You set yourself for failure

Jacob Peter Gowy, The Fall of Icarus, c. 1636–1638, oil on canvas, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. (Credit: © Museo Nacional del Prado)

Research says that 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Surprised? I assume not really.

The main reason is that people set themselves up for failure from the very beginning. They say, “I want to look like a Gymshark athlete” or “I want to make six figures.” A year passes, and all you are left with is disappointment.

The problem lies with setting the goals themselves. Predominantly, they are objective or end-goal oriented, instead of being action-oriented.

You make it difficult for yourself, really. The final outcome does not entirely depend on you. No one guarantees that you can actually look like a Gymshark athlete. Sure, you can aim for this, but so many variables come into play.

Instead, make it really simple. Focus on actionable items, not just goals. Execute them. Daily. Bi-weekly. With consistency. These actions are doable. You just need to execute simple steps. Put on your gym clothes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—no matter what—and do your exercises one by one.

In the AI era, you really have no excuses. An AI assistant can prepare a detailed workout plan or any other learning plan to break down your dream goal into smaller actionable items. Most importantly, it makes them realistic to perform. Meal plans aligned with your nutritional needs to build muscle mass? Not a problem anymore. Any resource required to execute the actionable item can be provided within seconds.

The only missing piece of the puzzle in this equation is your human will.

The bad news is, you were setting yourself up for failure before you started reading this article.

But now? Now you have no excuses.