Forget New Year’s Resolutions: Goals Can Start Anytime

Learn how to achieve your goals anytime—without relying on New Year’s. Small steps, consistency, and resilience at any time of the year can lead to lasting success.

Beginning on 1 January 2025 and ending on 31 December 2025, I completed 36,500 push-ups. It was probably closer to 55,000. I don’t really know I never kept count. And truthfully, I don’t care. The final number was never the point -- and there’s nothing meaningful about it.

What is meaningful, at least to me, is that I set a goal, built upon it, and stuck with it even when I didn’t feel like it. And trust me, there were plenty of those times.

You might assume that this started as a New Year’s resolution. It didn’t. I appreciate why folks use the New Year as a reset, but linking a goal to it feels arbitrary to me. No single day magically makes change easier. If anything, it often sets me up for failure when Life inevitably gets in the way -- usually by late February.

So here’s my point: just pick a goal and start on any day. It needn’t be a big goal. A small one will do. Just be consistent. Keep chipping at it, even when progress feels slow or your motivation low. And when you stumble -- and you will -- don’t frame it as failure. Dust off yourself, frame it as a lesson, and keep moving forward.

You might be surprised by how much you can accomplish.

How My Push-Up Journey Began

I began my push-up routine in mid-July 2023. I was in decent enough shape, but I knew my upper-body strength needed improvement. Push-ups seemed the ideal training method: they are simple; they work multiple muscle-groups simultaneously; and they can be done anywhere, any time. I set what felt like was a reasonable long-term benchmark -- one set of 10 push-ups, three to five times per week depending on my schedule. That came out to 30-50 push-ups per week.

Problem identified. Solution outlined. Goal implemented. Easy.

Or so I thought.

By rep number six on that first day, I was close to system failure. I managed to squeeze out ten, but those last four weren’t pretty. My chest and shoulders burned afterwards and were sore -- really sore -- for days. Still, I completed 2-3 more sets that week as planned and kept at it.

By the mid-August, I started to feel better. That’s when I began to wonder: what if I did 100 push-ups 3-5 days per week? I knew I couldn’t 100 all at once, so I broke them up into 10 sets of 10.

By mid-September, I was able to do 25 push-ups at time comfortably. That’s when I decided to do 100 every day. I wasn’t sure that I could sustain it, but I felt an urge to try. By the summer of 2024, they were plenty of days where I was doing 200 push-ups, sometimes more, depending on my other workout routines.

As of this month, January 2026, I do about 150 push-ups on average every day. Worst case -- when I’m really sore; pressed for time; or under the weather -- I still hit my 100 baseline. There have been many days where I really don’t want to do them, but something in me wouldn’t let me skip.

Don’t get me wrong, I have missed days. More than a few. Following surgery in September 2024, I was sidelined for two weeks. I’ve lost days to illness. And losing family has knocked the wind out of me hard more than once. But every time I’ve always returned to my 100 baseline – and added extra to make up for those missed days.

And whenever that familiar feeling of failure creeps in -- as it still does -- I remind myself that I’m thousands of reps beyond where I once was. That alone is an accomplishment.

Just Start

Let me be clear: this article is not about me or push-ups. It’s about sharing what I hope is a helpful message.

It’s about the importance of setting goals -- even small ones. It’s about starting at any point in the year -- Goals don’t need a calendar date to matter. It’s about the power of consistency, even in small doses and even when you don’t feel up to it -- How do you climb a mountain? (One step at a time while focusing on the path ahead, not the peak). And it’s about reframing failure -- Not as defeat, but as a lesson you carry forward as you pick yourself up and keep going.

After all, failure isn’t just about quitting; it’s also about never starting.

So if there’s something you want to achieve, stop waiting. Decide on a goal. Maybe you want to hike the Appalachian Trail. Maybe you want to join a Search and Rescue (SAR) team. Maybe you’re aiming for Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS).

If those goals feel too big, then start small. The Appalachian Trail can wait while you begin hiking at local parks. If SAR interests you, register for training courses that build critical skills such as wilderness survival and first aid. And if becoming a Green Beret is the objective, a strong first step is attending a Special Forces Evaluation (SFE) -- One day events open to the public and run by 19th and 20th Group to help gauge a candidate’s potential. (And don’t neglect land navigation; it’s one of the most common points of failure at selection.)

No matter the goal, the key is to start -- on any day -- and keep moving forward.

Then keep at it consistently. Embrace lessons from mistakes. When that gets easier, raise the bar.

Over time, those ordinary efforts can transform into extraordinary results.

Meet the Author

Erik Kulick, Founder & Chief Instructor

Erik is a Pennsylvania-certified EMS Instructor, Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, and served in law enforcement. He works with individuals and groups across all skill levels -- from beginners to members of the SOF community. He's been featured in national and international media, including CNN, The Associated Press, Backpacker, and The Guardian.

To learn more about Erik, visit him on LinkedIn and be sure to follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.