Are you someone who sets goals at the beginning of the year?

I’ve always been a goal-oriented person, so setting goals is not new to me, but one thing I’ve started doing that’s been game-changing is spending time reflecting on the year to see what insights I can gain.

Creating a practice around this has made a big difference in my life and business because it creates intentional action. And the truth is that most people (ie. 95%) don't do this, so doing so will put you in the top 5% of those who do.

I've shared this quote many times, because it resonates so deeply:

“We don’t learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.”

If reflection and goal setting aren't typical practice for you, give it a try this year and see what changes!

Let’s dive in.

2025 reflections

There's an exercise I learned from Sahil Bloom that I've started incorporating into my annual reflection (you can find it here). I typically spend about an hour journaling and see what I notice.

These are the questions:

  1. What did I change my mind on this year?
  2. What created energy this year?
  3. What drained energy this year?
  4. What were the boat anchors in my life?
  5. What did I not do because of fear?
  6. What were my greatest hits and worst misses?
  7. What did I learn this year?

Even taking the time to answer the first 2-3 questions will provide some key insights.

Once you understand what activities, projects, and people energize you and which ones drain you, you can become intentional about spending as much time as possible in the ‘energizes’ column!

Setting your 2026 goals

I used to set goals based on the outcomes I wanted. They were almost always related to promotions, money or things!

This is an area I've made big changes in. Now I set my goals following a ‘wheel of life' exercise. It looks like this:

1. Score each category

For each category, ask yourself how happy or satisfied you are today. Score it on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being “I couldn't be less happy” and 10 being “I can't imagine how this could be better”.

2. Choose your 3-4 focus areas

Then decide which ones you want to focus on creating goals around this year. Don't choose them all; the goal is not to get each category to a 10. Instead, choose 3-4 that stand out and are important for you to improve.

This may include career, family and health. As you can imagine, the result is much more well-rounded goals that really matter in your life.

3. Set your goals and actions

Once you've chosen 3-4 categories, decide what you want your score to be in that area by the end of the year, and choose 1-3 actions you can take in each category to help you get there.

4. Review regularly

Finally, set a reminder in your calendar once a month (or quarter) to review.

​We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a week and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.

I went from miserable and struggling in my director role to thriving as a VP within a year.

I've seen so many women I work with make the same dramatic changes. What changed? They chose to invest in themselves and take action towards what they want, instead of waiting for it to show up on their doorstep.

Action is what creates momentum, and consistent action is what will help you reach even your most ambitious goals.

If one of those goals is a seat at the senior leadership table, I'm officially inviting you to my masterclass happening THIS WEEK! It's free, and the whole goal is to ensure you leave with clear direction on what you need to focus on to get that seat.

Sign up here:

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy