4 Guilt-Free Things To Do If You’ve Intentionally Skipped Last Year’s Goals
You can only give your 100% to someone after you’ve given 100% to yourself.

7 years ago, a bunch of people made some new year resolutions to:
- Angela Duckworth: focus on 3 positive things daily right after waking up
- Mark Zuckerberg: learn Chinese, run a mile daily, and read a new book each week
- Alexa von Tobel: become fearless and save more money.
Duckworth practiced the “three blessings exercise” daily for years. She believed that her actions should align with what she taught in her book “Grit.”
If you look closely, our new year’s resolution directly impacts our consciousness. The more goals we complete each year, the more we believe in ourselves.
Other than that, we take ourselves as a joke.
But according to uabmedicine.org,
“Less than 8% of people stick to their resolutions each year, according to some estimates. Yet millions of Americans continue to set goals with hopes of a better year ahead.”
This means 92% of the population either deceives themselves or piles up their new year goals until they’re too weak to complete them.
New Year’s goals aren’t there to make you sad. New year goals want the best for you.
Stop treating goals like they are your enemies.
If you intentionally skip your new year goals, here are four things you can do to get back on track without feeling guilty.
Let’s get started.
1. Reverse engineer
Failing goals give you a great time to think it over.
Why?
Every year, you grow. A year ago, if you were a bachelorette, you are now responsible for a family.
Goals get obsolete. The more time you spend completing them, the less important they become.
The best way to stick to your leftover goals is to think them through. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is this a rational goal?
- Do I still need it, or is my ego getting in between?
- What would I achieve by completing this goal?
- What if I had to start over and choose a new plan? Would I still select this one?
Ask yourself these questions. If you answer “yes,” you need the proper steps to complete the goal in time.
If you spend too much time educating your resolutions, you will not achieve them.
To get it done sooner, create strategies. If you want to launch a website or a product line, write down actionable steps. Now tick off every step once you start doing it.
Remember that your main reason for completing a goal must be benefiting at the current time. Don’t try eating leftover bread only so you can empty the plate.
2. Educate yourself
My 8th-year-old resolution looked something like this:
- Drink cranberry juice
- Find colorful balloons and hide them for my birthday
- Say sorry to Nicky
- Force mom to go to the blue mountains
- Stop adding too much maple to pancakes
The only [sane goal] is the last one.
I had too much maple craze, which undoubtedly ruined my tooth cavities.
The problem is, when we’re young, we don’t know what sane goals look like. Now, since you know what’s on the other side of the door, you must make correct and logical decisions.
Most people make mistakes when they’re young.
Now you’re mature, full-bred, and educated. Blunders coming from you can ruin your career and emotional path.
For that, allow yourself to learn.
Follow these types:
- Step 1: Open your Google and type: “new year resolution ideas.”
- Step 2: You might find some new goals that bounced from your mind.
- Step 3: Analyze if you want to substitute some previous plans for new ones.
- Step 4: When you educate yourself, you see what’s on the other side of the door.
Staying in the dedicated lane protects you from straying away.
3. Take the budget run
Find out the actual cost of your goals.
Goals soak you up either financially, mentally, or physically. Create a spreadsheet or grab a notebook to write down the efforts needed to complete the plan.
Next, make sections for 50/30/20, which generally means:
Allocate from your total budget:
- 50%: needs
- 30%: wants
- 20% debt
If you have fitness goals, try squeezing them into your needs/wants. Of course, the gyms aren’t free, so you must put the required time and money where it belongs.
Here’s the thing:
Some goals require 0% of the money, such as researching, finding jobs, and learning new things.
Aim for goals that consume your time and put less strain on your finances. Remember that not all goals empty your pockets.
Some take their time and attention. Most goals, like reading, provide return value in the form of knowledge.
4. Invest in first things first
I am sorry but:
- If your goal is to become a billionaire, you must first become a millionaire.
Meaning you have to complete some steps before climbing up the levels.
Some people (like me) are guilty of putting over high-achieving goals they can’t complete.
For example, writing “launch a clothing line” requires clothes, ideas, fashion models, brand suppliers, and so much more that it can hardly be completed in a year.
- Going fast is no good.
The best thing to do here is to do the right thing first.
Don’t worry — some goals may take 4–5 years. But don’t take it quickly, as it can ruin your interest.
Instead, take these things slowly.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Take time to access which are you’re focusing on this year. You can also create action steps for your other goals, such as applying for naval exams, learning — a new language, learning a new skill, etc.
It is worth spending your time in halves rather than wasting all of it on something that can sink the whole ship.
Take it slow and steady.
Final thoughts:
Before you go ahead and take a deep-nose dive into resolution-making, make sure you’re honest with yourself.
You’re the only one for your:
- Goals
- Dreams
No one can complete it for you.
Before you advertise yourself as “emotionally available,” make sure you’re an “all one package” someone is receiving.
You can only give your 100% to someone after you’ve given 100% to yourself.
Take this time and focus on yourself. It’s not late now.
Reference: https://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-new-years-resolution-2016-12
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