Every January, we promise ourselves a cleaner slate. Gym memberships spike. Notebooks fill with ambitious lists. By February, most of it quietly dissolves. The problem is not motivation. It is that resolutions are often vague, symbolic, or disconnected from the work they require. This year, I am trying something different. Four goals. Clear outcomes. No mythology.
Resolutions Should Be Anchors, Not Wishes
A resolution should function like an anchor point. Something you can measure against your actual behavior, not just your intent. In 2026, I am focusing on four areas that matter in concrete ways: creative output, performance, health, and long-term stability. None of these are quick wins. All of them require consistency rather than inspiration.
Resolution One: Finish a Pilot Episode of My Game Show
For years, this idea has lived in notebooks, half-written outlines, and late-night conversations. In 2026, the goal is simple and unforgiving: produce a completed pilot episode of my game show.
Not a concept. Not a pitch deck. A finished pilot.
That means writing the format clearly enough that someone else could run it. It means locking rules, pacing, and tone. It means committing to filming, even if the production is imperfect. Especially if it is imperfect.
Creative projects often fail because they are protected from reality. This one will not be. A pilot forces decisions. It exposes weaknesses. It also creates something tangible that did not exist before. That alone makes it worth doing.
Resolution Two: Perform in at Least One Production
In 2026, I want to perform in at least one play, film, web series, or comparable production.
The format does not matter. The scale does not matter. What matters is participation.
Performance is a skill that erodes when left unused. Auditioning, rehearsing, taking direction, and working inside someone else’s creative structure all sharpen instincts that solitary work does not. This resolution is about staying connected to that discipline rather than letting it remain theoretical.
One role. One production. Fully committed.
Resolution Three: Quit Smoking for Good
There is no poetic framing for this one. Smoking is a habit that takes more than it gives, and I have carried it longer than I should have.
Quitting is not about willpower alone. It is about changing routines, removing friction points, and accepting that discomfort is temporary while damage is cumulative. This year is about replacing the habit rather than fighting it. Different cues. Different defaults. Fewer excuses dressed up as stress relief.
Progress here will not be cinematic. It will be quiet, repetitive, and sometimes frustrating. That is fine. Health improvements rarely announce themselves with fanfare.
Resolution Four: Become Financially Ready to Buy a Home
This is not a resolution to “buy a house.” It is a resolution to become financially capable of doing so responsibly.
That distinction matters.
The focus is on reducing instability, increasing predictability, and making choices that future-proof rather than impress. Budget discipline. Clear savings targets. Fewer reactive decisions. More boring ones.
Home ownership is not a milestone to rush toward. It is a commitment that amplifies whatever financial habits already exist. The work happens long before keys are involved.
Why These Four Belong Together
At first glance, these goals seem unrelated. One is creative production. One is performance. One is health. One is financial. In practice, they reinforce each other.
Finishing a pilot builds confidence and proof of follow-through. Performing keeps creative instincts sharp and collaborative muscles active. Quitting smoking frees both money and energy. Financial stability reduces background stress that undermines everything else.
Each goal removes friction from the others. That alignment is intentional.
A More Honest Way to Approach the New Year
New Year’s resolutions fail when they rely on a version of ourselves that does not exist yet. This year is about working with the person I am now, not the person I imagine becoming after some undefined breakthrough.
No reinvention. No slogans. Just clear targets and the willingness to keep showing up after the novelty wears off.
If 2026 delivers anything, I want it to deliver evidence.