I think New Year’s resolutions get a bad reputation. I understand why. They are a cliché, everyone has an opinion on them, and by mid-January most have already been abandoned. But I actually think they are a good thing.

Not because of the resolutions themselves, or the targets and ambitions for the twelve months ahead. Those can be set at any point in the year. What matters is the pause. The reflection. The moment of forward focus. This time of year naturally creates space for that, and we rarely give ourselves permission to slow down in the same way at any other point.

When the past limits the future

We should reflect on and learn from our past, of course, but we should be careful not to let it anchor our future. I see many people and businesses struggle to release themselves from what has already been. Experience turns into constraint. What once helped move them forward starts to limit what they believe is possible.

There is something far more powerful in having defined ambitions and a clear vision of a future where those ambitions are fulfilled than most realise. When you can see where you are heading, not just as a goal but as a future state, it changes how you move. It is like spotting the entrance to the next chapter of your life approaching. You walk more directly. There is less meandering. You want to open the door.

Achievement is fleeting. Becoming lasts

What we need to be aware of is how easily ambitions become endpoints. Too often we set targets that, once achieved, are simply replaced by something more ambitious. The sense of achievement fades quickly as attention shifts to the next step on an endless ladder. Reaching targets might deliver a brief sense of happiness, but it rarely creates the fulfilment needed to sustain momentum.

This is where many people and businesses feel stuck. Progress is happening on paper, but something feels hollow. Movement without meaning. Activity without direction.

That is why I believe the focus should shift from achieving to becoming. From what we want to do, to who we need to be. When we become the person or the business our future needs, progress stops feeling forced. Outcomes become more meaningful, more achievable, and more enduring.

The ever-moving horizon

There is, of course, a complication. One that feels harder to ignore with each passing year.

How do we decide who we need to become when the future itself feels increasingly unfamiliar. The pace of change means the world we are planning for often feels less like an extension of today and more like something slightly alien. Ten years ago, the future felt distant but recognisable. Today it feels closer, yet harder to picture.

Perhaps that is precisely why focusing on becoming matters more than ever. When the landscape is volatile, rigid goals date quickly. Fixed plans become brittle. Identity travels better. Knowing who you are trying to be, the principles you are anchored to, and the role you want to play gives you something stable to carry forward, even as the terrain shifts beneath you.

I am often asked whether the future ever actually gets here. It is a deeper question than it first appears. Without getting too philosophical, perhaps it never truly arrives. Tomorrow is always tomorrow. That is why markers matter. Moments to pause and reflect.

I tend to think in horizons, setting markers at one, three, and five years. Enough distance to stretch thinking, but not so much that it becomes hazy or abstract. Big, audacious goals can be useful, but they often lose their shape surprisingly quickly.

Once those horizons are set, the familiar questions follow. What does the future look like once you have achieved what you set out to do. How are you going to get there. And why is the journey worth taking at all.

But the most powerful question often comes after that.

Who is the person or business that will achieve this future. How different are they from who you are today.

The power of strategy is saying no

That question of who the future needs you to be is transformative. It shapes how you show up in the world, how you behave, the principles you operate by, the value you offer, and the people you serve. Without it, ambition stays theoretical.

Becoming someone, or something, is rarely about adding more. More goals, more initiatives, more activity. More often, it is about subtraction. Every meaningful shift in direction requires a series of deliberate noes. No to work that no longer fits. No to behaviours that once felt comfortable but now feel misaligned. No to opportunities that look attractive but quietly pull you away from where you are trying to go.

This is where strategy stops being theoretical and becomes real. Direction only exists once something else has been ruled out. Saying no is uncomfortable because it closes doors and removes optionality. But without it, ambition remains vague and identity stays blurred. You can be busy forever without becoming anything in particular.

When you are clear on who you are trying to become, the right noes stop feeling restrictive and start feeling protective. Protective of focus, energy, and momentum. In that sense, strategy is not about doing more clever things. It is about having the discipline to stop doing the wrong ones.

More than money

There also needs to be more than finances pulling us forward. Money matters, but it is an outcome, not a motivator. Making shareholders richer does not inspire a workforce, attract the right talent, or create meaning. Meaning does.

Perhaps that is why New Year’s resolutions disappoint us. Not because reflection is flawed, but because we focus too much on what we want to achieve, and not enough on who we need to become.

The better question might not be what you want to achieve this year, but who you need to become for the future you want to be true.