At Growth By Design, we believe intentional choices lead to impactful growth, whether you're shaping a thriving organization or a meaningful life. Here, we provide the practical information, tools, and frameworks to get you there. Today we’re leaning into the classic new year mindset of goal setting, but from the angle of the real science that drives how we change our behavior. Ready to make 2026 your best year yet? Knowing how to change your behavior and that of your team is a great starting point. Let's dive in. 

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Happy new year!

I am a big goal setter – both micro goals for my day and big goals that keep me focused on my vision for years to come help me organize my thoughts and actions into alignment with what I want my outcomes to be. So naturally, the end of December (really more like early November) brings an exciting, reflective energy in me that inspires me to reflect, realign, and re-energize.

Yet a recent conversation with a family member reminded me that not everyone feels this way about goals. Some folks are vague goal-setters (think “I’ll run more”), some are specific goal setters (“I’ll walk more than 11,000 steps per day”), and some are goal-abstainers.

No matter where you are on the spectrum, I felt it could be valuable to distill the seemingly complex human behavior processes that drive our ability to decide, create, and sustain a change in behavior. Whether you’ve got your 2026 all mapped out, or you’re resisting the goal-setting culture of the new year, understanding how you change your behavior is invaluable.

This is the first of a 5-blog series where together we will walk through the five stages of the transtheoretical model of behavior change. Today, let’s discuss the first stage: precontemplation.

The Goal Setting Dilemma

Approximately 39% of adults in the US set at least one New Year’s resolution, with an estimated 59% of young aadults ages (18-34) participating in the NYE resolution culture. Yet, only an estimated 9% actually keep their New Year’s resolution for the full year, and only 36% of goal setters make it past January. Perhaps this is why we see a decline in older populations setting a resolution – they have simply become disenchanted by the whole idea by age 35.

The culture of New Year’s Resolutions (and abandonment thereof) can serve as fodder for the goal-abstainers who are skeptical of people’s inherent ability to change behavior. The problem isn’t that the goal is too hard – people aspire and do great things every day. The problem lies in the uniqueness of an individual and the circumstances surrounding the specific goal. Many January goal-setting conversations assume people are ready to change. But often, the real starting point is precontemplation: the stage where you are not yet seriously considering a change, even if others think you “should.”

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“It doesn’t matter when we start. It doesn’t matter where we start. All that matters is that we start.”

– Simon Sinek

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What Precontemplation Really Is

Psychologists James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente describe precontemplation as the stage where there is no intention to change in the foreseeable future (i.e., the next 6 months or so). In precontemplation, people may be unaware there is a problem, underestimating the downsides of their current behavior, or simply exhausted by previous failed attempts. This may ring true for the folks who start going to the gym in January only to let their membership collect dust by March. Or in my case, swear off processed sugar only to be broken by the everpresent chocolates that come with Valentine’s Day.

In organizational life, precontemplation might look like a leader who insists, “Our culture is fine,” despite turnover spikes and engagement survey red flags. On a personal level, it might sound like, “I don’t really need clearer goals; things will sort themselves out.”

Why Precontemplation Matters for Goal Setting

Trying to force SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, time-bound) goals onto someone in precontemplation often backfires. They feel pushed, not pulled. Motivation is low, defensiveness is high, and the focus is on preserving the status quo.

From a behavior change perspective, the work in this stage is not “set better goals.” The work is “raise awareness and reduce resistance.”

The Evidence from Behavior Change Research

Decades of Transtheoretical Model research show that successful change is stage-matched. Strategies that work well in later stages (like action plans and metrics) can be counterproductive here, where people benefit more from:

• Consciousness-raising about the issue and its impact
  • getting 10,000 steps reduces risk of heart disease
• Emotional arousal (connecting to values, identity, and consequences)
  • Heart disease significantly compromises both quality of life and life span
• Environmental reevaluation (how behavior affects others)
  • Consider getting a smart watch to understand how many steps you get a day

A review by Prochaska and Velicer highlighted that people move more effectively through the stages when interventions fit their current readiness rather than assuming they are “ready to act.”

Practical Steps You Can Take Today If You’re in Precontemplation

If you’re not excited about goals this January, you might be here. Instead of forcing yourself into action, try these first steps:

• Ask a gentler question
  • “If I changed nothing this year, what might it cost me in 1-3 years in health, relationships, career, or finances?”
  • Write down what comes up without judging or fixing it.
• Collect data, not verdicts
  • Track one relevant behavior for a week (sleep hours, screen time, spending, meetings per day).
  • The goal is awareness, not perfection.
• Listen to the people around you
  • Ask 2-3 trusted colleagues or friends, “What’s one habit of mine that might be holding me back?”
  • Simply record their answers; don’t debate or promise change.
• Try a “no-commitment” experiment
  • Commit to a tiny, low-stakes experiment for 3 days (e.g., 5-minute walk, 5-minute planning session, no Slack after 8 pm).
  • At the end, ask, “What did I notice?” rather than “Did I succeed?”

How You Can Work with Precontemplation at Work

If you are leading others, you will see this stage often:

• Normalize resistance
  • Frame change as a shared exploration, not a mandate: “We’re noticing X, and we’re curious what might need to shift.”
• Share impact stories
  • Rather than pushing metrics, share stories of how similar changes impacted well-being, workload, or client outcomes.
• Invite curiosity
  • Ask, “What would have to be true for this change to feel worth it?” and listen without correcting.

January 1st has passed us, but change is not date-determinant. You are not behind if you are here. Precontemplation is the legitimate starting point for any change in behavior. By recognizing without judgment, you invite the very curiosity necessary for implicit motivation that results in sustained action.

Regardless of your goal setting prerogatives, I wish you a year of wellbeing, joy, and of course lots of growth.

Onward and upward!
Katie