New Year: Time to Recharge

Everyone wants to know: What are your goals for the new year?  

But no one asks: Have you rested yet? Have you let the year that just ended settle into your bones? Have you given yourself permission to not know what comes next?  

We’re taught to sprint into January. New year, new you, fresh start, hit the ground running. As if reflection is procrastination. As if rest is the enemy of momentum.  

But your body will tell you that clarity doesn’t come from pushing harder. It comes from creating space. From letting yourself recharge before you redirect.  

The holidays are supposed to be that time—that natural pause between what was and what’s next. But for most of us, they aren’t. The holidays came with their own demands—travel, family dynamics, hosting, spending, performing joy. You survived them more than you rested through them. 

 And now you’re arriving in January, still not quite landed, and expected to have everything figured out. 

So maybe January doesn’t start with goals. Maybe it’s about getting grounded first. About letting yourself land before you launch. 

Getting grounded doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means creating intentional space to look back before you look forward. Reflection is a critical leadership practice. It means asking: What did this past year teach me? What worked? What didn’t? What do I want to carry forward, and what needs to stay behind? 

 I know what you’re thinking: But if I slow down now, I’ll fall behind. Everyone else is already starting. I’ll lose momentum. 

Momentum built on exhaustion doesn’t last.  What looks like “falling behind” is the pause that helps you remember what you actually want, not what you think you should want. It’s how you feel the difference between goals that excite you and goals that drain you. It’s starting from clarity instead of pressure. 

Give yourself permission to use January differently. To start small. To let goals emerge instead of forcing them. To trust that the clarity will come when you stop demanding it arrive on January 1st. You can’t launch from mid-air. Land first. The rest will follow. 

This year, create intentional space and move forward with clarity and purpose by implementing Capacity: Unleashing Human Potential. At Ziel, we’ve spent years translating EI research into practical approaches that work in real organizational contexts. Our program offers evidence-based tools, practices and insights your leaders will put to use.