Every December, we stand at the precipice of a “Fresh Start.” We feel the possibilities of the “New Year, New Me” mantra and, for a moment, the air feels charged with the possibility of a quantum leap. We imagine ourselves finally becoming consistently spiritual, physically disciplined, happy in relationships, or professionally organized and successful. But by mid-February, most of us feel the charge has dissipated. The “New Me” feels remarkably like the “Old Me,” but just more tired.
The problem is not that our resolutions are too big. They just often misunderstand the process of real change. We treat growth as an event when it is actually a designed process. To truly “uplevel” our lives this year, we must embrace a sobering but hopeful reality: Great change is 10 percent brilliant vision and 90 percent grinding execution. 10 percent is your “Big Decision.” It is the moment of agency where you look at your current trajectory and decide to change the angle. In the scriptures, this is the “pattern, which was shewed . . . in the mount” (Exodus 25:40) such as when Nephi saw the ship in vision before a single timber had been cut (1 Nephi 18:2).
Without a big decision to change, effort is aimless. As the proverb warns, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). If you don’t know who you feel called to become, you may spend your energy running in circles. This is a good time to ask: Who am I becoming? Not just what do I want to do, but what kind of “house” am I building? Am I establishing a “house of order” or a “house of God” (D&C 88:119)?
This vision is your compass and tells you which way is North. The compass is essential to the journey. But it is vital to remember that the compass doesn’t move the boat. If your vision is the compass, the 90 percent is the oar. It is the “grind”—the daily, often boring, repetitive execution of the decision you made by the light of the burning bush.
We often fail because we fall in love with the vision but resent the work it takes to make it a temporal reality. The tax on becoming a writer is the grind of the blank page. The tax on becoming a disciple is the grind of the early morning prayer or scripture reading when you would rather sleep. The tax of becoming a companion is giving up some of your personal preferences to make space for the happiness of another person.
The Lord seems to have a preference for this 90 percent ratio. He told us that “out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33). Our Father in Heaven doesn’t usually grant the “great thing” (the 10% vision) without the “small things” (that add up to 90 percent of your effort). Like the Brother of Jared, we are often required to “molten out of a rock” our sixteen small stones through sweat and labor before the Lord provides the light that makes them shine (Ether 3).
The biggest obstacle to the 90 percent grind is the “all-or-nothing” trap. We set a “ceiling”—a best-case scenario goal—and when life gets messy, we abandon the goal entirely.
To survive the grind, you must define your “Floor.”
- The Ceiling (10% Vision): “I will spend an hour in deep, focused scripture study.”
- The Floor (90% Execution): “I will open my scriptures and read one verse every single day, no matter what.”
- The Ceiling (10% Vision): “I will meet and marry my eternal companion this year.”
- The Floor (90% Execution): “I will invite someone in am interested in on a date at least two times per month.”
The “Floor” is your non-negotiable. It is the 1% margin that keeps your trajectory pointed North. By standardizing the habit of showing up, you prove to yourself that you are the person you decided to be. You are laying the foundation, brick by boring brick.
Creating a Decisive Environment
Finally, we must realize that our environment often works against our vision. If you decide to be a person of peace, but your workstation is a nest of digital distractions, you are forcing your willpower to do work that your environment should be doing for you. Use your “Big Decision” energy to curate your space. Set up your tools—your workstation, your charging hubs, your study corner—so the path of least resistance is the path toward your goal. When your environment matches your vision, the uphill climb becomes a little less steep.
For me, the New Year has coincided with several important moments of change in my life.
- On New Year’s Eve 2011 (going into 2012), my boys and I were stranded at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere without sufficient money to resolve the predicament. I vowed I would never be in such a desperate situation again.
- A year later, at the New Year, I came to the realization that my situation had not changed enough, and I resolved to make more effort to be seen—which resulted in a new career opportunity in Texas.
- Three years later, in 2016, the New Year had just brought me back to Utah. I opened a law firm the first business day of the year.
- On New Year’s Eve 2017 (going into 2018), I wrote Cathy a letter asking her to date me for marriage—which changed both of our lives.
- At the New Year 2025, I decided to dissolve a business partnership, which ultimately resulted in the happiest law practice situation I have had.
A new year can be a powerful time to reevaluate our lives. But upleveling your life is not just about a magical transformation on January 1st. By all means reevaluate, make your annual goals, and do your best. But improving your happiness is about the sacred nexus of Revelation and Labor. This year, don’t just polish your compass. Be profoundly grateful for the 10 percent vision the Lord gives you. But then put the compass in your pocket and pick up your oar. Trust that as you provide the 90 percent, the Lord will sanctify your “small and simple” efforts until they become something great.
Resource:
Intentional Courtship can help in this journey.
About the Author
Jeff Teichert, and his wife Cathy Butler Teichert, are the founders of “Love in Later Years,” which ministers to Latter-day Saint single adults seeking peace, healing, and more joyful relationships. They are co-authors of the Amazon bestseller Intentional Courtship: A Mid-Singles Guide to Peace, Progress and Pairing Up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeff and Cathy each spent nearly a decade in the mid-singles community and they use that experience to provide counsel and hope to mid-singles and later married couples through written articles, podcasts, and videos. Jeff and Cathy are both Advanced Certified Life Coaches and have university degrees in Family & Human Development. They are the parents of a blended family that includes four handsome sons, one lovely daughter-in-law, and two sweet little granddaughters.
Purchase Jeff & Cathy’s book Intentional Courtship:
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Website: http://www.loveinlateryears.com/
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/loveinlateryears
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/loveinlateryears
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LoveInLaterYears
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