Stretching into a New Year

What it means to aim for goals that are just out of reach and why trying and failing still matters.

A fresh goal planner makes anything seem possible.

Hey WGChatters,

Lauren here, with a quick trip to the past before we look forward to 2026…

Way back when “following” someone you didn’t know meant you’d subscribed to their blog, I randomly stumbled across a young woman who had amassed a modest following by sharing details of her mundane life. She didn’t post anything salacious, glamorous, or even that vulnerable, just routines and workouts, meals and evenings out with friends. Call me nosey—occupational hazard!—but I love these unpolished slice-of-life peeks into other people’s day to day. (It’s something I greatly miss about the early days of social media.)

Each week she outlined her small but mighty set of goals, things like work out three times, read one book, drink eight glasses of water a day, the usual stuff. Then at the end of each week, she’d recap her goals and describe how she, well… failed all of them, or at least most of them.

Literally, every week a public list of failures! And boy, did this rankle. The haters came out and left all sorts of judgy comments, namely, Why even bother to make goals if you never meet them? How embarrassing for you. To be fair, *I* also wondered why she made goals she never managed to reach, but more out of a sense of curiosity: What would motivate someone to keep making goals if they keep missing them entirely?

One week, she addressed the question head on and said something along the lines of, I may never achieve my goals, but when I set them, I get closer to meeting them than I would have had I not at least tried.

Not only did she not beat herself up—even when others did—she saw each of these failures as a success, an attempt propelling her in the right direction. These words from this random internet stranger were, at the time, revolutionary for me. So, wait, when I abandoned a New Year’s resolution, I didn’t have to feel ashamed? Or when I inevitably spent another calendar year without finishing my novel I didn’t have to hate myself? Mind blown.

Like many people, in recent years I’ve opted to forsake the notion of a New Year’s resolution in favor of a word of the year. Rather than a formal goal, this word is a guiding post, a way to orient yourself, again and again if you have to. (If you’re new to this concept, I highly recommend you check out literary agent Erin Niumata’s post on the subject, which offers a great explainer.)

When goals are just out of reach, stretching as near as you can to them is enough. Photo by Rafaëlla Waasdorp on Unsplash

This year, my word is stretch. My professional goals feel just out of reach, so do my personal goals. Can I write the book idea that scares me? Will I finally, finally, kick my habit of anxiety-ridden rumination? Can I get the pain in my back to go away once and for all? I don’t know!

Not only are these goals a stretch, but they’ll require me to stretch myself—body, mind, and spirit—in order to reach them. It’ll hurt a little, maybe a lot. At times, I may have to back off or pivot in a different direction. And still, I may not succeed. But I’ll get closer than if I never tried, and this year, that’s the point: the push, the pull, the deep breaths through the moments of friction.

So, today, I’m asking the Chat how everyone is stretching into this new year. What are the ways you hope to grow, expand, or gain flexibility? Do you choose a word to lead you forward? And, if not, how do you reset for a new calendar year?

Amy: I love fresh starts and excuses to begin again better than before, to refocus on what matters and carve yourself out anew. Like Lauren, I use words, sometimes more than one, to focus my energy and set intentions for the year. I am still postpartum after my third baby, so this year my focus is leading with self-love. Eating like I love myself, moving my body like I love myself, sleeping like I love myself, carving out time for my writing like I love myself. Not because I need to *learn* to love myself, but as a reminder that moving toward my goals doesn’t have to be a harsh form of discipline or punishment (even that 4:30 AM alarm clock, which allows me the time to do these things!) but an act of devotion and self-care.

The other night it was late and the house was a mess after the kids’ bedtime and I was so tempted to tidy in the morning, but instead of feeling annoyed and grumbling about what I had to do, the voice in my head said, “Clean like you love yourself,” and I felt 1. lighter during the task itself; 2. grateful to have done it; and 3. extra grateful the next morning to not start the day feeling behind. I am also trying to touch my WIP every single day. Sometimes that looks like sitting down for literally five minutes because that is all I have to spare. But it keeps it top of mind, and propels me forward.

Amy’s tracker for the days her butt has been in the chair working on her WIP—even if it’s just for five minutes.

Hadley: Stretch is such a great word for the new year! The word I chose for 2026 is bold—which happens to be pretty much the opposite of my usual personality. I like to approach new situations cautiously, hesitantly, preferably with a well-mapped escape plan. But this year I’m hoping to shed some of that timidity and step into my confidence as an author and a storyteller.

On January first, bold felt like exactly the right word. I was in a groove with my new writing project, had my brand-new habit tracker all ready to go, and was excited to jump into the new year with two feet, even starting with a polar plunge into 45-degree Lake Washington.

Friends, my boldness lasted almost an entire week. Then I read the news, went down a giant doom spiral, and wanted to retreat right back into my personal cave. It’s a scary time to be a human in the world, let alone an extra-sensitive creative. But even if I have to recommit on a daily basis, I’m sticking with my word. I’ll write without fear, market the heck out of my books, and show up for my author community in all the ways I can… and I’ll boldly attend protests when that’s needed, too.

Erin: I’ve always been the type of person who makes a big, bulleted list of resolutions each new year with everything I hope to achieve, but I’ve loosened up over the past few years. Maybe it's getting older or being set in my routine or realizing that life always throws curve balls, but I haven’t compiled a list in a few years. I jokingly told the group that my word for this year is survive, since I feel like I’m holding on for dear life lately. But “embrace the unknown” may be a better phrase.

Between middle school applications for my oldest kiddo, job stuff, and hopefully, subbing/selling book two, there is a lot that could change this year. It’s exciting, but much of it feels out of my control right now. Sitting with that is a stretch in itself—I’m learning how to let go and let flow, as they say. What I do know for sure is that I’m going to keep pushing myself with writing and other goals while trying not to worry about what I can’t control.

We’d love to know what ways you’re stretching yourself this year, too? Do you have any words, goals, or—gasp!—resolutions you’re taking into the new year? It’s been a challenging start to the year, so let’s share and do what we can to inspire each other.