Sustainable Goals: Why Most Resolutions Fail (and What to Do Instead)

Last month’s blog extolled the benefits of starting something new in November rather than waiting to make a New Year’s resolution. Despite knowing the logic (and even agreeing with it), it’s nearly impossible to resist the idea that January 1 brings a fresh start, an opportunity to “do things better next year.”

So instead of fighting that tendency, let’s use it. This is a perfect opportunity to revisit the revamped SMART model of goal setting, a foundational pillar of the Luminology philosophy and method.

Traditional SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (see our Dec 2024 blog post for more about SMART vs revamped SMART). While useful, this framework often emphasizes outcomes over execution. The revamped SMART model shifts the focus from what you want to how you live and act, encouraging goals that are:

• Sustainable

• Measurable

• Approach-oriented (focused on what you will do rather than what you will avoid)

• Resilient

• Tackled like a Tortoise, not a hare

  
  

As 2025 comes to a close, we’ll focus on the first and often overlooked element: Sustainability.

The Problem With Unsustainable Goals

Before we talk about what works, let’s look at what doesn’t.

Time and again, I see well-intentioned clients set goals that rely on perfect conditions. Whether it’s reading one personal growth book per month or running fifteen miles per week, these goals are technically achievable — as long as nothing goes wrong.

And that’s the problem. Life will get in the way.

Here are a few other common examples of unsustainable goals:

• “Work out every single day for 90 minutes.”This leaves no room for travel, illness, workload spikes, or the simple need for recovery. When one day is missed, the plan often collapses.

• “Meditate for an hour every morning.”Morning routines are fragile. One early meeting, a sick kid, or a disrupted sleep cycle can derail the habit entirely.

• “No sugar, ever.”Absolute rules don’t account for social events, celebrations, or stress. One “violation” quickly turns into an all-or-nothing spiral.

• “Double my revenue by March.”Outcome-heavy goals without a flexible execution strategy tend to increase pressure and burnout, especially when external factors (financial markets, timing, energy) intervene.

These goals fail not because people lack discipline or motivation, but because they are rigid. They assume consistency in a world that is anything but consistent.

Why Sustainable Goals Must Be Flexible

Effective goals — the ones that last — are built with flexibility baked in.

Psychologists describe this as flexible persistence: continuing to pursue meaningful goals while adapting your approach in response to real-world constraints. According to research discussed in Psychology Today, flexible persistence supports long-term goal attainment and helps people maintain balance across other areas of life. Rather than abandoning goals when conditions change, successful people adjust how they pursue them — preserving momentum instead of losing it.

In other words, flexibility doesn’t weaken commitment. It protects it.

A sustainable goal might sound like:

• “Move my body most days of the week, even if some days it’s just 10 minutes.”

• “Maintain a weekly running average over the month instead of hitting a rigid weekly mileage target.”

• “Build a daily mindfulness practice that can range from 2 to 20 minutes.”

These goals survive bad weeks, busy seasons, low-energy days, and unexpected disruptions, which means they’re far more likely to still exist six months from now.

Sustainability Is the Real Advantage

The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is continuity.

Sustainable goals create:

• Fewer quit-and-restart cycles

• Less guilt and self-criticism

• More trust in yourself

• Steady progress that compounds over time

This is why sustainability sits at the foundation of the Luminology method. If a goal can’t survive real life, it’s not a good goal — no matter how inspiring it sounds.

The Sustainability Litmus Test

As you think about the goals you’re setting for the year ahead, ask yourself this one question:

“Would I still pursue this goal during a stressful, imperfect week?”

If the answer is no, it’s time to redesign it, not abandon it.

Start by identifying one goal you’ve been approaching rigidly and experiment with making it more flexible. Try:

• Reducing the minimum viable effort. 

• Creating a range instead of a rule. 

• Focusing on consistency over intensity.

  
  

These small shifts make goals more resilient, especially when life is busy, unpredictable, or demanding.

Designing Goals That Fit Real Life

A coach helps you step out of rigid thinking and design goals that work with your real life, not against it. Together, we look at your patterns, constraints, energy, and priorities so your goals are sustainable, flexible, and executable. 

This is the core work we do inside Luminology’s Optimum Performance Method. Sustainable progress doesn’t come from pushing harder; it comes from designing smarter.

If you are ready to stop pressing restart on the same goals and start building momentum that lasts, I invite you to book a free discovery call. It is a space to explore what is not working, what could work better, and how to move forward with clarity and confidence.