Adeline Olmer
- Dec 30, 2021
- 3 min read

New Year resolution: You only need one—learn why

Updated: Jul 14, 2022

Ending one year and starting a new one is an important passage we all go through as the days of the calendar end and we align to start again—giving us a chance to start anew—hence the new year resolutions we make every year.

A few years ago, I took a class with Jane Hamill that focused on goals for the new year. I was excited at the prospect of being guided in this process and finally coming up with a series of goals that would get me where I wanted to go. I was tired of getting to the end of the year and feeling disappointed by my achievements.

Jane’s direction was unexpected. “Come up with one goal,” she instructed. “Not just any goal, choose one outrageous goal!”

I was intrigued but what about all my other goals? How can one extravagant goal actually work to also include other areas of my life, i.e., health, family, metaphysical, community, etc. These were good concerns but, as it turned out, they were irrelevant.

Choosing a brazen goal, one I wanted to achieve but didn’t really think I could, put me in a different mindset. I was playing a bigger game and by doing that the other parts of my life seemed very manageable, doable without thought. They were no longer the end goal, but things that needed to be taken care of as I was working on a bigger challenge.

In 2020 my goal was to write a cookbook; I did. In 2021 I wanted to publish the book; I did. My goal for 2022, and I cringe while I write this, I want the Le Kitchen Cookbook: a Workbook to become a bestseller.

What’s been interesting for the past two years and the reason my resolutions worked was that the minute I chose that “out-of-all-reason” goal, all my attention became focused on accomplishing it. And that was the point. Acknowledging that the single risky goal that scared me was what I really wanted to achieve was what allowed me to find ways to do it.

It scares me to admit that this year I am going to work at making my cookbook a bestseller, but that fear isn’t reason not to go for it. I do know that if I don’t put my all into it, it won’t magically happen.

If I’m going to achieve my goal, and I am, I need your help. If you’ve bought the book and you like it, please tell your friends. The more people who know and purchase Le Kitchen Cookbook: a Workbook, the closer I get to the tipping point (the point at which an issue, idea, product, etc., crosses a certain threshold and gains significant momentum, triggered by some minor factor or change) and it has enough momentum to become a bestseller on its own.

Join me on this journey, as I figure out how to make this happen. I’ll tell you what I’m doing, what works, and what doesn’t. Since I’m not a marketing expert, you’ll learn along with me. I’ll keep you informed as to what I am doing. Let’s see together how I do by the end of the year.

Please use the comments to make this experience a dialogue. Do you have comments, thoughts, questions, or ideas? I’d love to hear them. Have you been through or are you going through the same process? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Do you have an outrageous goal? Let us know what you’re working towards in the comments below so we can support you.

Don’t have one? Check out Jane Hamill’s class in “The Club". It really worked for me!

Haven't bought the book yet but you'd like to?