You Don't Need a New Goal in the New Year - You Need an Anchor
The first week of the year always looks calm on paper.
When I opened Outlook this morning, I actually paused.
After being out for nearly two weeks, I had only a handful of messages to catch up on.
A quiet inbox.
A lighter meeting schedule.
Moments like that can trick us into thinking, Maybe this is the year things finally feel more intentional.
And then reality shows up.
Priorities start shifting.
Project updates land faster than you can absorb them.
Requests multiply.
And suddenly that carefully chosen goal already feels… fragile.
That’s usually the moment people assume the problem is discipline.
Or focus.
Or motivation.
It’s not.
Most capable professionals don’t struggle because they lack goals.
They struggle because nothing is holding steady once the current picks up.
Goals are directional.
Anchors are stabilizing.
A goal tells you where you hope to go.
An anchor determines how you stay grounded when everything moves around you.
And this year?
Everything is moving faster.
The people who stay calm and effective aren’t chasing better goals.
They’re anchored.
Use this simple framework anytime things speed up and you need an anchor
Instead of asking “What’s my goal?” try starting here:
1. What do I protect?
What gets non-negotiable time or energy this quarter, even when pressure rises?
2. What do I say no to faster?
What sounds important but quietly pulls you off course every time?
3. What do I come back to when things get noisy?
When everything feels urgent, what’s the one filter you use to decide what actually matters?
This isn’t about lowering your ambition.
It’s about creating steadiness so your ambition doesn’t get wiped out by the first wave of chaos.
People who look “clear” right now aren’t more certain than you.
They’ve just built anchors they can return to again and again and without drama.
That’s the difference between surviving another year…
and actually shaping one.
What’s coming
Later this month, I’m opening The Roadmap Reset a short, practical self-paced course designed to help you build this kind of anchor on purpose.
Not a rigid plan. Not a hype-fueled goal sprint.
A roadmap that holds when things change (because they will).
More on that soon.
For now, if the year already feels louder than expected, remember:
You don’t need a new goal.
You need something strong enough to hold you steady.
What I’m Loving: 🩵
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Tool Tip: 🛠️ Recently I'm really loving the AI presentation app Gamma . The user experience is absolutely brilliant. I'm able to take my thoughts to an outline and turn it into PPT slides or a presentation in just minutes without spending hours on design.
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Small pleasure: 🖊️ Erasable colored pens - I love the physical act of writing so the ability to color code and erase when I change my mind has become one of those small things I can't do without.
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Listen/Read: 🎧 The podcast "Hidden Brain" is a gem that covers all kinds of topics related to human behavior and I really enjoyed this week's episode on "Cultivating Courage".
Before I go...
Remember the people who navigate change well aren’t calmer because they know more.
They’re calmer because they know what to come back to.
That’s not luck.
It’s something you can design on purpose.
Best wishes for health, prosperity and calm happiness in 2026!
Warmly,
Heather
