Goals and what they cost.

This is the time of year that many of us will be setting our intentions, making plans and committing to new things.
New Year’s resolutions and goal setting almost feels like expectations, but why do those goals often NOT get met?

In my experience, there are a few things we can do that will help increase the likelihood of success.
Firstly, remembering that none of us have all the skills, knowledge or experience to be able to do everything, is key.
There have been times in my life where I believed that with enough determination, I could achieve anything by myself. Don’t get be wrong, I still believe we are all capable of incredible things with enough will power. The difference now is that I’ve seen much greater success when the right people or resources are included in my plans.

Recognising the areas in which I do not excel and finding people who do those things far better than I can, is hugely powerful.

This may not mean hiring someone, sometimes it is just about asking those people for advice, or perhaps recruiting their services for a short time can make all the difference.

Here at ACE, I often get a lot of recognition for the positive impact we have on practitioners, business’s and patient’s lives. The truth is, it is the people I have the absolute pleasure to work with who are the ones making the magic. It is the sum of all our parts that makes what we do possible.

Another thing I have discovered is the importance of patience.

By nature, I think I’m a fairly ambitious person, which often means I’m trying to get too much done in a timeframe that is unreasonable.

The reality is that we overestimate what we can achieve in a week, and underestimate what we can achieve in year, or more.
With a long enough timeline, you’ll be blown away with what you can do.

Look back at the last 5 years of your life and try to list all the things you have achieved. That list is long, and you are now an entirely different person than you were back then.

The problem is that we try to cram our goals into the shortest timeframe possible, which leads to stress, anxiety, pressure and often failure.

Life is long, fill it, but make space for things to happen properly.

I stole this last one from Leila Hormozi.
“Most people who want to quit, just need to rest. Fatigue will distort your judgement”.

There have been times in my life where I have worked myself to exhaustion. I’ve pushed and pushed, and mistaken activity for progress. I’ve filled every minute with “doing” while also preaching that exercise, sleep and balance is important… but not living that myself.

People quit things because they get too hard, or they lose focus on why they are doing it.

Allowing yourself to become fatigued is a great recipe for becoming unmotivated, unfocussed and disillusioned.
I also need to point out that hard work and continuing on when others might stop, has incredible utility. If I have a superpower, it is definitely my ability to keep going with things when they get difficult. This ability to ignore how I feel and get it done anyway, has no doubt helped me get to this point in my life. However, it’s not the only way to get to the goal.
There is a cost to everything, ambition and effort are not exempt.

Treading that line between relentless forward motion, and mindful self-preservation is a tricky path. If you are like me, this is something you’ll likely battle with all your life.

So, surround yourself with talented and good people. Work hard but think longer timelines. Think of each thing you are doing as contributing toward bigger goals, further down the road, rather than expecting to see the benefits in the short-term.
If you’ve got the spark in you to do something epic, GO FOR IT! But remember that your body and your health is not a fair trade for your ambition.

I hope your 2026 is spectacular!