she said this so matter-of-factly, because it’s so true. Goal-setting can be polarizing. Very few people, it seems, are interested in goal-setting and having discussions about the process.

So, in that spirit, I want to spend a few minutes defending why I think it is meaningful to do so. Here are five things worthy of your consideration when it comes to planning your year with set intentions and goals.

New Year’s Resolutions Are NOT the Same Thing As Goals

Let’s get one thing straight: planning your year with measurable markers and with an eye toward habit improvement is not the same as making (and failing) at New Year’s Resolutions. For starters, I always equate New Year’s Resolutions with a high rate of failure and a low rate of follow-through. Mainly, I see these as “New Year, New Me” energy. Most of the time, resolutions are too idealistic, too drastic, and likely unrealistic for most people to keep. Goals and intentions, on the other hand, are a bit more grounded in making lasting change and should reflect a deeper connection to your personal values.

Control the Controlables & Focus on Inputs

A few years ago, I heard Jon Acuff interview leadership expert Craig Groeschel about habits and systems, and a major lightbulb went off for me. They talked about how so often, people make goals like, “Lose 20 pounds.” A huge reason that rarely works is that a statement like that is an output. Rather, we should be thinking of our goals in terms of what we have the power to control. You cannot control a scale or the output of the number there. But you can create inputs that are within your control, like, “I’ll complete four, 45-minute cardio sessions per week,” or “I’ll fill half my plate with raw vegetables at lunch every day.” This was pretty obvious, but life-changing information for me.

Charlie Mike: Continue Mission

There is a phrase, Charlie Mike, which stands for Continue Mission in military-speak. This is typically used when there has been some type of hurdle, hardship, or disruption as a rally to keep going, to keep pressing on. I’ve been using the phrase in my own goal-setting and reflection. I like to consider what things in my life I am already doing pretty well. Where am I already succeeding? What systems do I have in place that are working really well? What are the Charlie Mike areas of my life that actually don’t need a lot of tweaking or improvement?

Take some time to write these down, put them in a note in your phone, or just think on them for a bit. Approaching a new year or a fresh start is not the time to assume your entire life needs an overhaul. No need to set a goal for something that’s already a well-oiled machine in your life.

Tracking & Accountability

The mantra of “You can’t manage what you don’t measure” is actually true. With that in mind, you need to determine your goals, write them down somewhere visible, and then create plans to honestly and realistically implement them. Additionally, consider whether you need the added measures of tracking and accountability. (The answer to this for most of us is likely, yes. Yes, you do.)

I like to customize my goals to reflect both the frequency and a timeline for implementation or completion, how I plan to track the goal (in an app, on paper, digitally), and just how detailed and specific they need to be to achieve them. You can have a small number of goals, a word or theme for the year to guide you, or go crazy and have a long list. (If you like a long list, my girl Gretchen has got you.)

Your One Wild and Precious Life

I understand that there’s a fine line between being in a constant state of self-improvement and leaning into a life of ease and contentment. That said, there’s also a fine line between empowerment and complacency. I understand that not everyone has the bandwidth, desire, or inclination to be purpose and goal-oriented. However, for those of us who are, embrace your willingness to live a life of aspiration, intention, and principle.

We get one life. One chance. One set of numbered days. When I find myself feeling stuck or in a place of negativity about my life, particularly around areas that are well within my locus of control, I feel that it becomes a matter of stewardship to show up and make the most of the blessings, opportunities, gifts, and ambitions I’ve been given to care for in my sphere of influence.

As 2025 comes to a close, I hope you have had a chance to take stock, reflect, and truly consider the life you have been given. I hope you have had insight, intuition, or a deepening awareness of the places that don’t feel just right. I hope you have the capacity in your current season to examine what might be going well and what might need some tweaking, change, or attention. I hope you have the capability, courage, endurance, and audacity to set some hopes, dreams, intentions, and goals for your next 365 days, no matter what lies around the corner.

I started this post by mentioning that my dad, Dewey, died very unexpectedly in 2021. He was one of the unfortunate victims of a fatal case of COVID-19. On December 30, 2020, he was playing an intense game of pickup basketball on the outdoor courts of his church with all of his grandkids. Thirty-five days later, he would be placed on a ventilator, never to come off, and two weeks after that, on my brother’s birthday, February 16, my dad took his final earthly breath and entered into his heavenly eternal reward.

I don’t share this to be a downer. I share it as a reminder for myself, and for you, that we get one life. We don’t know if we will have a long life, a short life, or something in between. We all thought certainly my dad had years, or decades more to live. We thought he would have many opportunities to enjoy the rewards of his hard work, to travel with my mom, and to keep showing up for his kids and grandkids in the loving, supportive, and encouraging ways he always did.

The thing about my dad’s life (and his death) is that my dad died with no real unfinished business or dreams he didn’t get to deliver on. He lived with purpose and intention. He would tell you that he was already living in such a way that he had no regrets, no unfulfilled desires, no “I’ll get to it one day” plans. I like to think I’m a lot like him in that way.

Blame it on the trauma of losing a parent young, or being in my last year in my 40s, or seeing a big family transition on the horizon, but I feel a mix of responsibility and joy in shaping the direction of my life.

When I contemplate setting goals, establishing life-giving habits, and showing up in the way that best represents my values, I remind myself to live in such a way, like my dad, that I’m leaving nothing unsaid, undone, or incomplete. I hope you will consider living your life in such a way, too. I often remind myself, “Dad didn’t get to…but you can…” or “Life is long, and I am young.” Even when I don’t know the future or can’t predict or control every outcome in my life, I do have agency for today. And I don’t know about you, but I want to make the absolute most of all of my todays.