New Years Resolutions Suck. Yeah, this isn't really a novel concept, we all know it deep down. We put all this emphasis and importance of waking up on January 1st and suddenly transforming into a brand new person. "I'm gonna lose 20lbs by June!" Sounds like a good goal. It's specific, it's actionable, it's... going to last about 20 minutes before you wake up hungover on New Years Day and reach for a handful of whatever takeaway or snacks you got in last night. And because you built up all that pressure, all that emphasis on the one day that changes it all, you feel terrible when you fail it. Because a resolution is just a goal, you kind of only ever think about it in the moment, in isolation. You're not addressing the root of any problem. And that's why only 8% of New Years Resolutions ever actually get seen through to end of the year.
But I'm not saying never try to change. I'm saying you need to change the way you change. Introducing the idea of "Yearly Themes". Now, this isn't an original idea. CGPGrey made a popular video about it years ago, and originally it comes from psychologist Dr Rachel Glik, but I recently relearned about it from Reid from Shameless Nerd (shoutout to him if you want a small channel full of ambition and fantastic, nuanced, vulnerable ideas).
Basically, instead of having a cut and dry goal to achieve, you have a single word that will influence your decision-making throughout the year. They're a gentler approach to changing your actions, focused more on the processes and frame of mind that it is the outcomes and targets. And for me, at least, by putting the change at the start of the thought process rather than the end of it, it more feels like a boon than a stress? Like, going back to the resolutions, it feels like if I don't hit that goal, then I've failed. But if my theme is "Health", then I will just make healthier decisions that might end up in me losing weight, but the less quantifiable outcome means it's less of a pass/fail thing and more of just gently leaning in a better direction. Am I making sense?
To quote Dr Glik:
In a nutshell, a new year’s theme is a word or phrase that awakens a better quality of thinking and approach to yourself and your life. This new mindset then filters into our words, actions and decisions. [...]
Unlike New Year’s themes, resolutions tend to jump straight to a behavior or reaction we want to change and can lead to one-off, isolated attempts for results without addressing the root. Resolution-setting gives us a temporary high from the idea of change itself and this creates a perfect set up for an emotional crash when we forget or fail to follow through.
Which I think is what I've been dancing around through that whole paragraph.
So what's my 2026 yearly theme? Connection. I am focusing, this year, on making more connections. Strengthening existing ones, reigniting broken ones and generally connecting more with people. I want to get in touch with my local community, with the people who share the hobbies I do, and in my business I want to get more in tune with the needs of you, the people who care about what I have to say. And to find more people like you.
Rather selfishly, I want to become a known name in this space. I know my shit, I feel like y'all can attest to that at this point. And I want people to trust me in the world of Branding and Design. And that all comes from making Connections. That all comes from talking to people. So that's it, the Year of Connection.
And with the spirit of connection in mind, what is your yearly theme? Send me an email and let me know! eden@killawattstudios.com
And no, this wasn't really a design-y post to start the year off, but hey. It's the first week of the year, cut me some slack. I'm sure someone will launch a crappy rebrand next week that we can riff on for about 1000 words.
