Some thoughts on resolutions

This blog is going to be about New Year’s resolutions, of course. It’s the first Phase blog of 2026. Could it really have been about anything else? 

I hope to start by thinking about how we might reframe New Year's resolutions and end with some reflections on undergoing change. 

I believe most New Year’s resolutions have a flawed premise in the first place. In our cultural consciousness, New Year’s resolutions are so widely believed to be an important undertaking because such a vast number of people believe that they are not good enough as they are. This is simply not true. 

You are good enough as you are, right now. 

My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9, The Message Translation

Often the light and love that’s within us shines brightest when we are brave enough to accept and expose our flaws. I encourage you to approach your New Year goals in the knowledge that you are already loved. 

Self-hatred is a toxic fuel. In my experience, far greater things come from a response to grace than from striving for some nebulous end point. 

This is not to say we should just do nothing or never set goals. It's a reminder that perspective is everything. One of my favourite quotes comes from Dallas Willard:

"Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action."

Secondly, it appears to be trendy on social media to talk of locking in or going into monk mode in search of achievement. This makes me uneasy as I’ve been guilty of falling into this trap in the past. 

If your goals are leading you towards isolation instead of community, your goals are moving you away from the point. Moreover, I don’t think I’ve ever got anywhere without the help of others. 

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I hope they're a couple of helpful ways you might reframe New Year's resolutions. Moving onto some reflections on undergoing change…

There’s a famous quote from James Clear of Atomic Habits fame, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” 

I agree with this to the extent that systems, or habits, are important. However, in my experience, often our systems rise to the level of our goals. 

The biggest blessings in my life have started out with huge leaps of faith. 

I decided I was going to run a marathon and I became a runner. I used to hate running. My first ever running event was a full marathon. 

I decided I wanted to lead a football project and I became a leader. I’d never led anything before. I hadn’t even played football for about eight years. 

I decided to join Phase, leaving a job I’d been in for seven years and I became a Schools Worker. I’d only ever done voluntary youth work before. I had no piece of paper that said I was ready. 

If your dreams are too small, they won’t put enough pressure on your flawed systems in order for them to be broken. (Again, this is why it’s important to know that you are loved even when you fail). Being broken and restored is how we grow. Growth hurts. As we grow, we crack. The greatest light is that which shines through those cracks. 

If you want to get fit, why not sign up for a triathlon with a friend who's faster than you?

If you want to spend more time with friends, why not start a new community for them to come along to?

If you want to learn something new, why not throw yourself into the deep end surrounded by people who know more than you do?

I can almost guarantee these decisions will force you to change your systems.

Wisdom is gained when we reach for the stars knowing that we are held by their maker. 

If our dreams are too small, what stories will we have to tell? 

I want to take this opportunity to share a quote I’m loving at the moment. 

“We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world.” - Marcel Proust

We have to step into the unknown in order to be changed. We don’t change by procrastinating about what the perfect set of steps might look like. 

So, this year, know that you are loved and dream big.