Lynda Moore says being clear about your goals for 2026, as well as the method of achieving them, is the key to success

It’s that time of the year again.  January 1st has rolled around and as the clock struck midnight, after you finished singing Auld Lang Syne (do the kids still do this?), it’s time to set the New Year’s Resolutions.  We are going to stop all our bad habits in 2026.  Lose weight, get fit, spend less, save more, stop smoking, and on and on it goes.  We are now two weeks into the New Year, so how are all those resolutions going?

As we all know, because we are told the same thing every year.  Resolutions are not goals. They sound like a great idea, but are you really committed to them and the process you need to go through to turn them into goals?

Goal setting requires clarity.  Decide on what it is that you want and then on how you are going to achieve it.  Think of it a bit like going on holiday.  Where do you want to go?  How do you want to get there? When do you want to get there?

There are many reasons why we don’t achieve our goals.  Perhaps we didn’t have a ‘goal’ in the first place, but more of a loose idea.

Maybe we weren’t really committed to the goal.  Did we even buy into it?

Are we convinced that we could achieve our goal?  Is the voice in our subconscious telling us a different story to the goal we had in mind?

At the end of the day, maybe the goal just didn’t align with our values, ideals and vision, so it wasn’t really that important to achieve it anyway.

“I set goals, but I never reach them.  I always self-sabotage.”  This comment came from a client when we got onto the topic of goal setting. Delving a bit deeper, I asked what goal she had set.

“My goal was to reduce my spending.”

“How did it go?” I asked.

“Awful.  I ended up spending even more than before, so I gave up.”

Saying you want to reduce spending isn’t a goal – it’s an idea.  Our brain is a wonderful machine.  It works on what we focus on and in this instance the focus was on ‘spending’, so the brain said “YIPPEE, let’s go shopping!!”

BTW: the way this isn’t just a girl thing, it happens to guys as well.

My client hadn’t self-sabotaged her goal at all, she just hadn’t set her goal clearly enough.  Many of us set goals (or what we think are goals), but how often do we achieve them?

Being clear about your goals, as well as the method of achieving them, is the key to success.

We have also all heard about SMART goals, they are a great place to start to help you get going on achieving your goals particualarly if you feel what you have done in the past just hasn’t worked for you.

1. Set SMART goals which are,

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

You can ask Google, or ChatGPT for a definition of what each of these words mean.  Then get writing.

Do a brain dump of all the things you want to achieve in 2026.  Next, just pick one to work on for the first quarter of the year. If you achieve a goal each quarter, you will have four things checked off your list by this time next year.

Write your SMART goal for goal number one.

Why do I suggest you set your goals over a 90-day period?  If your goal is too far out, it’s easy to put off starting it. Plus, things can change as the year progresses.  Think of your goal as being at the top of a staircase; to get there you need to take smaller steps.

2. For your first 90-day goal, set the three most important initiatives that you can do in the next seven to 10 days. Then, for each initiative, determine what action you can take in the next 24 hours.  Getting started is the most important step, no matter how small, just do something.
3. Think positively when setting your goals.  State what you want, and what you will do, not what you don’t want.
4. Be as specific, simple and concrete as you can.  Consider the ultimate goal in precise measurements; when and how you will make things happen.  Remember motivation increases with clarity, so the clearer you are about your goal, the more motivated you will become to achieve it.
5. Work on what you can control.  For example, we can’t control the economic situation in Europe, but we can control how much money we save and how much we spend.  Put your focus where you can be effective.
6. Make your success finite and know when you have achieved it. Your SMART goals will help you do this. What is the last thing that will happen so that you know you have achieved the goal?  If it’s financial, it might be looking at your online banking and seeing your savings balance.  Or getting on the scales and seeing the weight being the same number you wrote in your goal.
7. Small changes lead to big changes.  As you achieve each step it creates a sense of achievement and effectiveness.  Focus on and complete one thing at a time.
8. Be consistent in the pursuit of your goals.  Studies have shown that it takes 28 to 30 days for our brain to form new neural connections.  In other words: break an old habit and start a new one.
9. Do more of what is working and less of what isn’t.  Sometimes the difference between progress and stagnation is stopping activity that doesn’t move you towards your goal.
10. Stick to the plan!  It’s never too late to start.  Don’t let limiting thoughts or conversations hold you back.

I really enjoy the process of setting my business goals for the year.  I have been at it for quite a long time now, and it took me awhile to get everything aligned.  By that I mean, aligning the goals with my values, my subconscious and my life.  So don’t get discouraged if this time next year, when you reflect back on the year you have had, if you haven’t achieved your goals.  Even getting 50% of the way towards them, is probably better than not trying at all.

Keep at it, have another go, refine your approach, ask yourself more questions about what you really want and why.  Are they really your goals, or what you think they should be? 

Most of all, have fun with the process, if it’s a chore, they aren’t the right goals for you.

I would love to hear your goal setting process in the comments.

*Lynda Moore is a Money Mentalist coach and New Zealand’s only certified New Money Story® mentor. Lynda helps you understand why you do the things you do with your money, when we all know we should spend less than we earn. You can contact her here.