Why January Goals Fail (And What Alcohol Teaches Us About Real Progress)

January is the time when motivation drops and many people start thinking they already failed their New Year’s goals.

In this solo episode, I talk about why most January goals don’t stick and why it usually has nothing to do with discipline or willpower.

I share my own experience of moving from December’s noise into January’s quiet, and why that shift often makes people feel stuck, tired, or frustrated. Most goals fail because they’re simply too big, too vague, and too strict to work in real life.

I also use alcohol as a real example, because it shows this pattern better than almost anything else. I explain how alcohol affects sleep and recovery, why all-or-nothing thinking makes progress harder, and why extreme rules often backfire.

Instead of asking “Should I quit alcohol?”, I suggest asking better questions:
Why do I drink? What role does it play in my life right now? And what would a smaller, more realistic change look like?

This episode is not about Dry January or being perfect.
It’s about lowering pressure, shrinking your goals, and focusing on consistency instead of intensity.

If January feels harder than you expected, this episode will help you reset your goals and keep going without burning out.

Transcript

Turo Virta: 0:58

Hey and welcome back to the podcast. And if you are listening this in January, I want to start by saying this, if you already feel like you are behind, if January didn't start the way you imagined, if some of your big goals already feel heavy, you are not broken, and you definitely didn't fail, because this episode is for you, and I want to talk today about why January calls fail so often. And I want to use alcohol as a main example, because interestingly, my most downloaded, downloaded episode recently was about alcohol and health, and that tells me something. People are not stupid, they are curious. They feel that something is off, but they also feel stuck between. I know this affects me, and I don't want Extreme Rules. This episode is not about quitting alcohol forever. This is not about try January, and it's definitely not about shame. It's about why we set goals that don't survive in a real life, and how to fix that. So January is often part where the truth shows up, shows up. Because what I see that January often it's a lot quieter, like, obviously not every person, like, in my case, December is more quiet month for several reasons, and January is when when things are getting busier. Because often December, for most of the people, December is loud. There are parties, there is a family, there is food everywhere, there is alcohol everywhere, and generally removes the noise. And when the noise is gone, patterns become visible. All of the sudden, your sleep feels worse. Your energy is low, your motivation drops, weight doesn't move. Routines feel harder, and alcohol didn't suddenly become a problem in January. January, it just shows the truth more clearly. And this is where many people panic and think, I need to be stricter. I need to do more, I need to cut everything out. And that's usually where things go wrong. And that is, that is a pattern I have been this is now. It's exactly 10 years ago. Officially, when I started. I have been doing this a bit longer, but my I started my business 10 years ago, and in the beginning, like, the best example was, like, it was bit more than 10 years ago when I started December and they were in, I started with doing group workouts. And after, was it my first or second year, or one of my first years? Anyways, it was in we started courses. And in, usually I do, I run three courses per year for in person, group workouts. And we start in. There is one course starts in January, next one is in May, and the third one is in September. And it was always like, especially that September course. And we were, there were a lot of people in September, October, then step by step, it got a bit less. And in January, there were not many people anymore. And and for the first year, I was in panic. I thought that what, what I'm doing so wrong that, let's say an example that I we had a 12 people attending in September, and in in December, we were three, four people. And I was like, that was that pattern was in all, all courses. And I was thinking, what I'm what I'm doing so wrong that nobody wants to come anymore. And then January comes, people are attending again. And pattern follows year by year. And now I know I'm extremely grateful for my groups last year, 2025 we had a last workouts before Christmas. Over 2530 people attending workouts, still just before Christmas, and it was, it's still a bit less than it was in September. It was not the best numbers, but it shows just that consistency. Maybe I have been able to improve the ways how I coach people, but also it's, it's a pattern that for most people, they don't show up. Life gets busier and people don't show up as much, and then most of the people, so many people, think that now January is is a time to start. I need to do more. I need to be stricter. I'm cutting everything out, and today we are talking about that so my light and those most goals are too big. And because I want to be honest with you, most people I know and I have worked with, or if I talk with the just the people who are not even working with the coach, just the regular people, and they go calls are sounding like that, I will stop drinking. I will be healthy. I will be I will lose weight. I will get my life back on track. And but if you are really thinking, those are not, these are, those are all not footballs. They are wishies, and they are often too big and they are too bad big. And I want to use alcohol as an example, because if you are telling to yourself that I will stop drinking, what does that actually mean? Are you stopping drinking on weekends? Are you stopping at birthdays, on a stressful Tuesday night, on vacation, forever? So when a goal has no clear shape, your brain can't follow it, and when real life, so real life shows up stress, maybe you are tired, maybe you have some emotions. The call is going to collapse, not because you are weak, but because the call that your call was poorly designed and and that is the, that is pattern, what I see again and again, and that is all or nothing thinking, and that is killing your progress, because someone, maybe even you, if you are listening this in January, you are starting January strong. You are drinking no alcohol. You are eating clean, you are motivated, and then in one evening you are drinking, for some reason, glass of wine, maybe one beer, or maybe you had a dinner with friends, and immediately your thoughts are appearing, well, I already messed up, and that is the moment of danger, not the drink, but the story because one drink turns into I failed. So what's the point? I will start again next Monday, and this is all or nothing thinking and it kills progress faster than alcohol ever could. One class is not a failure. Quitting, the plan is, and let me say that again, one imperfect choice doesn't raise all the good decisions you made. So I want, I want to use a little example of alcohol. Why that is a perfect example? Because the alcohol is not just a substance, it's emotional, it's social, it's connected to stress, reward and connection, and that's why Extreme Rules don't work well here, if your plan feels like a punishment, your brain will repel so if your plan removes removes all joy without replacing it, it won't last and because alcohol shows up. So something very important health is not just about information, it's about behavior, and behavior always has emotions underneath. That's why just quit rarely works in long term. So what alcohol actually affects? And I want to keep this very simple, so what I see with my clients gain, and again, is not extreme damage, it's small effects that add up. Alcohol is affecting your sleep quality, even in a small amount. You might not feel it. Most people don't feel it or don't want to believe it because they think that they want to justify and trust me, I have been that person before. You are talking yourself out of it because you are telling that that I sleep better. Yes, it's true. You might feel asleep faster and usually, but your sleep quality quantity is not the same than sleep quality. If you ever track your sleep or heart rate variability, which tells how well you are recovering, not only workouts but stress, what is going on in life, your heart rate average, they are all those, all quality markers are going to be lot worse than even one class is affecting those and if you haven't, ever, never tracked your sleep, I highly recommend doing it so you learn it's not about that. You know that, okay, this is going to ruin everything. So now it doesn't matter, but you learn to know from your patterns, and that is what alcohol also affects. Like I said, it's recovery from training. It affects hunger and cravings the next day. It affects to your mood, your patience, your motivation. And many people are saying but I eat well, yes, but if, if your sleep is poor and recovery is low, fat loss is going to stall. Whatever you do, maybe it works a bit, but in the long term, it's going to be very, very difficult. Your energy is going to drop, and most of the people are blaming themselves alcohol. Alcohol is often not the main problem, but it's kind of invisible break, and I want to, I want to give you a little questions to ask yourself, better questions to ask yourself. Instead of asking yourself, should I quit alcohol? The better question is that, what role does alcohol play in my life right now, for some people, it is a stress relief, a reward habit, a social clue, and there is no right or wrong answer here because, but because we are all different. We use it for different reasons and and if you really think like you have to find your reason. What? What is that your what is the role, why you are doing it? Is it? It's for most people, it's one of those reasons, stress relief, reward, habit or social glue. And once you become aware why, what kind of role does it play, what kind of hole it's filling in your life, that awareness is going to change everything. When you know why you drink, you can make better choices without extremes. So this is I want to I want to go through little strategies and how to shrink the coal until it feels easy, because if you do something, what feels hard? It's not matter of if you follow through. It's matter of time before you quit. So it's, it is honest route. It might You might feel offended, but if you have ever tried that, you you know yourself like that. You enjoy drinking alcohol, and you tell yourself that I'm going to quit alcohol. And trust me, I told that to myself so many times earlier that never, ever again, huge hangover on next day, and not only one day, a couple days, maybe almost a week. And I said that this, I don't want this anymore. I quit drinking. Maybe, if you know your you, it might be for some people that it's one decision, and it's after that they never drink, but often it's not going to be. It's not going to be because it's, it's, it's hard, and at at that point, it's, it's not going to work. So instead of telling that no alcohol, maybe you could try no alcohol from Monday to Thursday, and drink only when it's planned, not automatic. Because many people I work with and talk with, from my friends, they it's kind of habit that it's every evening, not much, maybe one two glasses. But there is a habit. Maybe you could try drinking one less, one drink less than usually. Maybe you are going to slow down the first drink, because those goals, they feel almost too easy, and that's the point, because small goals, they are reducing pressure you put to yourself, because pressure kills consistency, and consistency creates results. And this the same rule applies to training, food, sleep, because big promises impress and small habits transform. And this is, this is, if I think this rule, what I what we have, what I have, used it for myself. It was the training. Training Part was the same thing. It was I, I said that I was, I was an athlete. I told myself that if I can't make, let's say, 45 minute or one hour workout, what is the point of doing 15 minutes? And soon as I changed my goal only to get started, it feels ridiculously small for someone who knows that you won't get results for doing five minute workout or 10 minute workout, but that that is not the point to have the most optimal first workout, because I know that you are not going to get a best possible transformation of doing working out Two times per week for five minutes. But what changes when you follow through whatever plan you have, you feel confident, you feel happy about yourself that you got only started with training so and then when you stay consistent, it's so much, because life is full of seas. At some seasons it's going to be harder. Some seasons it's going to be easier to follow through, but soon as you start to stay consistent and do that and for here for two, three years, five years, let's talk if you are able to do it for decade, there is it's going to change everything, because those results, they are created through consistency, not perfect. Month, June, and it's same rule applies to food, your sleep. And those are those small habits, what you do consistently a make the difference. So what is, then, your success? How it should look like in January? And this is very important, January success is not perfect. Eating, it's not fast, weight loss, it's not zero alcohol. It's not never messing up. January success is looking like noticing patterns, learning what's hard, staying in the game and not quitting after a bad day. So think of January like practice at the exam. So you are not here to prove anything. You are here to understand yourself better. So this is if you, if you are able to get this to learn yourself from your learn yourself from your patterns, learning what is hard, staying in a game, even it's going to feel hard, or it's not going to be easy. And do not quitting. You are going to, you are going to thinking like a practice, like, if you, let's say, you want to do some extremely difficult exercise, if you, you expect yourself doing it for the first time perfectly. No, you know that you need to practice. It's it takes effort, it takes failure, and you learn from patterns. But if you quit after first time you try something new, it's not realistic to be able to learn it either, either you might be greeting, or you quit right away, or you are you are improving, like if you look small kids, if they they they try to learn for walk that I don't know any, any child who, who were able to just one day, came and got up and walked and run perfectly. No, it takes many falls, but once you practice, you don't give up, you are going to learn, and then it feels easier. At some point it will be automatic that you don't even think about it anymore. But in the beginning, everything is hard. It's like a practice. It's not the exam where you have to be, have to have everything correctly. And this is not just about alcohol. Alcohol is just a mirror. So the same mistakes happen with workouts, diets, sleep routines. They your goals are too big, they are too strict, and you try to be too fast. And then what happens is that one day, you throw everything away and but in a health it doesn't work like that. So this is, that is the hardest part to understand, but think your journey as a practice, and do not give up if you feel that your goals what you said for yourself in the beginning of the year, like many people do, they feel that now it's too hard. Maybe it's time to adjust your goals, talk yourself with more kindness, and you will, I promise you it feels when it feels almost too easy, but you are following through, you will be lot more consistent. You will feel better about yourself, your boost. You are going to boost your confidence, and as a result, follows will follow up. And I promise you, you have to just trust the process and keep going. So let me leave you with this. If January feels messy, you didn't fail. Your goal was just too big. Make it smaller, make it more simple, make it boring, make it doable. Stay consistent, stay curious and keep going. That's how real change happens. And if this episode helped you, share it with someone who might need it, and if you want support with this, not extremes, not rules, you know where to find me. Thank you so much for listening and talk to you soon.