How to choose the right marketing goals for 2026
Every January, I become ✨that person.✨
"THIS is the year I’ll streamline everything, raise my prices, rebuild my business from scratch, fix my work-life balance, and somehow become a morning person."
It usually goes like this…
🤩 January: the world is my oyster
😁 February: okay, still moving
🙃 March: tired but pushing
👀 April: distracted (cough taxes)
😩 May: something unexpected explodes
😎 June-August: “I’ll deal with this after summer”
😭 September: PANIC
🫠 October: burnout
🥲 November-December: laughing at myself for thinking this was all doable
And then… I do it all over again.
Raise your hand if you relate. ✋
I don’t think the problem is “too much ambition.” In fact, that’s the good part of this whole debacle.
The problem is how we set goals — and how stubbornly we cling to them when reality changes.
An actual screenshot from my pitiful 2025 fantasy football team
This mindset shift matters more than your 2026 vision board
Most goals don’t fail because you didn’t try or you didn’t want it badly enough.
They fail because they were:
Too vague to measure,
Too big to sustain, or
Too disconnected from how you actually work and live.
And when goals aren’t grounded, one of two things happens:
You burn out trying to force them to work, or
You quietly abandon them.
Neither builds momentum. Neither builds confidence. And both make you feel like you’re the problem.
The goals that do work tend to be:
Specific enough to guide decisions
Flexible enough to survive real life
Tied to outcomes, not aesthetics
Which brings us to the difference between goals that sound good and goals that actually happen — and move the needle.
Let’s pressure-test your 2026 goals
Take out that notebook where you outlined your vision for 2026. While you read this part, see if you notice anything you want to pivot (or maybe you totally nailed your goals — if so, enjoy the validation).
Goals that usually don’t work
“Wake up earlier”
“Be more consistent”
“Fix my work-life balance”
“Grow my business”
“Post more content”
These are great intentions — but they’re hard to execute and impossible to measure.
Goals that usually do work
“Increase monthly revenue by X% by focusing on one offer”
“Publish one email per week for 12 weeks”
“Spend 3 hours/week improving one core skill”
“Reduce active projects from 6 to 2”
See the difference?
These goals create clarity.
They give you something to measure, they won’t burn you out, and they’re still tied to a bigger “dream outcome” (like the intentions in the first list above).
Before you commit your whole year to a new goal, ask yourself:
🔎 Is this specific enough to measure progress?
🔥 Does it excite me?
🎯 Does it feel realistic?
🚫 What will I say no to in order to make it work?
🛋️ If this stops making sense in 3–6 months, will I let myself pivot?
Remember: Shifting gears is NOT failure. It’s strength, strategy, and clarity.
This article was originally shared in my embarrassing, brutally-honest newsletter: Sloppy Copy.
If you want to get totally-transparent copywriting lessons like this every week, pop in your email to join the party. 👇
