Before You Set Another Goal, Look Back
Every January we rush to write a new list for the year ahead. The most useful thing you can do first is spend ten honest minutes with the year you just lived.
Before setting goals for a new year, look back at the one that just ended: what worked, what did not, where your time really went and what kept getting in your way. Then decide on one area that deserves more of you, and take one small action within 24 hours. Chris Sund calls it Reflect, Decide, Act, and he built a free 10-minute version, The 2027 Reset, so anyone can do it.
When my oldest son, Caleb, was younger, there were times I honestly did not feel like going to another school play or what felt like the fiftieth game of the summer. I was tired, work was busy, and there was always something else that seemed to need me. I went anyway most of the time, and I am grateful I did, because then one day I found myself sitting at his last baseball game. Then his last basketball game. Then his final cross-country meet. Before I really had time to take it in, I was watching him walk across a graduation stage and helping him get ready to leave for college.
You do not always realize it is the last one while you are in it. That is the part that stays with me. Time does not announce itself as important. It feels ordinary while you are living it, and only later do you look back and see which moments mattered most. It is a big reason I have come to take the end of the year seriously, not as a time to grade myself, but as a chance to notice what mattered before it slips past.
The rearview mirror has a job, but it is a small one
Think about the way a car is built. The windshield in front of you is huge, and the rearview mirror is small, and that is on purpose. You need to glance back to drive safely, to see what is behind you and learn from it, but if you stare into the mirror for too long you will drive straight into something. The rearview mirror matters, but it was never meant to be where you keep your eyes.
I think most of us get this wrong in one of two directions. Some people never look back at all. They roll from one year into the next, write a fresh set of resolutions, and wonder why February looks exactly like last February. Other people look back so hard that reflection turns into reliving. They replay the same mistake over and over, asking why it happened to them instead of asking what it taught them. Reflection asks, “What can I learn from this?” Reliving asks, “Why did this happen to me?” One moves you forward, and the other keeps you parked.
The goal is the healthy middle. Look back long enough to learn something, write it down so you do not have to keep carrying it, and then turn your eyes back to the road.
Why a new list is not enough
In a survey for my book, more than 200 working adults answered questions about their potential, and 92% said they were capable of more than they were currently doing. Almost nobody needed to be convinced that there was more in them. What held them back was much more ordinary than that: self-doubt and fear of failure, a schedule that never seemed to have room, the comfort of a routine that was fine enough, and not being clear on what to go after first.
A list of resolutions does not fix any of those things. If anything, it adds to the pile. That is why I think the most useful goal-setting starts by looking backward, because last year already holds the evidence. It shows you what you actually made time for, what you kept putting off, and which of those four barriers kept showing up. Once you can see that clearly, deciding what to do next gets a lot simpler.
Reflect. Decide. Act.
Here is the simple process I use, and it fits in about ten minutes with a notebook or your phone. You do not need to write well. A few honest words for each question is plenty.
Reflect: what did this year teach you?
What worked, and what are you proud of? What did not work? Where did your actions match what you said mattered, and where did they not? What received most of your time and attention, and did it deserve it? Then name the barrier that got in your way most often. Most people know which one it is the moment they read the list.
Decide: what deserves more of you?
Choose one area of your life, not five. Health, a relationship, your career, your finances, your family, your time. Ask what deserves more of you this year and what deserves less, and be honest about what you will need to stop, reduce or say no to in order to make room. Every goal you add competes for the same hours, so choosing one is what makes the rest possible.
Act: what will you do about it?
Write one specific action you can take, one thing you can repeat each week, and when you will do it. Then pick something you can do in the next 24 hours, even something small, like making a call, booking the appointment or blocking time on your calendar. You do not need a perfect plan. You need movement.
Clarity without action changes nothing. I have watched so many good people, myself included, wait until a plan felt complete before taking the first step, and the waiting is usually what costs us the most. The first step does not have to be impressive. It just has to happen, because once it does, you have a little evidence that you can follow through, and that evidence is what quiets the doubt.
Take the 2027 Reset
I turned this process into a guided exercise you can do on your phone. It walks you through each question, saves your answers as you go, and ends with a one-page plan you can print or save.
No account, no email. Your answers stay on your device.
The last question is the one that matters most
There is one more question I ask at the end, and it is the one I find people think about long after they close the notebook. Who gets a better version of you if you follow through?
When I think about that question, I think about those games in the stands with Caleb. The reason any of this matters is rarely about us alone. When you get healthier, your kids get more years with you. When you take ownership at work, your team gets a better leader. When you protect your time, the people you love get the version of you that is present instead of the one that is tired and distracted. Goals that are only about ourselves are easy to drop on a hard Tuesday in February. Goals tied to the people we care about tend to last.
So before you write another list this year, look back for a few minutes. Learn what the year was trying to teach you, choose the one thing that deserves more of you, and take one step before this time tomorrow. Then turn your eyes back to the windshield, because the road in front of you is much bigger than the one behind you.
If you want to go deeper, these ideas run all through my book, You Are Capable of More. You may also find You Do Not Need More Time. You Need To Stop Assuming You Have It. and How to Bet on Yourself helpful as you plan the year ahead.
Look back before you look forward. Reflect on what the year taught you, decide on the one area that deserves more of you, and act within 24 hours. Then remember who gets a better version of you when you follow through.
Frequently asked questions
Why should I reflect before setting new goals?
What is the Reflect, Decide, Act method?
What is the difference between reflecting and reliving?
How many goals should I set for the new year?
Is there a free tool to do this?
You Are Capable of More
A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. The bestselling book behind Chris’s keynotes and the 2026 Paris Book Festival winner in the How-To category. Every chapter ends with actions you can take that day.
Start the year
looking forward.
Chris Sund speaks on this in his signature keynote, You Are Capable of More, for kickoffs, leadership retreats and company meetings at the start of the year.
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