Will you be successful in 2026?
The gap between wishing and achieving.
2026 is almost here.
I usually get a flurry of new applicants for my signature full face approach to aesthetics, my FFA, only for people to realise that it is more involved than they’d anticipated.
The promise of a new year is often a time when we think of new goals and do-overs.
A way to do things so that outcomes are different this time compared to all the times before.
The statistics tell us that New Year’s resolutions often fail, with low success rates (around 8-10% finish). Most people give by within 2 weeks.
The reasons for these are many, among them:
- Vague goals: eg “get fit” versus “track macros, walk 30 minutes 3 times a week on mondays, wednesdays and fridays”
- Overwhelm: Starting too big leads to quitting quickly; the best way to build momentum is by starting so small it seems pointless.
- Lack of systems: as the saying goes, “if you fail to plan, then plan to fail”. Most success relies on a proven path that one follows without veering or losing enthusiasm.
- Quitters’ Day: most New Year’s resolutions are discarded by the second week, when motivation fades.
The gap between people who achieve their goals and those who keep bouncing from one goal to the next, thinking “this one will be the one” isn’t just luck.
Or a magic fix.
It’s about understanding some basic psychology that most people never learn because they’re too busy rushing to the next quick promised fix that fails.
In 2025, I’ve seen far too many people who come in asking for a “quick fix” when the past 5 attempts or the past 2 years saw them fail repeatedly.
So what are some common characteristics of people who succeed?
1. Successful people understand that there is no perfect.
- there is no perfect time to start;
- you’ll never feel “ready”. Ready is a decision, not a feeling.
- there will be trade offs; in order to achieve a new goal they’ll have to make sacrifices of other things; of time; of effort; of money they could’ve spent elsewhere.
- there will be periods of setbacks, frustrations, boredom, even failures.
This is life, and most of us who succeed eventually learn that this is a price we need to be prepared to pay.
You can have what you want, but you can’t have everything that you want. Learn to prioritise and then say no to the rest.
2. Successful people understand that failure is feedback, not the end.
- there will be periods of setbacks; boredom; failures.
- there will be days when it feels too hard and we will be tempted to quit.
- there will be days when you might question your sanity, or if the cost of continuing is too high.
- there will be days when nothing seems to be happening for the investment of time, effort and energy
- there will be days when the outcome feels uncertain.
- there will be moments in which you disappoint yourself or let someone else down due to failure.
Every one of these can be a reason to quit..
- if your why is weak.
- if you’re looking for approval from others.
- if you are undecided on your path.
- if you believe that setbacks mean rejection “it’s not meant to be!” “I’m not cut out for this!”
For the successful, setbacks can be a means to learning :
- what you did well and what could be better. .
- where you failed and what you can improve on.
- what you can apologise for, if it was your error, and do better going forward.
The difference isn’t in the failure or the setback. It’s in the attitude you bring to the task and the determination to see things through to the end.
3. Successful people are specific
SMART goals are a good example of specificity.
In the opening paragraph I used some examples of common reasons why people fail, and the biggest ones tend to be:
- lack of specificity
- lack of planning/system
- lack of direction
SMART goals are a good way to set yourself on a path if you lack a coach or someone to direct you.
SMART in the context of addressing skin concerns, for example stands for:
- Specific eg “I want my acne to be better controlled if I follow the plan”
- Measurable eg “When I see my doctor, my acne will be down from always present to maybe some pimples around the time of my periods”
- Achievable eg “the number of new pimples I get will be reduced to hardly any.”
- Realistic eg “In 9-12 months of treatment, I will not be getting any new pimples, my skin will be smoother, the discolouration will be at least 60% better and I’ll have a simple skincare that I can maintain most days of the week.”
- Timebound eg “I will begin to see improvement in my acne from 6-12 weeks of treatment, ahead of a review appointment in 3 months; it’s unlikely I will see much improvement in 2 weeks. I understand that it will take around 12 months for my skin to continue to improve and I’ll need to establish new habits to support this.”
The use of specific goals means that you and I agree in terms of what we are aiming to do, over what timeframe and we agree what some of the important markers of success will look like.
It also means that if we fail to achieve those targets by the timeframe, we assess why that may be, and adjust accordingly instead of looking to quit or to blame.
In this way, we look at failure as feedback, not a character flaw.
4. Successful people are doing it for themselves.
Successful people are usually pursuing success for themselves, in whatever area of life they are working on.
They are not trying to impress anyone else. They are usually aiming to impress themselves – by having a better quality of life; by showing up for themselves; by keeping promises to themselves.
They know the buck stops with them. If they quit, they have no one to blame but themselves, so every decision is owned by them.
5. Successful people play the long game.
Remit Sethi once said, “whatever your budget, double it and then you’re close to the real cost.”
The aim of that statement wasn’t to encourage reckless spending, but to allow for realistic adjustments and to allow for (wait for it!) setbacks, failures and diversions.
Equally, as with money, I like to encourage people I work with, when it comes to chronic issues that have built up over years, if not decades, to give it time.
Usually longer than you deem “reasonable” to get to results.
Why?
Oftentimes by the time someone comes to see me, they’ve been to at least 2-3 other people, tried 2-3 other things, which “didn’t work”. When I ask why, it’s usually because the patient gave up. Until the issue began to concern them again, thereby setting off a new round of exploration for change.
Instead of feeling shame, it’s important to understand this is 80% of humans. So if this is you, you are in good company ….AND if you want a different outcome, you need help learning a different path, from someone who has been there, done that.
In summary
The change doesn’t come about until the basics change:
- you;
- your mindset;
- your expectations and
- your willingness to sit with discomfort, boredom, setbacks, failures and
- all the ways in which you sabotage your progress.
That takes time.
Far longer than seems reasonable, because that is an inside job.
By the time you get to the end, if you do, you are not the same person anymore.
Most people won’t make it because it’s easier to quit and look elsewhere for an easier option.
Which leads me to my final point.
Successful people understand that it won’t be easy, convenient or cheap. And they want it anyway because the pain of staying where they are is worse than the pain of changing.
Ultimately, success is about keeping the promises we make to ourselves, in search of a better future.
This applies to all aspects of optional, medically non necessary care such as skin, skincare, medical aesthetics and my signature full face approach, my FFA.