Why You Should Start Your New Year in December and Tackle That Scary Goal

The Weekend Windup #12 - Cool Reads, Events, and More

This is less of a serious rant and more of a reflective one. It’s late in the year, and for many people, this is a chance to reflect and get clarity on what they’ve done and what’s next. Over the years, I’ve learned that December is a pivotal month if used correctly. Most people wait until January 1st to set goals. By February or March, those goals are dead. If you actually want to move the needle, you don’t start in January. You start now.

For the first time in a while, I don’t have to catch a plane for an event. Which is good, because I’m also a total physiological and mental wreck at the moment. Extensive international travel does that, where there’s jet lag piled on top of other jet lags. I’ll deal with it somehow. Like this morning, I went to yoga and climbed afterward. That was nice. More days like this, please.

Right now, I’m shifting from “Tour Mode” to “Work Mode.” There is a distinct difference between the two. Tour Mode is necessary for “getting out and understanding the world,” giving talks, etc. But it makes deep focus difficult. Between jetlag, sightseeing, meetings, and events, producing high-quality work is hard on the road. I’ve managed to crank out book chapters on the road, but it’s not easy.

Now I’m back in my “man cave,” finishing my Mixed Model Arts book and accompanying course. This is my highest priority at the moment. I’m also using December to plan 2026. I’ve got some scary goals, in the sense that they’re difficult. In due time, I might post some of them.

A quick aside about goals: I usually hate that word because people obsess over the outcome instead of the process. I feel it’s more important to set the habits and processes to achieve goals. Just like sets and reps in exercise, you need to put in consistent work to make progress. And the cool thing is, over time, you’re operating at a much higher level. Embracing the process of daily gains and growth makes you stronger.

Some people shy away from scary goals. I’ve learned that if a goal is terrifying, and you’re constantly thinking about it, it probably means you should pursue it. Usually, the work that will actually change your life is the work you are most scared to do. It’s sitting in the back of your head, nagging you. You try to ignore it, filling your day with busy work so you don’t have to face it. Another year might go by, and you’ve done nothing to confront that scary goal. December is the time to confront that fear.

How to Use December.

• Don’t just coast through the holidays. Use this month to decompress, sure, but also to take stock and inventory. What did you accomplish this year? More importantly, what have you always wanted to do but haven’t started?

• Be Selfish with Your Time: You need to protect your schedule. If you want to spend more time with your family or finish a big project, you have to be selfish enough to say no to the low-value obligations. I’m notorious for saying “no,” and very rarely have I regretted it. Focus is key.

• Tell friends and family if you’re comfortable, and if they’re supportive. There’s nothing better than people who’ve got your back. But avoid haters and negative people. They’ll do everything they can to tear you down. When you’re just getting started, you need to put on the blinders and keep moving no matter what.

• Use AI as a partner and strategist. AI is so damn good nowadays. Whether it’s Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT, use these tools to help you brainstorm, prioritize, and map out the work it will take to achieve your scary goal. I use these AI’s to break down massive, scary goals into step-by-step instructions, even having them add tickets to Asana and build workflows to help me scale and move faster. Totally game-changing.

• Start today and build the sets and reps, create a process, and do the work. By the time January rolls around, working on your goal is already a habit. Your odds of success just went up!

Most importantly, don’t phone it in. I meet too many smart, capable people who are just phoning it in, both at work and in life. I get it. Life happens. You have bills to pay. But if you have that itch to do something more, don’t let another year slip by.

Write down the scary thing. Build the plan. Get going! Hope you have a productive and fun December, and a great weekend.

Joe

Awesome Upcoming Events

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Great to see everyone on my Fall tour! Hit a lot of states and countries, and had a blast.

Working on my 2026 event schedule. But since I just returned mid-week from an exhaustive Fall tour, I don’t want to think about it too much right now. Stay tuned…

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But wait, there’s more!

My other upcoming events are posted here.

Cool Reads

Here are some things I read this week that you might enjoy.

We remember the internet bubble. This mania looks and feels the same.

Google Antigravity Exfiltrates Data

Tech predictions for 2026 and beyond | All Things Distributed

Researchers discover a shortcoming that makes LLMs less reliable | MIT News

Software Failures and IT Management’s Repeated Mistakes - IEEE Spectrum

The chip made for the AI inference era – the Google TPU

Part 1: My Life Is a Lie - by Michael W. Green

EXCLUSIVE: Credit Report Shows Meta Keeping $27 Billion Off Its Books Through Advanced Geometry

Claude 4.5 Opus Soul Document · GitHub

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