New Year Intentions: Why Starting Small Actually Works
Most New Year resolutions fail not because of lack of motivation, but because they demand too much too soon. Small Anchors helps you stay on course with a few realistic daily actions that truly matter.
You don’t need to change your life on January 1st.
You need a place to return to every day.
The end of the year often brings a quiet question:
"Where do I start again?"
The temptation is always the same. Do everything. Do it now.
New habits, new goals, new routines.
Then reality kicks in. Time runs short. Energy fades.
And the initial momentum disappears.
Not because motivation is missing, but because sustainability is.
Why resolutions fail
Most resolutions don’t fail because of laziness.
They fail because they’re too many, too big, and too vague.
When goals become endless lists, they stop guiding us and start weighing us down.
Attention slips. Consistency breaks.
Over time, I learned something simple:
three realistic actions beat ten impossible ones.
Small Anchors: a few things, every day
Small Anchors was built around this idea.
It’s not a performance tool.
It’s not a productivity tracker.
It’s a space to choose up to three small daily actions that truly matter to you.
Three, deliberately.
Because beyond that threshold, focus starts to fade.
And without focus, consistency disappears.
This isn’t about doing more.
It’s about staying present.
Writing clarifies intention
Writing down an intention, even digitally, is not trivial.
It’s a commitment.
Writing forces clarity.
It makes abstract thoughts concrete.
And each time you come back to that list, you remember why you started.
This effect has been known for a long time, yet often underestimated.
Writing makes ideas more real.
And action more likely.
Making consistency visible
Small Anchors includes a consistency calendar.
Not to judge, but to see the journey.
Seeing a chain of days where you showed up, even briefly, builds momentum.
It’s the same principle behind tools like Duolingo.
No extraordinary rewards, just daily return.
I had already experimented with this years ago during Federico Pistono’s Mavericks program,
using nothing more than a printed sheet on the wall, checked off each day.
Technology doesn’t invent the habit.
It just makes returning easier.
You don’t have to walk alone
Alongside Small Anchors, IkigaiApp offers complementary spaces.
The Ikigai Journal, to capture a thought now and then, without pressure.
The Coffee Corner, to share a small win, a reflection, or simply say hello.
No metrics required.
No performance to prove.
Just presence.
This is the same spirit that drives Arnold Schwarzenegger’s community,
what he calls "The Positive Corner of the Internet":
a place for encouragement without competition.
With IkigaiApp, the intention is to extend and integrate that space.
Quietly. Thoughtfully.
Returning matters more than starting
If there’s one idea worth carrying into the new year, it’s this:
starting strong matters less than returning consistently.
Returning daily, even for one minute.
Returning to remember what matters.
Returning to realign.
Small Anchors exists for that purpose.
It’s simple, free, and always available.
Everything else can wait.
References & Inspirations
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Federico Pistono — Mavericks Program focused on Ikigai, personal growth, and awareness.
→ https://www.federicopistono.com -
Arnold Schwarzenegger — The Pump Community and newsletter centered on discipline, optimism, and growth.
→ https://www.thepump.app -
James Clear — Atomic Habits Why small repeated actions outperform big bursts of effort.
→ https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
The right direction isn’t found once.
It’s rediscovered, one day at a time.