January Goals, Big Dreams, and the First Crossroad: Your ProBF Guide to Tackling the New Year
Welcome to ProBF ProTips, our advice column from Facilisgroup’s Director of Professional Development and professional best friend (ProBF), Terri Harland! She’ll share her tips and tricks in the promotional products industry to help sales reps elevate their skills and drive incredible growth. In this edition, Terri discusses the hottest prospecting tool all sales reps need to better utilize: social media.
January is intoxicating.
Everything feels fresh. Clean. Possible.
The calendar flips, your social feeds light up, and suddenly, everyone is doing the thing—setting goals, buying planners, signing up for programs, downloading apps, declaring intentions like they’re New Year confetti.
And honestly? That momentum works in your favor.
You start with big plans.
You buy the new stuff.
You set intentions.
You fly.
Week one? You’re unstoppable. You don’t quit. This feels good. You feel good. Then… week two shows up. Then three, and week four is annoying.
The novelty wears off. The alarm clock hits different. The goal that felt exciting now feels inconvenient. You’re still going—but now it requires effort. Maybe you make it through week three. You’re thiiiiiiiiis close to a habit forming… but the results? Not happening as fast as you thought.
Boom! First crossroad.
Maybe you stick it out, you’re frustrated. And before you know it, the goal feels like a mountain instead of a molehill. By now, your peers are suspiciously quiet on social. Or worse, VERY loud about how far ahead they are compared to how far behind you feel. According to ChatGPT (and honestly, lived experience), about 80% of people abandon the goals/resolutions they set before they achieve them. Even if that stat isn’t exact, you know the truth: The people who see it through? They’re few and far between.
So the real question is, who do you want to be?
If you’re in and ready to see this through, I have a plan. This isn’t vague motivation or a “good luck, you’ve got this.” It’s a five-step approach designed to be intentional, structured, and rooted in the level of dedication real goals require. We’ll move through clear commitments, consistent check-ins, visible progress markers, and, my personal favorite, built-in a.c.c.o.u.n.t.a.b.i.l.i.t.y. We’ll do this together, thoughtfully and all the way through.
First: Say It Out Loud (to the Right Person)
I know this sounds wild… but hear me out.
Even if you’ve already shared your goal on every social platform you’ve ever scrolled, I want you to tell your boss your resolution. And then, ask them to ask you about it in a few weeks.
No boss?
Then choose a child, a best friend, or any peer you respect so deeply that if you made them a promise, you wouldn’t dare fumble.
This matters.
Pressure can be a privilege when it’s intentional. Pressure makes diamonds, baby!
Second: Create a Daily Check-In (5 Minutes, That’s It)
Take your phone and create a recurring daily meeting with yourself.
Five minutes. Same time. Every day.
This isn’t about doing the work; it’s a prompt. A reminder.
A moment that fuels your internal instincts to keep pushing, even on the days motivation ghosts you.
Consistency > Intensity. Every time.
Third: Set a “Fumble” Allowance
Here’s the truth no one tells you: goals should be hard enough that you need grace.
I want you to set a number of fumbles.
Not a free-for-all. A reasonable amount of humanity.
This is your defense against quitting the first time you mess up, cheat on the diet, skip the workout, or just… forget.
It might look like:
- One pass-day a week for rest
- If I slip twice, I get back on the horse
- If I fall behind, I double up tomorrow, no drama
Grace keeps you in the game. Quitting doesn’t.
Fourth: Time Block It (Dead Serious)
How much time, daily or weekly, does this goal actually require?
Now block it on your calendar.
And treat it like a doctor’s appointment or a client meeting.
Dead. Serious.
ProBF moment: I will emotionally punch you if you’d never no-show a client, so treat this calendar commitment with the exact same integrity and respect.
Your time is your most valuable resource. If you can’t block it, you can’t accomplish it.
And if that realization stings? That’s your cue to go back and tweak the goal, not abandon it.
Fifth & Final: Create Milestones (This Is Where Momentum Lives)
Define:
- Current state
- Goal state
- Deadline for accomplishment
Now break it down into weekly progress points.
If the goal is weight loss, how much weight do you want to lose each week? If you’re ahead, bank it. If you’re behind, adjust and push. Progress needs to be visible. That’s why every fitness app and sales dashboard shows movement.
Progress is just as important as the result.
Those small wins? They’re the endorphin hits that keep you coming back.
And listen, what kind of professional best friend would I be if I didn’t offer backup? If you want to tackle this together, reach out.
I’m in your corner.
Yours always,
ProBF
