Resolution 2026: How Can I Do Better With What I Already Have?

Note: This article was enhanced and refined with the help of artificial intelligence, based on the author’s original ideas.

Why think about adopting new resolutions when we could first choose to build on what we have already managed to create over the past year? This question is not meant as a provocation, but as an invitation to shift our perspective. Especially since the data shows that this approach is far from intuitive: according to international studies, only around 20% of employees worldwide describe themselves as truly engaged at work (see sources at the end of the article). In other words, the main lever for progress does not always lie in adding new objectives, but in strengthening what already works and creating the conditions for sustainable engagement. Each new year naturally pushes us to want to “do more,” “do better,” to add new goals—sometimes at the risk of forgetting the path already traveled. Yet progress does not necessarily mean starting from scratch or reinventing everything. It can also mean consolidating, deepening, and reinforcing what is already working.

Building on our successes means acknowledging the efforts made, the lessons learned, and the balances found. It means accepting that continuity can sometimes be more powerful than disruption. Resolutions should not only be promises of change, but also commitments to consistency—to staying true to what has already enabled us to move forward.

Rather than opposing new resolutions to last year’s achievements, it becomes more relevant to ask: how can I do better with what I already have? How can I bring more depth, meaning, and coherence to what has already borne fruit?

It is also a way of anchoring our focus on the glass half full. Taking the time to see what is already there—what works, what nourishes us. And above all, choosing to build on that foundation, to enrich what exists, rather than constantly trying to fill new glasses. Multiplying containers does not guarantee balance or satisfaction; sometimes it is by taking care of what we have already begun to fill that we make the most sustainable progress.

In practical terms, this applies very directly to the professional world. The data confirms it: engaged teams can achieve up to +23% higher profitability, with significantly lower absenteeism and turnover. In this context, consolidating an organization that works, preserving effective rituals, or maintaining a healthy work balance is not a comfort—it is a genuine performance choice. If a way of working already allows deadlines to be met without exhaustion, the challenge is not to multiply methods or tools, but to strengthen that organization. If a team functions well, with clear rituals and smooth communication, the goal is not necessarily to add new processes, but to preserve that framework and allow it to mature. If a balance has been found between performance and quality, or between engagement and perspective, then that balance deserves to be consolidated rather than questioned anew each year.

On a more personal level, the same logic applies—often even more clearly. Sleeping well and enough, eating healthily, maintaining a minimum of regularity in one’s lifestyle are quiet, almost invisible achievements. We rarely think about them when they are present, because they seem self‑evident. Yet it is often these balances that we only fully appreciate when they begin to weaken or disappear.

If a daily routine already brings clarity and effectiveness, the challenge is to protect it rather than complicate it. If sleep is restorative, if nutrition supports energy instead of draining it, the priority is not to constantly experiment, but to preserve this foundation. If certain relationships nurture trust and calm, they deserve more space, not less. Some achievements only reveal their true value once they are lost—and that is precisely why they deserve to be recognized and consolidated while they are still there.

This choice is in no way a lack of ambition. Quite the opposite. Studies show that employees who feel aligned and supported are up to three times more engaged and far less exposed to burnout (Gallup, Wellbeing at Work; World Health Organization; Harvard Business Review). Choosing alignment over the accumulation of objectives is therefore an investment in healthier, more stable, and more sustainable performance. It is a pursuit of better alignment between what we want, what we do, and what we are able to sustain over time. It is also a way to avoid dispersion—the constant race for “more” that ultimately dilutes energy.

Sometimes, moving forward simply means remaining faithful to what already helps us grow. Like the tree on the cover image, firmly rooted, the most sustainable growth does not always come from movement, but from anchoring. It does not seek another ground; it deepens its roots where it is already alive. And it is precisely this quiet, often invisible stability that allows it to endure over time. In the same way, some resolutions are stronger when they focus not on adding, but on consolidating—because we do not grow by constantly changing terrain, but by fully taking root where we are aligned.

I wish you a 2026 defined by this sense of anchoring: a year to consolidate what already supports you, to deepen what makes sense, and to move forward with clarity, continuity, and confidence.

by Farid Yandouz

Important Notice: My book "Revitalize Managerial Practices: Engaging Stance, Key Dynamics, and Impactful Stepping Stones" is available on Amazon, exclusively through the following link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF4CJZ58

Sources and further reading:

• Gallup – Global Workplace Report: data on employee engagement levels worldwide.

• Gallup – State of the Global Workplace: analyses linking engagement, performance, profitability, absenteeism, and turnover.

• Gallup – Wellbeing at Work: studies on alignment, workplace well‑being, and burnout prevention.

• McKinsey & Company – Organizational Health Index: correlation between organizational health, sustainable performance, and engagement.

• Harvard Business Review: research on the impact of effective routines, managerial continuity, and alignment on performance.

• MIT Sloan Management Review: studies linking well‑being, management practices, and business outcomes.

• World Health Organization (WHO): data on psychosocial risks, burnout, and mental health at work.