Why do New Year’s resolutions feel so sincere when we make them and so impossible to sustain once the year actually begins? Writers are especially familiar with this frustration, because it mirrors a problem they often struggle with on the page.
Most resolutions fail for the same reason so many screenplays fall apart: they’re built to get to the ending without accounting for the journey required to get there. We tend to design resolutions for a future version of ourselves someone with more time, fewer obstacles, and more capacity while ignoring the reality of the person who actually has to live them.
As screenwriters, we already know what happens when we try to rush to the end. When a character’s transformation is treated as a destination instead of a process, the change doesn’t unfold in a believable way. The structure collapses under pressure.
Just like for characters in a script, change in real life happens under intense pressure and it happens in phases. When we set resolutions without accounting for that reality, we don’t just fail to change. We inadvertently reinforce the patterns of shame and failure that stand between us and our dreams.
In this episode, you’ll learn an approach to setting New Year’s resolutions for 2026 that goes beyond wishful thinking so you can set goals you can actually achieve, break out of the patterns that hold you back, and start building the life you truly want as a writer.
You’ll Learn
° Why New Year’s resolutions break down for the same structural reasons character arcs fail in screenplays
° The three different kinds of New Year’s resolutions and why you may be focused on the wrong one
° Why lack of willpower or discipline isn’t your real problem and how to identify what actually is
° How setting goals for a future, idealized version of yourself sabotages change before it begins
° How obstacles that seem to block progress can become the engine for real transformation
° A hypnotic “future rehearsal” technique that establishes a clear true north
° Why well-intentioned resolutions reinforce shame instead of breaking it
° How to interrupt the shame spiral that locks you into old patterns, in both writing and life
🎧 LISTEN NOW to leave the cycle of failed resolutions behind and start 2026 on a path of change that actually works in your real-world life.

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