How to set goals, change habits, and achieve your New Year’s resolutions in 2023

A new year brings new opportunities.

No matter what your plans are for the year, take some advice from Henry Roth, who had this to say in Call It Sleep (also available on Audible):

The only things that matter are the days ahead.

For more inspiration, here are some of my favourite Seth Godin quotes from his 2022 blog posts, together with a recommended title from Blinkist.

Doing something new simply because we’re worried that the old thing we were doing a minute ago isn’t fast enough is a waste. The crowd might enjoy it, but in the long run, it diminishes our contributions and our joy. ~ Personal velocity

Learn more: The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary

Freedom without consequences is a myth. Our actions always have consequences. The question is: who will bear them? ~ Who’s responsible?

Learn more: You Owe You

Tomorrow can be different in ways we’ve never even bothered to imagine. ~ Happy groundhog’s day

Learn more: The Mountain Is You

Seeking out difficult problems is far more effective than avoiding them. ~ Difficult problems

Learn more: Do Hard Things

Find your edge and go over it. ~ All the best

Learn more: Best Self

Heroes use systems, they aren’t held back by them. ~ The hospitality systems gap

Learn more: The 4 Disciplines of Execution

We don’t have to stop and wait for everything to be perfect before we proceed. ~ The power of TK

Learn more: Start Finishing

If 2% of a population takes coordinated action, it makes a difference. If 5% do, it can change everything. ~ The ones who didn’t help

Learn more: Influencer

When you do something that everyone else is doing, you’re likely to get what everyone else is getting. ~ Everyone else is

Learn more: Uncharted

The best way to make things better is to see how they are. And then do something about it. ~ Acceptance vs. ennui

Learn more: One Small Step Can Change Your Life

Short-term wins feel like a demonstration of will by those that seek to be strong. But the only run is the long run. ~ Strength through resilience

Learn more: Discipline is Destiny

Taking responsibility for yesterday is great. Taking action for tomorrow is even better. ~ Retribution, revenge, and especially, remorse

Learn more: The Warrior Within

We may believe that if one takes care of the little things, the big ones won’t matter. Or the opposite. It turns out that staring at an uncomfortable big decision might pay for a thousand of the little ones. ~ Staring at decisions

Learn more: The Discomfort Zone

Budgets, timelines, plans, decision trees, and projections are nothing to be afraid of. They’re a gift. They give us the chance to act as if, to describe a possible future and then to lean against them as we work to create the place we seek to be. ~ Boundaries are levers

Learn more: Return on Ambition

Dreamers are dangerous, impatient and unwilling to tolerate the status quo. Existing systems would prefer we simply fit in. ~ Our dreaming opportunity

Learn more: Dream Big