Edition #24 – Anti-Goals for 2026?
Seven days into the new year, the noise has usually arrived, if indeed it left you. The goals are set. The routines are meant to be sticking. And there is often a quiet sense that you should already feel more focused, more motivated, more sorted? And yet for most of us, that sense of euphoria may not arrive when we think it should.
Why? Because clarity does not always come from starting fresh, if indeed that’s what a new year means to you. Sometimes it comes from noticing what followed you into January without being invited.
We are going to dive straight into the 3 minute skills sprint in this edition of The Skills Revolution.
⏱️ Set a timer for 3 minutes. Approach this with curiosity, not judgement.
Minute 1: Notice what lingered
Think back over the last year and ask yourself: What did I keep carrying that never really helped?
The habits that became normal. The patterns that quietly drained energy or focus. The expectations that stayed put, even when they stopped making sense. Write one down. No fixing. Just noticing.
Minute 2: Gently leave things behind
Some common things many of us drag into January without realising:
- Taking on urgency that was never yours
- Filling every gap in the diary to feel productive
- Saying yes before you have properly thought
- Explaining yourself when clarity was already there
- Pushing through instead of pausing to think
- Measuring progress by effort rather than impact
Feel free to add anything else that comes up for you. These are not mistakes. They are simply things that we can sometimes do when on auto-pilot. Raising our awareness to what we do when we are not being intentional, enables us to tweak our actions in an effort to gain a better outcome.
Minute 3: Make space for what matters
Choose one thing you are leaving behind and ask: What does this make room for?
Clearer thinking. Better decisions. More energy where it actually counts. You are not trying to change everything. You are choosing what earns its place.
This is what the Skills Revolution looks like in real life. Less carrying. More intention. Better judgement.
January does not need a new version of you. It needs a clearer one.
What are you choosing not to take with you this time?