It’s unsurprising that while about 50 percent of Americans say they usually make New Year’s resolutions, less than 10 percent actually keep them. In fact, I’m sure there have been plenty of years when I fumbled the proverbial New Year’s ball.
However, I’ve promised myself that 2026 is going to be different. I’m going to set five main goals in areas that are important, attainable and sustainable. So I’d guess you’d say that one of my goals is to be among the roughly 8 percent of people who stay the course throughout the year.
If 2025 taught me anything, it’s that life is short. With fingers crossed and a determined mentality, here are my five New Year’s resolutions:
Unplug occasionally…and enjoy it. This is just as much about taking a day off to do something fun, as it is about putting down the phone at night or on the weekend. There’s nothing shameful about it. In fact, it can be refreshing and rejuvenating. Personally, I want to enjoy more time with my family (away from my phone). I’d also like to learn to make homemade pasta, read more books and spend more time with my mom, who is turning 80 this month. I’m already planning my first day off this year…and I plan to spend it guilt-free.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. It’s much easier just to do what you know. Sure, you can stay in your comfort zone and still be successful. But does that keep your fire lit? While I’m not one for adventure in my personal life, I think that professionally expanding my horizons and trying new things can yield a tremendous benefit – whether that’s modifying an existing process to be more efficient, learning more about AI and the impact it’s having on our clients’ industries, or creating an entirely new revenue stream. This will involve more reading, research and discussions, for sure, but I’m up for the challenge.
Do more networking. I love meeting new people so you’d think this would be an easy one. But to me networking isn’t only about meeting new people, it’s about keeping in touch with people in your existing network as well. I haven’t done as good of a job with this as I should. So clients, vendors and those in my contact list be forewarned – I’ll be pinging you in 2026 and there may well be a lunch in our future!
Keep calm…and carry on. Business is hard, and in this industry there are so many ups and downs. There are always challenges, even sometimes with the simplest projects, and that can be very frustrating. (I know you know the feeling!) Instead of keeping track of the frustrations, I’m going to focus more on the wins and keeping it positive. And hopefully that means I’ll not only be less stressed but more successful as well.
Fearlessly dream bigger. With over 30 years in agency life, that’s a lot of new business pitches, clients won and served, press releases written, features secured and plans developed and implemented. I’d say that my confidence has definitely increased over time, thanks to all of that great experience. And yet still sometimes I underestimate myself – not my team, myself. I tend to err on the side of caution and being conservative – just in case. I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver. This year I’m going to take a “why not” rather than a “what if” approach. I’m going to think broader, aim higher and feel more confident doing so. There’s nothing to lose, right?
