Tip 5: Make goals instead of resolutions — goals survive failure; resolutions don't

Mike strongly discourages traditional New Year's resolutions because a single failure causes people to abandon them entirely. Goals, by contrast, are something one can always reach toward even after a setback — they are aspirational targets, not pass/fail commitments. He frames discouragement as one of the worst enemies of personal change and urges viewers to simply ignore discouraging feelings and emotions that hinder godly living.