5 Simple Steps to Achieving Your 2026 New Year’s Goals
Have you found yourself focusing more on your problems than the God over your trial? You’re not alone! We all have moments where we need reminders that God is greater than our struggle. That’s why I wrote a free devotional, How to Find the Purpose in Your Pain, to help you to find the purpose in making it out of your current trauma! The God you serve is greater than what you’re going through. I believe that reading my testimony of overcoing multiple traumas and failures will be a reminder of His love for you and will encourage you that you can get through it, too! Join other women as we navigate 7 days of quiet time with God with this free devotional:
Happy 2026 New Year! (Well, I guess it’s not that new anymore…)
Anyway, we have officially reached the month of February in this New Year!
Around this time of the New Year, it’s usually more difficult to keep your New Year’s goals. It’s harder to stay consistent with workouts (guilty!), putting down the dessert seems more challenging, and going back to that boo you gave up last year may be more tempting than it was in January!
The trouble with New Year’s goals is that too many of us become too discouraged, distracted, or frustrated to stick with our goals. Before we know it, January has turned into March, and we are reflecting on why we can’t seem to get anything done!
This year, let’s work together not to permit January’s excitement to become December’s disappointment.
Here are 5 simple steps toward making your goals realistic and achievable:
Make Christ the Foundation of Your Goals
Recently, the Lord began to deal with my heart about how simple it is to obey Him. Truthfully, it’s usually us that make His instructions complicated by adding fear, over-thinking, and busyness to the equation! I realized I began to assume tasks that were superseding His original instructions for me. Before you map out your future goals, ask yourself, “What is the last thing God told me that I still haven’t obeyed?” It’s challenging to see fruit from future goals until you are obedient with the last thing He told you to do.
This is why Psalm 127 tells us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
If you’re feeling like nothing you try to achieve is working out, consult with the Lord about whether the delay is because you need to go back to obeying His last instruction.
Focus on Systems, not Tasks
Think about a small daily goal that you routinely achieve without failure. Your work schedule, your hygiene schedule, and even your eating habits have revolved around a routine that has made them a part of your daily systems.
I was listening to one of my favorite YouTube channels, Therapy in a Nutshell, and she reminded me of the importance of using systems to develop habits that eventually become routine habits. Listen to her video here: How to Actually Change Your Life-You Need a System, Not a Goal.
Everything in your life that is successful, no matter how great or small, has a system. If you successfully wake up to a clean kitchen every morning, you likely have a system where you’ve committed to doing your dishes before bedtime.
If you’re on time to every appointment, you likely have a system in place where you’ve learned to prepare for your day the night before.
Ask yourself, “What system can I create to make my goals achievable?” Then, as the book Atomic Habits suggests, find ways to “habit stack” your goal to other systems that are already successful or enjoyable. The concept of habit stacking means that you focus on doing something you don’t want to do by combining it with something you do enjoy doing.
For example, my system for my 2026 health goals is to work out first thing in the morning after prayer, so that I don’t have the opportunity to put it off. I also like to “habit stack” my workouts with an audiobook that I enjoy because I like to read. Others may “habit stack” by watching a Netflix show they like while they are on the treadmill.
Also, as Therapy in a Nutshell mentions in her video, try not to focus on more than 2-3 priorities at one time. When you are focused on too many goals, you become overwhelmed and burnout starts to creep in!
3. Don’t Just Add a Goal but Also Eliminate What’s Hindering You From Achieving That Goal
Before you begin to map out your priorities, identify what’s distracting you. I realized that my life is simpler and more enjoyable when I focus on three main areas—exercise, 8-9 hours of sleep, and self-control vs. trying to control others. If I’m too tired or not in good health, I’m not able to focus.
If I’m overly occupied with what or who is outside of my control, I feel too drained to tackle what is within my control. What are 3 simple habits that help you achieve your goals? What are 3 simple habits that distract you from those goals?
Think about the answers to these questions and jot the answers down in your journal or phone. Then, comment below letting me know your thoughts.
4. Productive Rest 1 day a Week is a Priority
I have learned that God hasn’t designed my body to be perfect. This means that I’ve grown to accept the limitations of my body’s imperfections. Adequate rest and taking a break 1 day a week is no longer an option for me. More importantly, my breaks must be productive.
When I rest, I like to put my phone to the side or charge it in another room. Scrolling on social media all day or watching Netflix isn’t restful for me. At the end of the day, I often feel bored or drained by too much screen time. To make my rest productive, I’ve learned I need fresh air, conversations with friends, or mental stimulation.
I like to ride my bicycle, schedule a phone date to catch up with a friend, or read a book. How do you prioritize your rest and make it productive? Comment below and let me know.
5. Expect Obstacles to Come and Plan Accordingly
One reason our New Year’s Goals often go unmet isn’t just that we don’t make room for rest to avoid burnout. It’s also because we have a fairytale version of the goal in our mind.
We haven’t accepted that obstacles, roadblocks, and temptations are waiting behind every goal we set. Yet, the Bible tells us in James 1:2-4 that trials aren’t optional parts of life. They are inevitable for everyone. 1 Peter 4:12 also tells us that we shouldn’t be surprised by trials. Our goals are more achievable when we not only expect our goals to have obstacles, but we also plan to overcome them.
Staying consistent with my prayer life and Bible reading helps me to be prepared for attacks from the enemy. Adhering to the red flags that God shows me in certain situations keeps me from unnecessary heartache and disappointment.
This year, I’m expecting that not every relationship will stay with me, but I’m also expecting that some will blossom. I’m expecting that not everyone will be my cup of tea and I’ve accepted that annoying people are a part of life. When these issues arise, I have self-care days and times of reflection in prayer that allow me to pour out my emotions so that I have God’s strength to keep going. What disappointments have you grown to accept as a part of life? How do you strategize to push past them so they don’t distract you from your goals? Comment below to let me know.
Hey sis,
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Love,
