Most people don’t quit their goals because they’re lazy or undisciplined.
They quit because the system they’re using can’t survive real life.
Quitters Day—the second Friday in January—is when motivation fades and goals quietly fall apart. But science tells a very different story about why that happens… and how to stop it.
In this episode, I walk you through 6 research-backed ways to make goals stick, even after motivation wears off. We’re breaking down what psychology and neuroscience actually say about follow-through—and why doing less often leads to more success.
Grab the FREE PRINTABLE HABIT TRACKER I talked about in this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why setting too many goals actually increases quitting
- How cognitive overload sabotages focus and follow-through
- Why smaller goals outperform big, exciting ones
- The real reason motivation isn’t the problem
- How to eliminate decision fatigue so goals happen automatically
- Why accountability doesn’t require an audience—just one safe person
If you’ve ever started strong and then wondered why things fizzled out, this episode will help you stop blaming yourself and start building a system that actually works.
The takeaway:
If you follow these 6 science-backed tips, you will stick with your goals—past Quitters Day and beyond.
Leah Remillét:
I am literally recording this episode on January 1, 2026. Now, I don’t know when you’re going to listen to it—and honestly, it doesn’t matter. Because what this episode is really about is helping you get past that moment of “I have this great goal, I have this thing I want,” and then… it fizzles out.
What I want to do is get you into strategies that will carry you far past the fizzle-out stage and all the way to the finish line.
If you haven’t heard of it, Quitters Day is usually the second Friday in January. It’s the day most people officially abandon their new goals. The gyms empty out. Journals close. Vision boards quietly slide back under the bed—or you just forget to look at them again.
If you happen to go to the gym in the next couple of weeks and think, “Oh my gosh, it’s so busy,” don’t worry—it’ll be empty again soon.
But not for you.
I don’t want you to be one of the people who stops showing up.
I’ve always had this need to figure out the best strategies. What actually works? What gets in the way? How can I block that? How can I gamify the results I want?
So today, I’m sharing six of my absolute favorite tips—tips that truly make a difference. They’re research- and science-backed. And what’s kind of wild is that before I learned them, I was making all the mistakes. My brain kept grabbing onto more in the excitement… and then the results would fizzle.
Before we jump in, I really want to say this clearly:
If you have quit before, it does not mean you’re lazy.
It does not mean you lack discipline.
And it does not mean you can’t finish now.
It just means the systems you were using were unsustainable.
I’ve experienced that exact realization—where instead of beating myself up and saying, “Well, I just can’t do this,” I stopped and asked, “Wait… what is actually getting in my way, and how can I stop that?”
Our brains are powerful. If I’m looking for proof that I can’t, I’ll find it. So I need you to let go of the past times you didn’t make it to the finish line. Acknowledge them, accept them—and recognize that you didn’t have all the tools you’re about to have now.
Everything can change today.
So here’s what we’re doing: I’m giving you science-backed, real-life systems—systems that survive tired Tuesdays, busy seasons, unexpected interruptions, and that voice that whispers, “You should be doing more.”
Because real life happens.
Okay, let’s jump in.
Tip #1: Set Fewer Goals
I’m going to be straight with you—this was the hardest one for me to accept. I always felt like, “But more is more.”
And here’s the truth:
More goals = more quitting.
So yes… I guess I was right. More was more. Just not in the way I wanted. More goals didn’t equal more success—it equaled more quitting.
And this isn’t a mindset thing. This is a brain thing.
Researchers at Princeton University weren’t studying goals at all—they were studying attention. Participants were given simple cognitive tasks. They were tracking, responding, paying attention. And then the researchers did what life does best: they kept adding more. More rules. More signals. More things to monitor at the same time.
The expectation was optimistic. They thought people would focus harder, compensate, and rise to the challenge.
They didn’t.
As the mental load increased, performance dropped. People missed obvious cues. They made more mistakes. And here’s the fascinating part—the brain began filtering out information on its own. Even information that mattered.
Not because people didn’t care.
Not because they weren’t capable.
But because the brain, when overwhelmed, protects itself by narrowing focus.
Honestly, I feel like I could’ve predicted this.
It’s like driving in a torrential downpour and saying, “Turn down the music—I can’t see.”
The music isn’t affecting your eyesight, obviously—but there’s too much stimulus coming in for the brain to process it all.
Our brains treat multiple goals the same way.
So when you stack five, six, or ten goals and then feel scattered, unfocused, or behind—that’s not a you flaw. That’s your brain trying to protect you.
If you’ve already set your goals and you’re thinking, “This list is big and beautiful and I’m so excited,” I’m going to challenge you to narrow it down.
Narrow it down to a maximum of three goals.
And yes—I know how hard that can be. It was very hard for me.
But I can tell you: it has made all the difference.
Tip #2: Shrink the Goal
Here’s the uncomfortable truth. I love big dreams. I love the idea of 10x. I genuinely believe “Why not you?”
But I’ve had to concede this: when we shrink the goal, we dramatically increase our chances of achieving it—and then stacking the next phase.
Big goals feel inspiring in the moment. And that’s the problem. In moments of motivation and excitement, we set huge goals… and then real life shows up.
We can’t sustain them.
So we abandon them completely.
Research from Harvard Business School shows that big achievements—raises, accolades, breakthroughs—aren’t actually the strongest motivators. The most powerful driver of motivation is progress, even tiny progress.
On days people made small, visible steps, motivation and persistence increased.
Big goals delay dopamine.
Small goals feed it immediately.
If your goal requires a personality transplant or a perfect week, it won’t survive real life.
Small doesn’t mean weak.
Small means repeatable.
A quick example from my own life: In December, I knew life was full. It was busy. So I shrunk my exercise goal to 20 minutes a day.
In the summer, I might ruck for hours. But in December, I said, “I’m doing a 20-minute YouTube workout.”
Because something is always better than nothing.
Tip #3: Write It Down
You’ve probably heard this before—and it’s still one of the easiest, most powerful shifts you can make.
Research shows that people who write their goals down are 30–40% more likely to achieve them.
That’s it. Mic drop.
Why? Because thoughts evaporate. Life happens. And if a goal isn’t written down, your brain treats it like a suggestion.
Nice idea. Maybe later. No promises.
Write it down.
And remember—you’re only writing one to three goals.
If you have ten goals, that’s okay. Stack them across the year. Three per quarter. You don’t lose them—you schedule them.
Trying to do all ten at once usually means doing none of them.
Tip #4: Decide When It Happens
This might be my favorite research of all.
Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer studied people with equal motivation—same desire, same excitement, same intentions. And yet, some followed through and others didn’t.
Researchers assumed the difference was willpower.
It wasn’t.
The difference was that the people who followed through had already decided when and how the goal would happen. Everyone else was deciding in real time.
Here’s the reframe:
What if Quitters Day isn’t about quitting at all?
What if it’s about decision fatigue?
Every day you ask, “Should I do this now?” you drain energy.
You don’t fail because you don’t want it badly enough.
You fail because you keep asking yourself to decide again and again.
Decide once—and let the system carry you.
Tip #5: Track Progress Visually
Your brain loves evidence.
Checklists. Habit trackers. Streaks. “Don’t break the chain.”
Tracking isn’t obsessive—it’s encouraging.
I’ve used apps. I’ve used worksheets. I’ve used simple daily checklists. And what’s fascinating is this: when I noticed habits I kept missing, it helped me realize I hadn’t decided when they happened.
Tracking shows you where your system needs support.
Tip #6: Tell One Safe Person
You don’t need an audience.
You need one safe person—someone positive and encouraging.
Research shows accountability can increase follow-through by up to 65%.
When you stack that with writing goals down and everything else we’ve talked about, you start to see how powerful these simple strategies are together.
Closing
You need to hear this:
People don’t quit because they lack discipline.
They quit because the system is unsustainable.
Too many goals overload attention.
Too many decisions drain energy.
And then we blame ourselves for responding exactly the way a human brain is designed to respond.
So here’s your reset:
Pick one goal.
Make it smaller than you think it should be.
Decide when it happens.
And tell one safe person.
That’s how goals survive.
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