Goals? Ew. Do this instead.

Angela Rakis
1 hour ago
3 min read

Sometimes the smallest reflection resets an entire year.

Goals? Ew. Do this instead. Guest blog written by Melina Cordero

I have a complicated relationship with goals.

Because I’m driven, ambitious, and clinically perfectionist, I love long walks on the beach (if I can track the steps), strong cortados (but only between 7 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., lest it corrupt my chronotype), and a crisp, satisfying goal.

Goals and grinding propelled me upward in my corporate career and fueled the business I launched four years ago.

But goals also trapped me.

They kept me chasing outcomes long after they stopped serving me. They stirred up failure when life shifted. They pulled me into cycles of doing instead of reflecting, of performing instead of aligning.

If you want to read more about goals–and get a chuckle–check out the article, Goals Gone Wild, on the art and science of why goals do and don’t work.

Since then, I’ve shifted my end-of-year practice from goal-setting to something far more grounding: reflection and intentional change. I’ve been using three questions each December, and after everything 2025 demanded, I have been encouraging every leader I work with to use them too.

Not because goals are bad. Clarity is simply better.

If you want to play along, grab a peppermint latte or whatever seasonal vice helps you focus and start here.

RELEASE: Let it go, Elsa

2025 was a year of overcommitment. Too many tasks. Too many expectations. Too many “sure, I’ll handle it” moments. Whether you led a team, ran a business, or survived another reorg, you are likely carrying things into 2026 that are ready to be dropped.

This is the moment for an energy audit. Look at what fueled you, what drained you, and what you kept doing out of habit or guilt. Clearing space is not indulgent. It is strategic.

Reflection prompts:

What quietly exhausted you this year?
What role or obligation no longer fits who you are now?
What small release would instantly create more breathing room in your week?

2. EXPAND: Where are you playing small?

Overwhelm makes us shrink. One of the clearest patterns I saw this year was brilliant, capable leaders opting out of opportunities they were completely ready for. Playing small can look like not applying for a role, avoiding posting online, saying no to speaking, or staying quiet when you have something valuable to contribute.

For me, expansion meant saying yes to partnerships I once labeled “too big.” They were not.

Releasing what drains you creates space to expand into what grows you.

Reflection prompts:

Where did you hold back to stay comfortable?
Which opportunity scared you for the right reasons?
What is one bold action that would meaningfully shift 2026?

3. CONNECT: Who will walk with you?

Here is another 2025 theme. Leaders were surrounded yet lonely. After years of overstimulation, endless meetings, and constant noise, people craved something smaller and more honest.

I watched women step away from massive industry networks and form intimate micro-communities. Three or four people meeting monthly on Zoom or chatting in a WhatsApp thread. Simple. Real. Undiluted. And surprisingly effective.

We lead better when we are supported, seen, and reminded that we do not have to figure everything out alone.

Reflection prompts:

Where did you crave support this year?
Who are the people you feel lighter around?
And if the community you need does not exist, could you create it?

A Final Thought

You do not need a perfect plan for 2026. You need clarity, honesty, and a bit of courage. Pick one question, sit with it for ten minutes, and see what rises. Sometimes the smallest reflection resets an entire year.

About Melina

Melina Cordero leads P20 Leadership, a firm reinventing what leadership looks like in the post-2020 workplace. She equips leaders and teams with practical, inclusive, and forward-thinking tools that actually work in the world we are leading in now.

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