New Year, New Me?

The beginning of a new year is a great time to review the year that has passed and make a plan for the year to come. Many people set big goals, decide to start new habits and break bad ones. However, according to one study, 64% of people have quit their resolutions by February. Some fitness based apps have even refined the information down to a specific day, the second Friday of January, referring to it as “quitters day”. 

If setting goals leads to many people quitting or giving up, should we bother doing it? And, if we do set goals how can we stay on track and achieve what we set out to achieve? 

Should we set goals? 

This is a very simple question to answer. Yes. We should absolutely set goals for ourselves. To use the words of American entrepreneur and author, Jim Rohn “You can’t change your destination overnight, but you can change your destination overnight.” If we don’t set a goal we aren't setting a destination. Travel without a destination is called wandering or drifting. If a plane traveling from London to New York drifts just 1 degree off course the whole flight, the plane would miss the target airport by nearly 60 miles! Simply put, we can’t drift our way into growth. 

How can we stay on track

1. Consistency is king - The first thing to remember when starting new habits is that growth takes time. It can be easy to feel like no progress is being made or that we are not improving, when in actual fact we are. Sometimes there is what appears to be little (or no) progress and then a sudden and significant breakthrough. When a seed begins to grow, the first thing that appears are the roots. We all know that roots are the unseen part of the plant, but make up its foundation, source of stability and strength and its way of receiving nutrients from the soil. Keep showing up and doing the work and the growth will follow.   

2. No perfect score cards - A second important point when it comes to setting goals, there are new perfect score cards. What this means is that it is important to give ourselves permission to get it wrong. The old expression “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”, applies here. When starting out with something new, we don’t get things right all the time. If you play a musical instrument, you already know this! The same principle applies with setting goals.  

This does NOT give us permission to slack off and deliberately choose not to try. We always want to bring our best and grow to who we want to become. The reality though is that life sometimes happens but that doesn't mean we have failed. 

3. Keep your eyes on the prize - Keeping our goal or vision before us is a great way to stay on track. The end result of all the work reminds us of the why behind our what. I know someone who kept a picture of six pack abs on his phone screen for a number of years whilst he was losing weight and getting healthy. (He is now one of the fittest and healthiest people I know). This may feel extreme, but when we are reminded regularly of our why, the daily tasks and steps we take become easier to follow through on. 

4. Write it down - It is so easy to dream big and set ourselves goals. However, goals without action are just good ideas. As Bill Gates said, “Vision without execution is daydreaming.” 

At the end of every year, my wife and I sit together and review the year, we look at our goals, achievements, successes and failures. We also sit and dream for the upcoming year, once we have dreamed together, we write a plan so we can make it reality. 

Writing a plan is so simple, I personally overlooked writing things down for years because I thought I would remember it all and make it happen. I didn’t and couldn't. Our brains aren't made for storing information, so we need to write it down and make a plan for ourselves. The level of detail needed for a plan will depend on individual needs and goals, but by breaking the dream into small steps that can be done daily or weekly, it creates a pathway to the goal that we can walk on.   

As we approach the new year ask yourself “What do I want to achieve in 2026?” or “Where and how can I grow this coming year?”. These are questions we ask our students at TMH and we work with them to create a plan to help achieve it. Setting goals will give direction, consistency and planning will help you to achieve it. 

If you're looking for help to achieve your musical goals in 2026, here at TMH we offer 1-to-1 music lessons in a variety of musical instruments for all skill levels. Our team of expert tutors will help you understand your instrument more and help unlock the creativity in you through our curriculum based approach to learning. If you would like more information visit https://www.themusic-hub.co.uk/book to book your free 30 min taster session.