Reset Your Year: Stop the Success Killers Before They Hit

ReBorn Designs / Read Time: 7 min

January has a way of messing with our heads.

Everyone’s focused on starting strong.
Perfect plans. Clean slates. Big declarations.

But the truth?
It’s not about how you start the year.
It’s about how you finish it.

And growth doesn’t come from avoiding mistakes.
It comes from making them, learning fast, and adjusting early enough that they don’t compound in the wrong direction.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes over the years.
Very few were dramatic. Most were subtle. Reasonable, even.

Those are the ones that quietly kill momentum.

So if you’re resetting your year right now, here are a few watch-outs I’ve learned the hard way.

Success Killer #1: Letting Comfort Decide for You

Comfort rarely breaks anything.
It just slowly stops growth.

Early in my freelance journey, I was a one-woman show. For years, I took on the same types of contracts because they felt safe. I knew the work, the timelines, the expectations.

Clients were happy.
The pay was predictable.
And I was constantly busy.

Too busy.

I was overworked, underpaid, and fully booked. I couldn’t take on new inquiries even when they came in. What I told myself was “stability” was actually containment.

I wasn’t comfortable.
I was capped.

Growth required changes that had nothing to do with design.

I learned to delegate.
I built systems.
I brought in expertise I didn’t have.

I let go of the idea that doing everything myself was a strength.

The result?

I now work with a team of experts.
My services expanded beyond what I could handle alone.
I support multiple clients at once and can be selective about the work I take on.

In 2025, revenue multiplied 5X. More importantly, my thinking expanded.

Comfort didn’t protect growth.
Adaptation did.

Success Killer #2: Choosing Safe

When things feel uncertain, most teams don’t sharpen their ideas.
They shrink them.

COVID was the clearest example.

Retailers like Gap Inc. saw store sales collapse while online sales surged. Supply chains stalled. Warehouses filled with product that didn’t move. Margins were crushed under constant promotions as brands chased short-term revenue just to stay afloat. (CFO.com)

Innovation didn’t disappear overnight.
It stalled quietly.

Inside teams, the changes looked small:

Less edge
Less conviction
More references to “what’s working elsewhere”

I remember someone finally asking, “Is this too risky right now?”

We paused and reframed the question:

Is this actually us?

That shift changed everything.

We didn’t blow things up. We made one intentional choice to design from our own point of view instead of borrowing confidence from the market.

The work didn’t get louder.
It got clearer.

The product became recognizable again.
Decision-making sped up.
Confidence returned, not because it was safe, but because it was intentional.

Playing defense didn’t protect brands during COVID.

Identity did.

If your team is stuck in safe choices, your projects are drifting, or you’re waiting to “feel ready,” book a free Book a free Strategy Call with ReBorn Designs. We’ll help you build clarity, strengthen your decision-making, and create a plan to move through 2026 with intention.

Success Killer #3: Waiting Until You Feel Ready

For years, I thought confidence was something you earned after you proved yourself.

I was wrong.

Confidence is a muscle.
You build it by using it.

I started moving before I felt ready. On projects I wasn’t fully confident in but deeply curious about. Before long, I wasn’t just designing shoes. I was building footwear brands from scratch.

Did I know everything?
Not even close.

So I found the people who did. Designers, engineers, project managers, marketers, manufacturers. I leaned on their expertise and learned fast.

The work wasn’t flawless.
But clarity showed up quickly.

I learned what worked.
What didn’t.
Where to trust others, and myself.

Imposter syndrome faded when I stopped waiting for permission and focused on action.

→ If you want the full story of how clarity changed everything for me, read “The Day I Stopped Designing Shoes.”
It’s a quick, honest look at why stepping back is sometimes the most powerful creative move you can make.

The Payoff: When You Stop Waiting and Start Doing

The year I stopped waiting to feel ready was the year things started compounding.

Projects scaled.
Brands grew.
Processes became repeatable.

Every unknown turned into a learning opportunity instead of a roadblock.

I’m operating at the highest level I ever have. Not because I avoided risk, but because I made intentional decisions early enough to matter.

Momentum isn’t about working harder.
It’s about clarity, systems, and acting before everything feels figured out.

The years that worked best all shared the same patterns:

• Protected bandwidth instead of reactive calendars
• Clear priorities instead of endless wish lists
• Early partnerships so execution didn’t become the bottleneck
• Weekly resets, clear briefs, and fewer projects done better

Less chaos.
More leverage.

The small choices you make early in the year don’t lock you in.
They compound.

And that, (not a perfect January) is what determines how you finish.

Cheers!
Erin

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