The clock is winding down.
The world is buzzing with resolutions, high expectations, and a quiet pressure to become a “new you” by midnight.
Suddenly, you feel the weight of every undone task, every unmet goal, every moment this year didn’t go the way you hoped.
But before you step into another year carrying the pressure to perform, I want to offer you something radically different:
Permission to pursue alignment, not achievement.
Because here’s the truth most high-achieving women never hear:
You don’t need to do more next year. You need to live more true to yourself.
Why Traditional New Year’s Pressure Doesn’t Work
Most resolutions fail by February — not because we lack discipline, but because the goals weren’t rooted in alignment.
Here’s what the research shows:
- 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail because they’re based on external expectations, not internal alignment (University of Scranton).
- People who set goals based on identity and values are 3x more likely to sustain habits long-term (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology).
- Women who align their work with their values experience a 40% decrease in burnout symptoms (University of California).
The problem isn’t your ambition.
The problem is the pressure to become someone you’re not — instead of uncovering who you already are.
Alignment > Pressure
You’ve spent years achieving. You’ve proven your capabilities again and again.
But success built on pressure eventually becomes exhausting.
Alignment, on the other hand, feels like exhaling.
Alignment looks like:
- Saying yes only when your spirit agrees.
- Setting goals that reflect who you are — not who people expect you to be.
- Choosing rhythms that support your energy, not drain it.
- Creating a life you can actually enjoy, not just manage.
- Following the quiet nudge God has placed on your heart.
When your life honors your values, your energy, and your calling, something clicks into place.
Your goals stop feeling like a burden and start feeling like a becoming.
The moment you stop following the pressure-driven version of success and start aligning your goals with your identity, energy, and purpose — everything changes.
And that is what I want for YOU in 2026.
Not more hustle.
Not another list of resolutions.
Instead a life that finally feels like yours.
Action Step: 3 Ways To Step Into the New Year With Alignment
1. Redefine success for this season.
Most of us are living by definitions of success we never consciously chose.
Old expectations. Old identities. Old goals that belonged to a past version of us.
The first step into alignment is asking:
“What does success look like for me right now?”
Not what you used to want. Not what you think you should want. Not what others expect from you.
Present you. This-season you. The you being shaped today.
Here are a few guiding questions to go deeper:
- What matters most to me in this season of my life — and why?
- Where am I holding myself to standards that no longer fit who I am becoming?
- What do I want less of this year? What do I want more of?
- If success wasn’t about achievement, but about alignment, how would my goals change?
- What would feel like enough for this season?
When you redefine success through the lens of identity, values, faith, and energy, your goals stop feeling heavy.
They start feeling honest, feeling possible, and feeling like you.
2. Pay attention to your energy, not just your outcomes.
Your energy tells the truth before your mind does.
If something drains you every time, that’s data. If something lights you up, that’s direction.
Alignment is when your energy and your commitments finally agree.
3. Choose rhythms over resolutions.
Instead of big, dramatic resolutions, choose small, identity-based rhythms:
- 10 minutes of reflection each morning.
- One boundary you honor each week.
- One aligned goal instead of ten overwhelming ones.
Sustainable change comes from rhythms that match your values.
How I Can Help
If you want next year to feel aligned — not pressured, rushed, or heavy, here are three ways to explore your purpose more deeply:
- Purchase my International Bestselling Book that goes through the framework that has helped 1,000+ coaching and executive clients. You can find more information HERE.
- Join the Powerhouse Women Network! Find more information HERE.
- Build a custom strategy to reach your goals without burning out or compromising your purpose. Find out more information on this FREE complimentary call.
Your turn to reflect a step further:
As you close out the year, ask yourself:
“What would become possible if I let go of pressure… and stepped fully into alignment?”
Write it down.
Sit with it.
Let it guide your first steps into 2026.
You don’t need a new you. You just need a truer you.
– Christi Cossette
