Rhythm Over Resolution: Making Progress Stick

February is well and truly here. With it comes the time to welcome a New Lunar Year and a prompt to pause and reflect on the impact we were hoping to make within ourselves, our teams and organisations as we entered January.

The Western approach to the New Year often sets people and organisations up for failure. Setting lofty goals with a deep focus on the outcome without smaller yet more foundational changes in energy and prioritisation (which are required to succeed), stacks the odds against effective and meaningful change. In the West we also tend to set these goals before the New Year even begins, robbing ourselves of the opportunity to design goals which take into account new challenges, evolving relationships or unforeseen circumstances. For many, a dark January isn’t actually the best time to kick start new habits. 

Thus, think about using the arrival of the Year of the Fire Horse to make the change you want to see; starting with yourself so that you can be happy, healthy and productive. What new habits do you want to adopt to help you be successful? Which are less important and could be de-prioritised for now? What impact will this have on you, your colleagues and your business? 

Taking lessons from Lunar New Year traditions

Interestingly, in many Lunar New Year traditions, the emphasis is not on announcing goals but on preparing the conditions that allow genuine change to take root. Homes are cleansed and decorated, debts are settled, and preparations are made. The result? Space is deliberately made both physically and mentally for the changes that are coming, whether intentional or inevitable.

The new year is not so much a motivational starting line, instead it is the arrival of something that must be welcomed and prepared for properly. This approach recognises that meaningful change rarely comes from intention alone, it requires an environment, a mindset, and an energy that is ready to receive it. For businesses and teams, the lesson is clear: meaningful progress begins not only with new targets, but with creating the conditions that allow those targets to be met.  

For us as individuals, it’s an opportunity to create space and the right conditions. Asking yourself not just what you want to achieve, but what is standing in your way can be a game changer. What do you need to believe to create change and make it stick? What needs to be true for success to follow? What are the first steps that take you towards lasting change to achieve a small or big goal? 

Taking these moments to pause, reflect and reassess are essential for individuals and organisations alike. The Lunar New Year provides a perfect opportunity for us to look inwards and recognise the areas where we have not properly prepared to achieve our goals as individuals and collaborators. 

The Fire Horse brings energy

This Lunar New Year is the year of “The Fire Horse”, fittingly both its start and end will be marked by a “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse. The Year of the Horse evokes symbols of energy, movement and decisive action. In Chinese astrology, the Horse is not a symbol of quiet reflection, it embodies forward momentum and energetic change.

The Horse serves as an ideal metaphor reminding us that meaningful organisational and personal change doesn’t arrive simply because we want it to, or because we’ve identified a goal, it arrives when the conditions for progress are met and the necessary action is taken. Much like the Horse, to create and preserve momentum we need clear paths, intention and energy. The energy we foster and create is particularly important in this process.

Energy is one of the foundational and essential pillars of high-performance cultures, alongside alignment and ownership. Having the right energy, pace and resilience is critical to deliver in teams and businesses. It’s also a major factor in our individual happiness and productivity. Individual energy comes from having the space and capacity to contribute meaningfully. With clear goals, and properly directed energy, individuals can both maximise their impact and gain even greater fuel as a consequence – creating real momentum. 

Prioritise to maximise potential

Prioritisation sits at the heart of effective goal setting and is the biggest issue on many of our clients’ minds. Developing a culture of dynamic and ruthless prioritisation ensures energy is flowing to the right places and maximises potential. Ask yourself, which tasks are producing the outcomes I/we need? Which activities are consuming energy without creating progress? What areas can be sacrificed in order to maximise effort towards more important endeavours? Understanding how to prioritise can be the difference between wasted effort and meaningful progress for us as individuals, leaders and colleagues.

Make small but significant shifts

Intention can become reality by making small but deliberate shifts in mindset and everyday interactions. A CEO of a large investment company recently told us that instead of asking his colleagues “what did you do over Christmas?” he instead asked “what are you most excited about for the year ahead?”. His desire was to create more energy. A subtle shift, but one that aligned people’s energy, and reorientated them towards future priorities, shared momentum and the work ahead. 

So what can you do to hone your energy, prioritise your goals, and ensure the Year of the Fire Horse is a year full of meaningful progress? Here are a few things you try: 

2. Reassess your own personal and professional goals for the year, and take time to prioritise. Where did you have great intention but it hasn’t quite come to reality? Chunk down what you are wanting to achieve and have another go. Recognise that redirecting energy, even if it means moving away from some goals, can be precisely what you need to achieve what is most important to you.

Once you build some momentum, you are empowered to take on new goals, or pick up those that you temporarily left behind. My favourite challenge to myself is ‘I have the capability to do this but do I need to? Is the energy better put elsewhere?’.

3. Turn intention into rhythm, routine and momentum. Once you are excited about the direction you’re heading in, and have properly prioritised the steps you need to take, all that’s left to do is make it happen! Build simple habits and routines that honour your priorities in your day to day work. Intentional, repeated behaviours are what drive energy and culture change.

Do you need advice or inspiration? Please reach out to us and we’d be happy to help you on your journey to create, embed and sustain new habits and build your own high performance culture. 

Jarrad Fry
Staff Writer
The Culture Builders