I used to set New Year’s resolutions. Like many people, I’d start the year motivated and optimistic, only to lose momentum by the end of January and abandon them altogether by February or March.

Over time, I realized two things about resolutions that didn’t work for me. First, I needed accountability beyond sheer willpower, something I could return to when motivation dipped. Second, many of the goals I set were either unrealistic or misaligned with who I was at the time and where I was actually headed.

So instead of setting a resolution for 2026, this year I’m setting a personal mission.

My 2026 Mission: To Live Sustainably

This mission didn’t come from a single defining moment, but from a pattern I couldn’t ignore. Throughout 2025, the idea of sustainability kept surfacing: in my personal life, my professional work, and the way I was thinking about growth. I also noticed myself slipping into familiar patterns I thought I had already moved past, and feeling a quiet sense that I wanted more. But not more in the way I once defined it.

Sustainability, for me, isn’t just environmental. It’s about how I spend my time, energy, money, attention, and resources. It’s about whether the way I’m living can actually be maintained and not just for a month, but for a season, a year, or a life.

In many ways, sustainability is what resolutions try (and often fail) to achieve. They require sustained momentum, motivation, reflection, and adjustment without offering a structure to support any of that.

Redefining What “Success” Looks Like

One of the most important realizations I had in 2025 came when I reflected on a word I had chosen at the start of the year: abundance.

At first, I thought abundance meant financial success. Midway through the year, I felt discouraged, believing I wasn’t going to “hit my goal.” But when I paused and asked myself what abundance actually looked like in my life, and collected the right data, everything shifted for me

I realized I was already deeply abundant!

I had been able to breastfeed my healthy daughter. I was sharing meaningful adventures with my husband. I had more slow mornings than ever before. I experienced many genuinely happy days, felt supported by family, and found joy in small, ordinary moments.

Once I expanded my definition of abundance, I saw that I hadn’t fallen short of my goal at all, but I had surpassed it, with half the year still ahead of me!

That moment changed how I evaluate success. It taught me that meaningful growth isn’t about checking a box or reaching a single outcome; it’s about recognizing patterns, reassessing alignment, and allowing goals to evolve alongside real life.

Sustainability as a Practice, Not a Destination

That realization naturally led me to think about sustainability differently.

By definition, something sustainable is able to be maintained at a certain rate or level. Maintenance isn’t a one-time event; it’s ongoing. Which means sustainability requires systems, not just intention.

I had already made some sustainable changes in my life, but they weren’t consistent. The issue wasn’t effort; it was alignment. I didn’t yet have systems designed to support the kind of sustainability I wanted.

A simple example comes from environmental sustainability. Recycling is helpful, but what if I also examined my spending habits to reduce how much I consume in the first place? Suddenly, one change affects multiple areas: environmental impact, financial health, physical well-being, productivity, and even mental load. Fewer items to buy means better budgeting, healthier choices, less organizing, less washing and sorting of containers, and less decision fatigue.

Seeing all of those pieces work together really energized me! It made sustainability feel not restrictive, but expansive. And it makes my goal more meaningful and achievable.

Why I’m Choosing a Framework Instead of Willpower

What finally made this year’s goal feel possible was realizing I didn’t need more discipline, because as a busy mom, that’s hard as it is. Instead, I needed a framework.

A framework acts as a built-in accountability partner. It gives me a way to pause, check in, reassess alignment, and redesign when needed. Even when the path forward isn’t perfectly clear, the framework helps me know I’m still on course, because everything is oriented around one guiding mission.

This is where the MADE Method comes in!

MADE isn’t something that has to be followed in order or used all at once. Its elements work together, but how and when you engage with them depends on your mission. Alignment—not perfection—is what defines excellence. And not every mission takes the same path to get there.

This flexibility is exactly why MADE works for both personal and professional development. It allows for course correction, reflection, and growth without requiring certainty from the start.

Walking This Path in Real Time

I won’t be answering every question about this mission in this first post, and that’s intentional.

Throughout 2026, I’ll be sharing monthly reflections on how this mission is unfolding in my own life, alongside updates on how MADE is being lived out through my work. This isn’t a polished case study written in hindsight; it’s a practice I’m committed to engaging in publicly, thoughtfully, and honestly.

This first post simply marks the starting point.

My mission for 2026 is to live sustainably and to let alignment, reflection, and intentional design guide what that becomes.

An Invitation to Walk Alongside Me

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Yes! this is what I’ve been missing year after year,” I invite you to walk alongside me in this mission-focused approach to 2026.

You don’t need to have everything figured out. Your mission doesn’t need to look like mine. And your path toward alignment and excellence will almost certainly take a different shape.

What matters is starting with intention.

Over the coming months, I’ll be sharing how I’m using the MADE Method to check in, reassess, redesign, and stay aligned with my mission to live sustainably, both personally and professionally. If you’re curious, I encourage you to try it alongside me.

You might begin by reflecting on a few simple questions:

• What outcome are you hoping for this year?
• How do you want your life to feel as you move toward it?
• What kind of mission would help you stay oriented when motivation fades?

If this resonates, I’d love to hear what you’re working toward. Feel free to share your reflections in the comments and join the conversation as it unfolds.

And if you’d like to follow along more closely, subscribe to receive future posts as I share monthly reflections and real-time examples of MADE in practice. Next month, I’ll be exploring what “living sustainably” actually looks like in practice—using a few creative tools to generate possibilities rather than prescriptions.

For those who want additional, personalized support, I also offer a free 20-minute discovery conversation to explore how this framework might support your goals.

This isn’t about crushing goals. 

It’s about creating something you can sustain.

2026 is our year,

Jenn Babcock

Founder, MADE Consulting

Mission-Aligned Design Excellence