How to Actually Achieve Your Biggest Goals in 2025

Hey there,

It’s January—the season of big dreams and even bigger delusions.

Everywhere you look, it’s the same story:

• Vision boards that look like Pinterest threw up.

• Planners with charts and grids so complicated you need a PhD to fill them out.

• And hyped-up courses and programs on “How to 10x Your Life in 30 Days.”

It’s intoxicating, isn’t it? The promise of a new you, all wrapped up in bullet journals and pastel highlighters. But let me tell you a little secret:

The best way to achieve your goals this year?

Stop setting so many goals.

Why Most Goals Fail  

The biggest reason goals fail is because people want to overhaul too many habits at once.

The problem is we don’t just set goals; we binge on them. Lose 20 pounds, start meditating, save $10,000, learn French (because why not?). By the end of January, we’re drowning in half-baked intentions and full-on guilt about not sticking to any of them.

The issue isn’t your ambition. It’s your approach.

Research has shown that pursuing too many goals simultaneously often leads to failure of all goals. Instead, focus on setting one priority goal. 

7 Simple Steps to Achieve Any Goal

Rather than setting 5 or 10 goals this year, try for just one goal using this simple, straightforward method (1 min watch).

Once you’ve decided your priority goal, each morning ask yourself one question:

“What’s the most obvious thing I can do today to move toward that goal?”

Not the most impressive thing. Not what society says should matter. Not what other people expect from you. Not what sounds cool. Just the obvious, boring, essential thing.

Then do that.

Because the truth is, progress isn’t about doing everything. It’s about being focused and doing the right thing consistently.

Start smaller than you think you need to. Way smaller.

Focus on consistency over intensity.

Small steps compound to big results.

The reality is that most people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can achieve in a year.

Let’s say you want to start working out, don't commit to an hour at the gym every day. Start with just 5 squats and 5 jumping jacks in the morning. If that sounds absolutely ridiculous, that's the point! Make it so easy you can't say no. Then build up from there.

A Personal Lesson in Getting Nowhere 

Five years ago, I had a goal: start this newsletter.

I imagined the perfect logo, the inspiring content, the wildly engaged audience. But every year, life got in the way. Or, more accurately, I got in my own way. I spent more time planning how great it would be than actually doing the actual work to make it real.

Then one day, I stopped focusing on the how. I didn’t think about subscribers, or logos, or even whether anyone would read it. I just wrote.

— One word.

— Then one sentence.

— Then one paragraph. Then another.

Week after week, when I focused on “now” instead of “how” that’s when things changed.

The newsletter you’re reading isn’t the product of a grand vision. It’s the result of gentle nudges by friends (you know who you are! 😉), choosing to show up, doing the work consistently, and not worrying about making it perfect.

READER POLL

The Rowboat Epiphany

Here’s how I think about progress these days:

Imagine you’re in a rowboat, crossing a foggy lake. You can’t see the other side. You don’t know how far you have to go. But you know everything you could ever want is on the other side.

What do you do?

You row.

That’s it. You don’t stare at the fog and wish for the shore to appear. You don’t plan your next IG post about how “crossing lakes teaches resilience.” You just grab the oars and row. Messily. Clumsily. Imperfectly.

One pull. Then another. Progress isn’t flashy or exciting. It’s the quiet grind of consistent effort. It’s remarkable how tiny actions lead to achieving some big, ambitious goals.

Real transformation happens when you decide to show up for yourself—consistently, compassionately, and one shift at a time.

A New Year’s Perspective Shift

Most people fail because they overthink the journey. They obsess over optimizing, hacking, and “crushing it” instead of just doing the work.

But here’s the truth:

— Your morning routine doesn’t matter.
— Your planner doesn’t matter.
— Your motivational playlist doesn’t matter.

What matters is this:

• Did you sit down and write the email?

• Did you show up for the workout?

• Did you make the call?

• Did you take that tiny, first step towards that big, scary leap you’ve been overthinking about for so long?

This Year, Just Row

This year, forget the hype. Skip the planners and motivational playlists.

Instead, simplify:

1. Name what truly matters to you.

2. List out the daily actions that align with that.

3. Show up everyday and take one small step towards that shift, then row.

By the end of 2025, you won’t need a shiny goal sheet to tell you how far you’ve come. You’ll know—because you earned every inch of it. And you’ll feel the difference in how you live and who you are.

Here’s to a year of meaningful, intentional shifts that move you closer to what matters most.

Until next week!

Shakila