Why Your Goals Keep Failing (And How to Fix It)
Have you ever set a big goal—something you were excited about—but just a few weeks later and you’re already burned out?
Yeah, me too.
We all start strong. We get inspired. We buy the notebook, the app, and the gear.
We tell ourselves, “This time is different.”
But then… life hits. Energy fades. And the goal?
It slips through our fingers.
It’s not because we’re lazy or lack willpower. It’s because we’ve never been taught a system that works with time instead of against it.
That’s what the 4-Year U. is about.
For me, it started with something simple: trying to lose weight.
I went hard—every day at the gym, strict diet, tons of motivation. And then… I fizzled out.
I realized something: I didn’t need to do it all perfectly. I just needed to do
Something.
Every.
Day.
Because time was going to pass anyway. I might as well be intentional about how I spend it.
That one thought changed everything and led me to ask myself:
What if I used time to work for me instead of against me?
That’s when the idea for the 4-Year U. was born.
Here’s the real problem:
We try to sprint our way through a marathon.
We start a new job, a business, a relationship—and expect instant results. But that’s not how real transformation works.
You didn’t start off becoming who you are, you worked on it in small, micro steps along the way.
When you want to become someone different, you need to allow yourself to acclimate. It’s not going to feel good at first because your mind wants to keep you safe.
That’s why it’s called the “comfort” zone.
When you start to make changes in your life, think of it like walking out of a warm house into the freezing cold. At first, your body wants to go back inside. But if you give it time, your body will acclimate.
You don’t just flip a switch and become the person who finishes. You become that person through the process—over time.
And that’s what most goal systems miss: they don’t give you time to acclimate.
That’s where the 4-Year U. comes in.
Think of a stream of water running over a rock. At first, it seems like nothing’s happening. But over time, that consistent flow carves a groove into the stone.
The 4-Year U. is that stream.
It’s a structured way to align your long-term goals with the natural flow of time, using consistent effort—to create lasting change.
It’s about translating micro actions into macro results.
The foundation of 4-Year U. is the four quadrants:
- Rest
- Planning
- Action
- Evaluation
Each quadrant is based on naturally occurring seasons:
Winter is rest.
Spring is planning.
Summer is action.
And Fall is evaluation.
You move through each of these quadrants in every area of life. Not once—but continuously.
And it’s not just yearly. These cycles exist daily, weekly, and monthly too.
Wake up? That’s spring. Midday is summer. Evening is fall. Sleep is winter.
Even Agile methodology mirrors this: winter is the backlog, spring is sprint planning, summer is execution, and fall is retrospectives.
This cycle is everywhere. And we can use these naturally occurring seasons to work for us and help us achieve goals that we never thought possible.
So how does it work?
4-Year U. uses the same method for different planning and review cycles, which is what we call the “Seasonal Quadrant”, which is just a “+” sign in the center of a page where each season or quadrant is a different stage and state of where your goals are currently are – and then at each planning and review session you decide whether any of the goals need to be worked or moved.
Here’s an example:
- Daily Review: Focus on the seasons of today, which goals do you want to work on in the morning, mid-day, tonight, or while you sleep?
- Weekly Review: Focus on the days. What did I do? What will I do next?
- Monthly Review: Focus on the weeks. What patterns are forming?
- Annual Review: Focus on the quarters. Where did I grow? Where do I need to go?
- Quadrennial Review: Focus on the whole arc. Who have I become? What’s next?
Each review zooms out just a little more, helping you see clearly and make better decisions.
And when these cycles overlap—say, the weekly and annual land on the same day – let the greater cycle lead. Start big, then go small.
This process is similar to David Allen’s Weekly Review in his book, Getting Things Done and of the contextual nature of work which the book espouses. It’s about doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right season of the day, week, month, or year.
It only takes a few minutes to complete and it helps you see incremental progress every day.
Remember: time will pass anyway. The question is—will you have something to show for it?
If you want a digital version that guides you through this process, download the free 4-Year U. Guide at 4yearu.com/free.
It walks you through all the review cycles and has templates for each planning and review cycle. Just fill out the form below: