They’re useless. You make the same goals every year and by the time it gets to February you’ve either already given up or failed. Or, you haven’t started writing that book and you’re now punishing yourself and will do for the rest of the year until you set it as a goal again next year.

Can you tell I struggle with resolutions and goals? But why do I? I came to understand that it’s because, by setting a goal like ‘write a book this year’, I’ve given myself a limited time frame to complete the goal in. So, if I don’t finish writing a book by the end of this year, I’ll feel like a horrible failure.

Instead, I’ve decided to set improvements. This year I want to write more and improve on the amount I wrote last year. I want to drink more water and do yoga – I’m not setting the goal of doing yoga everyday, I’m simply letting myself know that this year I want to do some. This lifts the pressure and allows my mind to do these without them feeling like chores or things that need to be ticked off a checklist.

It may seem simple, maybe even a bit silly, but the smallest change to how I word a goal helps to trick my brain into relieving some of the pressure. Give it a try yourself and see if it works for you too.