Why Most New Year’s Resolutions Collapse Before February — and How to Design a Stronger 2026

By the third week of January, most New Year’s resolutions have already faded.

This isn’t because people lack commitment. It’s because they attempt to move forward while dragging unresolved problems with them.

Unproductive habits, draining commitments, and outdated ways of thinking don’t magically disappear on 1 January. They get carried forward — quietly undermining every new goal.

If you want 2026 to stand apart, you need more than reflection. You need a systematic review that identifies what actually powered progress and what consistently held you back.

Think of it as a forensic examination of the year just lived.

Layer One: Mapping Your Energy

Why Energy Is the Real Constraint

Productivity advice tends to obsess over schedules and time blocks. The reality is simpler: time is fixed, but energy determines output.

An exhausted hour produces far less than a focused half-hour. Over a year, this difference compounds dramatically.

Understanding where your energy was gained or lost in 2025 gives you leverage that no to-do list ever will.

How to Carry Out an Energy Review

1. Review Your 2025 Commitments

Export or list out your calendar for the past year. Treat it as neutral data.

2. Categorise by Impact

Go through it week by week:

• Activities and interactions that left you mentally clearer or more motivated

• Commitments that consistently felt heavy, draining, or resistant

  
  

Ignore how things should have felt. Focus on how they actually did.

3. Identify the Patterns

Look for repetition. Which five people or activities reliably boosted your energy? Which five drained it?

Most people are surprised how small these lists are.

4. Redesign for 2026

For recurring drains, decide:

• Can this be removed entirely?

• Can someone else handle it?

• Can it be simplified or automated?

  
  

If not, intentionally follow it with something energising. Energy recovery should be planned, not hoped for.

Layer Two: Momentum and the Flywheel

Why Progress Feels Slow (Until It Doesn’t)

Meaningful progress rarely arrives suddenly. It builds quietly through momentum.

Imagine pushing a heavy wheel. Early effort feels unrewarding. Over time, consistent force in the same direction creates speed.

Many people stall because they’re pushing in the wrong place — or because unnecessary friction is slowing the wheel.

When Focus Is Broken

Tim Urban’s success with Wait But Why wasn’t accidental. He ignored short-term trends and committed to depth when others chased volume.

His progress loop reinforced itself:Research → Original Thinking → Sharing → Reputation → More Time for Research

Had he split his attention, the system would have weakened. His results came from coherence, not activity.

How to Analyse Your Own Momentum Loop

1. Sketch Your Process

Write out the key steps that lead to results in your work or life. Keep it simple.

2. Locate the Drag

Looking back at 2025, where did progress slow or stall?

Common issues include:

• Output without reward

• Income without reinvestment

• Learning without application

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3. Find Your Natural Advantage

Which part of the process feels engaging or intuitive to you, but difficult for others?

That’s where you gain leverage.

4. Simplify the Weakest Link

Your aim for 2026 is not to increase effort, but to reduce resistance where progress currently slows.

Layer Three: Stress-Testing Your Life

Why “Stability” Can Be Misleading

Many people feel secure until something unexpected happens.

A job loss.

A health issue.

An industry shift.

When everything depends on one pillar, life becomes fragile.

A stronger approach is to build systems that benefit from uncertainty, rather than collapse under it.

The Barbell Approach to Risk

Consider two professionals:

• One relies on a single high-paying opportunity

• The other maintains stable income while testing small, high-upside projects on the side

  
  

The second may appear cautious, but they are actually better positioned for change.

The riskiest place is the middle: moderate exposure with limited upside.

How to Assess Your Resilience

1. Exposure Check

List your main sources of income or fulfilment. What happens if one disappears?

2. Skills Audit

Which transferable skills did you develop in 2025? Skills that travel across industries create options.

3. Rebalance Risk

Clarify:

• Your baseline security (health, savings, reliable income)

• Your experimental bets (projects with limited downside and meaningful upside)

  
  

4. Automate the Basics

Reduce mental load around essentials so your attention can go towards growth and experimentation.

Closing Perspective

Most people don’t fail because they aim too low.They fail because they never remove what’s weighing them down.

Before setting new targets for 2026:

• Identify what drains your energy

• Remove friction from how you make progress

• Build resilience into your life structure

  
  

That’s how years stop repeating — and start compounding.