How High Performers Actually Set Goals

Jason Farris
January 02, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

It’s that time of year again.✨
Everyone’s talking about goals.
New year. Fresh calendar. Big intentions.

Here’s what I’ve learned the hard way, coaching agents and running my own businesses for a long time:

More goals doesn’t equal more progress.

In fact, it usually does the opposite. A massive list feels productive… until January hits and nothing moves.

When goals are too many or too vague, they turn into background noise.

That’s why I personally cap myself at three goals per month.
Not three for the year.
Three for this month.

It forces focus.
It forces honesty.
It forces you to decide what actually matters right now.

If everything is important, nothing is.

Think in layers, not wishes 🧠

One framework I like is what I call working backward. Start with the big picture:

Then reverse-engineer it:

Big goals don’t get achieved by motivation. They get achieved by boring, repeatable actions stacked over time. 🔁

It’s hard to predict markets five or ten years out.
But you can decide the standard you want your life to operate at.

From there, your job is simple:
What’s the next small step that moves me in that direction?

Not ten steps.
Not a vision board.
One step.

Sometimes the goal isn’t wrong.
The reason behind it is.

Ask yourself:

👉 Why does this goal matter to me?
👉 What happens if I don’t hit it?
👉 What am I willing to say no to in order to make it happen?

Good goals survive good questions.
Weak ones disappear. And that’s a good thing.

That’s it. ✅

No hype. No resolution guilt.

Just clarity, focus, and momentum heading into 2026 🚀

If you want to share what you’re aiming at this year, hit reply. I read them all.

Coach Jason