https://www.alden-mills.com/blog/goal-setting-for-2027
Your great lock-in begins now
Your great lock-in begins now because we officially have less than three months before 2027 begins. And if that sounds futuristic, that’s because it is. I know many of us have gone year after year with the same goals, wondering, “Wow, the time just flew by.” But we are going to make those goals happen this year.
I’m the CEO of Locking In
E team, it’s Amy. If you told me a few years ago that I would live my dream life looking like this, married to the love of my life with my dream job, I would have told you you’re crazy. But I got that because I’m the CEO of Locking In. So today, I’m going to tell you exactly how to transform before 2026 begins so you can hit the ground running on January 1st, 2027.
How you do one thing is how you do everything
The first thing to do is to set the right tone, because how you do one thing is how you do everything. If I see you scrolling on the side while this video plays as you say you’re going to lock in, you’re already going against the point of this video. So lock in with your ears and your mind.
We don’t have time to waste
You can play this video while you’re eating in the back, while you’re doing chores, but don’t split your brain with what you consume, because that also hurts your attention span. If you only put partial effort into anything, you will never know if you could actually achieve that goal. Not focusing wastes your time, and we don’t have time to waste.
So, here’s the plan
So, here’s the plan. We find your why, pick one goal, run it through the CEO method, and then you lock in your environment. Ready to reinvent yourself? Let’s go.
Motivation is overrated
Motivation is overrated because it comes and goes. I don’t rely on it. Instead, I have a why, which gives me my drive. This is the fire that keeps you going toward any goal. So ask yourself, why do you actually want this? Not just to get validation from other people, but what is the deeper reason when you ask why over and over again?
Your identity only changes after you start taking those little actions
Gonna be controversial, but I don’t really agree when people say you should change your identity first, because how can you look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I don’t procrastinate,” when you procrastinated five minutes ago? How can you look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I’m someone who goes to the gym,” when you haven’t gone a single time in the past month? Your identity only changes after you start taking those little actions.
What action benefits me more?
So, here’s what I find to be a lot more helpful. Next time you face a decision, instead of asking, “What would my best self choose?” ask yourself, “What action benefits me more?” My parents didn’t really push me in school, which is surprising given that I got a 4.0 and went to Caltech, right? But they taught me that I have to choose what is good for me.
I want to give myself a good future
Which means that if I have school and homework, then I’m going to map out and problem-solve how to get the results that benefit me while still staying healthy. I want to give myself a good future. I’m going to study hard, but I also want to sleep well, which means that when I get home, I’m going to start my homework immediately. So you can work backward from what putting yourself first actually means and then take those actions.
Being selfish the right way
Being selfish the right way means you get off Instagram because your friend’s vacation doesn’t matter as much as yourself. You leave the social event early so you can go to the gym the next morning because it’s good for your health. You work on your dream because you have so much potential, and you believe in that as if you were your own parent.
Loving yourself is the best why
Loving yourself is the best why. So ask yourself, what would you have your own child do today? Do that for yourself. Great. Now, what exactly are you locking in on right now? Pick one goal, your top, top dream, not two, not three, because the more things you put on your plate, the more they compete with the success of this one thing you really want.
Write down what achieving that goal looks like for you
Write down what achieving that goal looks like for you in as much detail as possible. Imagine how happy you will feel when you finally see it come true. I used to write down a bunch of New Year’s resolutions and never look at them again. But then I realized that expecting myself to achieve 10 things just as well as someone who only wants to achieve one thing is arrogant.
Kick off the winner’s effect
You should not expect yourself to do three things as well as you would if you put all that effort into one thing. And the transformation you get from first achieving this one goal will make achieving everything else later on that much easier, because you’ll have more confidence in yourself and kick off the winner’s effect.
Get a head start
It’s really important to keep this one goal in mind during this locking period, because people usually start working on their goals on January 1st. But now, before the new year even starts, you can test this goal to get a head start and even decide if this is actually a goal you want to continue.
The CEO method
Now that you have your goal, here’s how we’re going to achieve it: the CEO method. If you’ve wanted this goal for a while, think about the reasons that have held you back from starting. C is for cutting anything in your way so that you can create capacity. Cut the resistance in any form it takes.
Cut them in a non-dramatic way
If you want to go to the gym and work on your dream body, maybe you don’t have a gym membership. Maybe you don’t have the right incentive to get out of bed in the morning. So instead, you can buy a subscription, pay for a personal trainer, or ask your parents for some way to help you. If you want to study harder, maybe you have friends who aren’t the best influence. So, no offense, but it is best for you to cut them in a non-dramatic way.
If you’ve wanted to be a creator
Of course, if you’ve wanted to be a creator but fear of what other people think of you is holding you back, then start a new Instagram account like I did, so I wouldn’t have my old friends following me. When I started doing YouTube, I found it difficult to make my videos engaging because I needed B-roll and didn’t know how to film it, or the quality was low and I wanted stock footage, but I had to deal with so many copyright issues.
Story Blocks
And that’s why something I use now, and what I wish I had earlier to cut my resistance, is Story Blocks. Thanks so much to them for sponsoring this video. Story Blocks is a 100% human-made stock media library that creators can use to transform their videos and make them more interesting with little graphics, sound effects, or music. You can get one of millions of assets in Story [music] Blocks.
They’re all pre-licensed
It was so hard for me to find non-copyright assets, because I would find music on a YouTube video that said non-copyright, add it to my video, and then receive a copyright warning. That’s why so many of my old videos can’t even get monetized now. Well, you can avoid that, because Story Blocks offers millions of footage clips, music tracks, templates, and images, and it pre-licenses all of them, which means you can use any of them.
Time is our most valuable currency
You also get unlimited downloads, so you can keep trying different assets until one fits. Plus, the whole point of Story Blocks is to help you create faster and easier. You can also use templates that go directly into your editing software like Premiere Pro. Time is our most valuable currency, and Story Blocks members actually save an average of 3.5 hours a week.
You’d be supporting real artists
It’s made my life so much easier. And the [music] animated backgrounds are also cool. And none of these are AI-generated. Real humans make all of them. So, by using Story Blocks, you’d be supporting real artists. [music] I’ve seen that many of you want to become creators, which I fully support, because I truly believe that being a creator has helped me develop my confidence and speaking skills, beyond just getting good opportunities.
15% off any annual plan
So, starting your personal brand is also really good for self-improvement. To get access to Storyblocks, which is built for creators and has become essential to my workflow, just go to storyblocks.com/amywang. With my special link, you’ll also get 15% off any annual plan for a limited time. So, make sure to check it out, because that discount is only available there.
Now that we’ve cut, we have the capacity to E, execute
Now that we’ve cut, we have the capacity to E, execute. Even if you remove your resistance, sometimes your goal still seems so far away because you have so many things to do to get there. And here’s the thing. When you climb a mountain, you don’t look at the top and think, “Oh, I’m never going to get there,” right? All you do is put one foot in front of the other. Step by step, hill after hill.
Break down your goal into the smallest viable action
So, just like breaking down the mountain into what actually gets you there, break down your goal into the smallest viable action that you can start taking today. If you want to work out, instead of telling yourself you’re going to learn how to lift for an hour, start by doing an exercise you already know for only 10 minutes. Then when you go to the gym, you’ll realize, “Hey, those 10 minutes weren’t so bad,” and you’ll likely stay there for about an hour anyway.
If you want to improve your math grades
If you want to improve your math grades, then don’t say you’re going to start in January. Start reviewing the foundations today. Take out just one past exam, look at the questions you missed, redo those problems until you get them right, and make a game plan for how you’re not going to make those same mistakes next time. If you want to start a personal brand, pull out a document or your notebook and start brain-dumping all the video ideas you have.
It’s time to O, optimize
After you’ve started executing these habits little by little, it’s time to O, optimize. Because if you repeat the same thing over and over again and nothing changes, and you still repeat the same thing over and over again, that is the definition of insanity. So the point of O, optimize is to reflect on how your current execution is going and ask yourself, is there something I can tweak to improve my results?
Maybe it’s the study method that you should change
For example, when I post a YouTube video every single week, I should reflect on why the past video performed the way it did. If I start going to the gym and lifting but don’t see any muscle change, then maybe I am not increasing my weights enough. If you spend two hours a day studying a subject you want to improve in and still get bad grades, maybe you should change your study method.
Did I actually try every little thing I could?
Now, the CEO method can literally apply to any, any goal that you have. And unless you have actually done all three steps, then you truly do not know if you are capable of achieving that goal. That’s why I persisted with YouTube and posted videos for two years before finally blowing up. Because even if my videos flopped after a whole year, I didn’t give up, because I asked myself honestly, “Did I actually try every little thing I could?” And the answer was always no.
Why not be willing to invest one year, two years, even 3 years
And so that is enough reason for me to keep going, because you go to school for like 12 years to get a job, right? Well, why not be willing to invest one year, two years, even 3 years to achieve that dream you have? Now, let’s move to the final step that makes sure you can actually do this consistently and stay happy while doing it.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And if they do not support your goals, it’s going to be way harder for you to work toward them every day. If you constantly surround yourself with people who don’t think it’s important to work out, or who always stay out late, then you’re going to feel so much more resistance and peer pressure.
Never be the smartest person in the room
Plus, even if you think you can ignore them, you’re inevitably going to subconsciously start questioning yourself. So, design your environment. Never be the smartest person in the room. If you’re able to, in your 20s, I highly recommend moving to a big city, because my life completely transformed when I moved to New York.
Your turn
I started having friends who were working on their own businesses. They had big dreams, and so obviously we would all chase them, because that was the norm. Your turn. Name one person, one morning habit, or one environment change that belongs to your thriving life. What is that one difference to your surroundings that would make it that much easier for you to stay consistent? Add it this week.
If I handed you your dream body, would you know how to maintain it?
If I handed you your dream body, would you know how to maintain it? how to grow it? No. So, it’s not about the goal or the thing you want itself. It’s about the process of getting there. And that’s how you make yourself prouder and how you make yourself deserve it.
The beauty is in the journey
Only when you have earned the thing itself will achieving it actually give you happiness. Because the beauty is in the journey and the person that you become in order to earn that thing. Wow, the sun is getting so bright. So I’m going to do something I’ve never done and move you over here.
Your lock-in begins now and not January 1
I’ve discovered that anytime I even begin to work toward a goal, I already feel happier, as if I’ve partly achieved it. And that is why your lock-in begins now and not January 1, because when you kick off your journey, you’re already going to feel more satisfied with yourself. So remember to be selfish about it, be your own coach, and remember the CEO method.
Comment down your one goal
Comment down your one goal you’re going to lock in on before 2027 and support each other in the comments. Remember to use Story Blocks to make creating content so much easier and faster. Link down below. In this video, I share the cheat codes I wish I knew 10 years ago. So, you’re welcome. I’m going to save those years of your life. So definitely check it out.
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