Why Keeping Promises to Yourself Changes Everything (And Why New Year’s Resolutions So Often Fail)

Last year, my blog was a year of experiments.

I tried things. I tested habits. I paid attention. I listened, sometimes softly, sometimes the hard way, to what my body, my energy, and my nervous system were quietly asking for.

It was messy,  It wasn’t perfect. But it was honest. And most importantly, it worked.

Last year, I built a foundation.

This year is different.

This year isn’t about trying to see what sticks. It’s about strengthening what already does.
It’s about cementing the lessons I learned, in my body, in my mindset, in how I show up.

This year is a year of education, but not in the academic sense.
It’s the kind of education you earn by rebuilding your health from the ground up, by coming back from burnout, and by living inside the lessons long enough to understand them.

And yes, I’m still learning. I always will. But this year, I’m teaching by example.

Every January, We Tell Ourselves This Year Will Be Different, 

We set goals, We make lists. We set intentions.
We promise that this is the year we’ll finally look after ourselves properly.

And then life happens.

By February, most New Year’s resolutions are  abandoned. Not because people don’t care,  but because they’re tired, overcommitted and pulled in too many directions.

Research shows that around 80–90% of New Year’s resolutions fail within the first six weeks.

That statistic used to make me feel defeated. Now, it makes me curious.

Because if so many people are “failing,” maybe the problem isn’t the people at all.

As I learnt last year, It’s Not Motivation,  It’s Self-Trust

I don’t believe most of us struggle with motivation. We start excited and ready, but when life or obstacles get in our way  our plans go out the window that’s when we struggle to  keep  promises to ourselves.

Every time we say:
I’ll start on Monday…
I’ll do better next week…
This time I really mean it… and don’t follow through, the weekend comes and it all falls to the wayside,  by these small constant do overs that never lead anywhere looses our trust in ourselves.

Not in a dramatic way. Just enough to make us hesitate the next time we say we’re going to do something for ourselves. Over time, that adds up. I know this because I lived it,  especially during burnout, when my body stopped negotiating and demanded honesty.

A Goal Is Not the Same as a Promise

As I learnt last year by setting weekly intentions.  A goal is about the outcome.
A promise is about the relationship you have with yourself.

When you keep small promises,  drinking water, moving your body because it needs it (not because you are told to), resting before you’re exhausted,  you build something far more valuable than results.

You build integrity with yourself.

And that integrity becomes the foundation for confidence, leadership, and real, sustainable change.

Last year taught me how to learn and experiment. This year is about discovering how strong, capable, and extraordinary life can feel when experimenting is no longer the goal.

Why Most Resolutions Don’t Last

What I’ve noticed,  in myself and and my work, is that we’re taught to set goals without ever being taught how to support them.

We focus on:

Big vision , Big change Big pressure

But rarely on:

Capacity, Season of life, What actually matters right now

Without a system, even the most meaningful goals collapse under the weight of real life.

Burnout taught me this both  brutally, and clearly.

What Helps Me Keep Promises (Even When Life Is Full)

I stopped asking: What do I want to achieve?

I started asking: What am I prioritising in this season? What kind of person do I want to be while I am building this foundation? What can I realistically honour, week after week?

Instead of chasing motivation, I focused on structure and rhythm.

Gentle, consistent systems:

A clear direction for the year, A few priorities for the quarter, Monthly check-ins that respect real life,Weekly promises I can actually keep

That’s where trust is rebuilt. Slowly. Quietly. Powerfully.

We tend to skip the emotional part

This I found what mattered most.

If your goals aren’t connected to how you want to feel,  If they don’t protect what matters most, your health, your energy, your inner circle. 
If they don’t align with the life you’re trying to rebuild…   They won’t last.

But when promises are tied to meaning, not pressure, they become easier to keep.

This Year, Its about something different

Last year, you watched me fumble, learn, and rebuild.

This year, you’ll watch me fortify.

I commit to weekly lives.
I commit to showing up on camera.
I commit to a podcast.
I commit to living the lessons in real time.

This year is another foundation year,  but one that is cemented.

I will still learn,  always,  but I will also test limits, explore possibilities, and see what extraordinary can actually look like.

I’m not doing it to prove anything.
I’m doing it to discover everything I can become when self-trust, health, mindset, and purpose are no longer fragile, but strong.

And it all starts the same way it always does:

With a promise to myself , and the decision to keep it.