Post by Trent Cotton

I tracked what actually made me happy last year. Spoiler: it wasn't the thing I've been optimizing for. Here's what I learned: you can't fix a problem you won't name. I spent over a decade in leadership roles that were challenging, exciting, demanding, and quietly devastating to my ability to rest. I clearly missed the warning signs. Then last year I actually looked at the data. Not productivity metrics or output. Real data: when was I actually present? When did I feel alive? When was I just running on fumes and calling it purpose? The answer was uncomfortable. I'd optimized myself so hard for movement that stillness felt like failure. So I'm not doing resolutions. I'm doing intentional yearly goals which means I actually looked at what's broken before I decided what to fix. Goal 1: Be intentional about connection. I realized I was showing up at conferences, meeting people, then disappearing. I want to shift to actually reaching out to people in my network consistently. Being vulnerable when I need to, not just performing the Chief Data Nerd version of myself. Same applies to my content. More authentic depth, less constant content production. Goal 2: Learn the skill I'm avoiding. I started creating on YouTube because I love sharing what I learn about AI and workforce trends. But I had hit a wall: my video editing is mediocre and I knew it. So I'm going all in. Not to pro level, but to a place where I'm not embarrassed by the craft. You can't teach people if you're self-conscious about the medium. Goal 3: Get comfortable with being still. This is the one that made me realize how broken I'd become. Over a decade of leadership roles optimized me for constant motion. Crisis mode became my baseline. Now, when there's nothing urgent, I panic. I'd rather create problems than sit with silence. I want to rewire that. Learn that stillness isn't laziness. Goal 4: Mentor people who meet three criteria. First: they make the time. Second: they do the work. Third: they're vulnerable enough to be coachable. I'm investing deeply in a small group this year but if they meet the criteria, I'm going all in. Goal 5: Focus my expertise. I care about two things: AI adoption data and how AI is reshaping the workforce. My job allows me to dig deep into both. So I'm going all in on becoming genuinely immersed in these topics and sharing patterns I find. I refuse to chase trends. I'm going to be focus on building actual expertise. Goal 6: Finish one book. Two books are cooking. One is documentary-style and data-driven about the future of People Operations in the AI era. The other is personal and motivational — leadership lessons from my grandmother's wisdom. One of them happens this year. Here's what changed my thinking: resolutions are about forcing yourself to be different. Goals are about choosing to be honest first, then different. I'm excited to share my journey throughout the year.