Kimberly Frey Consulting

The first Monday of the New Year is upon us, and I’m sure you have already been asked the infamous question, “What are your New Year’s resolutions?”

Are you someone who feels overwhelmed or anxious when asked that question? You’re not alone. Slightly over half of all adults feel some type of pressure due to expectations around the idea of creating resolutions of some kind at the beginning of a new year.

As someone who personally thrives on goals and professionally makes a living from helping others both create and achieve their own goals, you might be surprised to learn that I not only don’t like resolutions, but I actively encourage others to avoid them altogether.

Why Resolutions Often Fail

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why someone who has made a career out of goal-achievement is so anti-New Year’s resolution. The answer is simple: New Year’s resolutions are often created out of this sense of lack or less than. People think to themselves that they are out of shape, unhappy, or have something missing in their lives. So, they create a resolution to address that lack. They decide they are going to lose weight, work out more, join a book club, or maybe even a dating site.

While none of these things are bad in any sense, creating resolutions around them at the beginning of the year with the intent that they are going to positively impact your life is a lot of pressure. If things don’t work out the way you hoped they would, you fall off going to the gym, have a hard time sticking to your diet, or are hit with a bunch of duds on that dating site, you get a sense of discontent, unhappiness, or even worse – failure.

According to Merriam-Webster, a resolution is “something that is resolved,” or “the act of determining.” This is much different than an actual goal, which is something that has a specific outcome meant to be achieved by a specific time. No matter how much of a go-getter you are, there are times when your resolve will wane. There are also situations where something you thought you had resolved for yourself needs to be adjusted due to changes in life circumstances.

When the resolve around accomplishing your New Year’s resolutions falters, you are often left criticizing yourself. You’ve either been there personally or have seen it happen to someone you know. That is why statistics show that almost half of individuals who create a New Year’s resolution abandon them by the end of the month. Forbes states that approximately 80% of people completely give up on their resolutions by the time February hits. That’s a huge failure rate. I’m not one who likes to fail – which is why I advise others to adopt a practice of setting intentions for their new year instead of creating resolutions.

The Power of Intention-Setting

Intention-setting at the beginning of the year is a practice that is relatively new to me. I am a goal-oriented person, and 2020 upended every goal I had for myself at the time – as it did to countless others. At the beginning of 2021, I adopted this process of setting an intention for the year to help create better balance in my life. In fact, the first intention I created that year as we were emerging from the darkness of the COVID-19 global pandemic was that of “balance.” That was my touchstone the entire year as I prioritized nurturing my life balance as we all worked to return to a sense of normalcy. You can read more about my journey with intention-setting in both my first blog post about the subject from January 2022 or my January 2024 post where I revisited the subject.

Since my first year of intention-setting, I have gone on to set intentions of “Be”, “Focus,” and “Grind.” Each of these intentions have been a positive focus point for me to visit throughout the year.

• In 2022, practicing the art of “Be”-ing in the moment helped me to be more present in my surroundings and with those I love. Life is short, every day is a gift, and focusing on the idea to just “Be” helped me to recenter those thoughts.
• In 2023, remembering to “Focus” helped guide me as I made the leap from full-time education professional with a coaching and consulting business on the side to that of full-time coach and business consultant.
• In 2024, my determination to “Grind” helped me to grow in my first full year as a solopreneur. I wouldn’t have been able to experience both the personal and professional growth that I did without remembering to do the hard work every day.

New Year, New Intention

In reflecting on the last few years, it feels natural to me that my intention for 2025 is to “Grow.” There are so many ways I want to experience growth this year: as a life coach and business consultant, a podcaster and blogger, and a public speaker and author.

What will be your intention for 2025? I encourage you to create positive energy for yourself by setting your intention and letting it guide you to a year of balance, growth, and fulfillment.

Share your intention in the comments below or even better, schedule a FREE virtual coffee chat where we can talk about your 2025 intention and how to make it work for you.

You Can Do It.