Good Life Project — "Your Goals Are Broken"

Host: Jonathan Fields
Date: January 15, 2026
Length: ~62 minutes

Episode Overview

This episode, the fourth in a special New Year’s series, addresses why most big goals fall apart soon after the calendar flips into January, challenging the belief that achieving a meaningful life is a matter of sheer discipline or setting more ambitious resolutions. Instead, Jonathan Fields introduces "Success Scaffolding" — a humane, sustainable framework for pursuing important goals in a way that is rooted in self-compassion and realism.

Fields walks listeners through a step-by-step process, helping them move beyond the common traps of perfectionism, self-rejection, and scarcity-thinking that often sabotage change. The episode is designed to be hands-on, encouraging listeners to choose one meaningful goal and systematically build a supportive structure around it.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Goals Fail (00:00–08:38)

• The excitement of the new year inevitably wears off as daily life returns. Fields normalizes the feeling of wondering, “Am I doing this right? Should I be further along by now? Did I already miss my window?”
  • Quote: “Nothing has gone wrong. In fact, this moment right here, right now, is exactly where meaningful change either becomes real or quietly slips back into maybe next year.” — Jonathan Fields [01:10]
• Most goals don’t collapse on Day 1; they falter as enthusiasm fades and real life interrupts.
• Common self-blame narratives (“I wasn’t disciplined enough...”) are misleading — often, it's the lack of structure, not motivation, that derails us.
• Previous episodes debunked the myths that you need a clean slate, rigid resolutions, or more achievement to feel "enough."

2. A New Approach: Success Scaffolding (08:38–14:45)

• Fields introduces his framework — "Success Scaffolding" — designed to give your goals the support they need within real-life complexity.
  • Quote: “Not through pressure, not through self-critique, but through a structure that can actually hold a human life. Your human life.” — Jonathan Fields [02:52]
• This episode will guide you to choose one “big, bold goal” and systematically build scaffolding around it using the “Seven P’s.”
• The framework roots itself in integration (accepting all parts of yourself), experimentation (trying, learning, adjusting), and enoughness (self-worth is not at stake), aligning with learnings from the previous three episodes.

The Success Scaffolding Framework: The Seven P’s

“[We’re] building scaffolding not on top of self-rejection or perfectionism or scarcity or the fantasy that you need to become someone else. We’re building this scaffolding on top of integration, experimentation, and this assumption of enoughness. And that changes everything.” — Jonathan Fields [13:00]

1. Picture: See and Feel Success (20:16–28:00)

• Create a clear, embodied vision of what success looks and feels like, beyond just the outcome.
• Make it multisensory — imagine sights, sounds, emotions (e.g., finishing a 10k, feeling proud, having that one honest conversation).
  • Practice Cue: Write a sentence beginning, “It’s [date], I did it, and my life feels like...” then finish, “The best part is...”
• Quote: “Your brain doesn’t get inspired by a spreadsheet...Our brains get inspired by a felt sense of what this would mean to us.” — Jonathan Fields [21:09]

2. Purpose: Know Your Why (28:00–34:25)

• Purpose is the “why that survives friction.”
• Distinguish surface whys (“I should,” “everyone else is doing it”) from deeper whys (“I want to feel more alive,” “I want to show up for people I love”).
• Practice Cue: Finish the sentence, “This goal matters because it helps me become more ___ in my life.” Keep asking “why does that matter?” until you feel a physical, visceral answer.
  • Quote: “Purpose is what keeps you moving when motivation fades. And that can be anywhere from a few seconds to a few days to a few months.” — Jonathan Fields [29:19]

3. Plan: Make It Human, Not Heroic (34:25–46:10)

• Avoid fantasy plans; make realistic, chunked, and adaptable plans.
• Start with baseline plans (borrow from proven resources), then customize to your life — including time, energy, and context.
• Break into milestones and pre-plan for obstacles, crafting workarounds.
  • Quote: “A good plan is...realistic, it’s chunked, and it’s adaptable.” — Jonathan Fields [35:44]
• Think of your plan as a series of small experiments—two-week sprints are a sweet spot for planning and adaptation.

4. Possibility: Build Belief (46:10–50:47)

• You don’t need to believe you can do it forever — just enough to take the next step.
• Draw possibility from your own past (“A hard thing I’ve done is ___”), evidence from others, and small wins.
  • Practice Cue: Write three lines:
    1. “A hard thing I’ve done is...”
    2. “A strength that I have that helps is...”
    3. “A resource I can access is...”
  • Quote: “Possibility is about building a case for ‘this is doable’...” — Jonathan Fields [47:13]

5. People: Build Your Success Team (50:47–56:54)

• Every goal benefits from support. Fields breaks down six key supportive roles:
  1. Co-strivers: People working on something similar, offering camaraderie.
  2. Champions: Cheerleaders who encourage you.
  3. Accountants: Gentle accountability partners.
  4. Mentors: Those with wisdom/experience.
  5. Community: Groups for belonging.
  6. Challengers: People who help you refine and optimize your efforts.
• Practice Cue: Choose the role you need most and invite someone in.
  • Quote: “Most big goals, they aren’t actually individual achievements...Even the goal that looks solo...goes better with support.” — Jonathan Fields [51:12]

6. Practices: Stabilize With Rituals (56:54–59:00)

• Small, regular practices (weekly reviews, 2-min quick returns to routines, daily check-ins) stabilize your journey and ensure regular course-correction.
• Practices are foundational, not “nice-to-haves.”
• Practice Cue: Pick one stabilizing practice to commit to for the next two weeks.

7. Pledge: Commit With Kindness (59:00–60:20)

• Make a kind but firm commitment: not to perfection, but to returning whenever you falter.
• Template pledge examples are given (see below).
  • Quote: “Pledge is just...a statement of commitment that is both firm and kind.” — Jonathan Fields [59:10]

Example Template [59:12]:

“I pledge to move in the direction of [GOAL] by experimenting with [BEHAVIORS] for the next [TIME FRAME]. I’m doing this because [PURPOSE]. I’ll review weekly without judgment on [DATE]. And when I wobble, I will return with kindness and compassion.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the “Year of Enough”:

  “Letting enough be the fuel instead of lack.” — Jonathan Fields [08:14]

• On Self-Blame and Structure:

  “Most of the time, people aren’t failing. They’re trying to build something meaningful with no structure. Like attempting to construct a second story deck with positive thinking and a Pinterest board.” — Jonathan Fields [11:54]

• On Faltering:

  “At some point, life will happen...That is not failure. That’s called being alive. This is where the scaffolding, success scaffolding, matters most.” — Jonathan Fields [60:21]

• On Review Rituals:

  “Your weekly review is the keystone because it keeps you in the conversation...What worked? What didn’t? What did I learn? What do I adjust? What am I willing to acknowledge?” — Jonathan Fields [60:30]

• On Small Steps:

  “This isn’t about a dramatic overhaul. It’s about building a simple, doable structure that makes meaningful change livable.” — Jonathan Fields [61:03]

Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | Key Topics | |-------------|------------------------------------------|-------------------------------| | 00:00–04:00 | Opening reflections on New Year goals | Why goals fail, self-blame | | 08:38–13:00 | Introducing Success Scaffolding | Core framework, self-compassion| | 20:16–28:00 | The 1st & 2nd Ps: Picture & Purpose | Visioning, deep motivation | | 34:25–46:10 | The 3rd P: Plan | Realistic planning, obstacles | | 46:10–50:47 | The 4th P: Possibility | Building belief, resilience | | 50:47–56:54 | The 5th P: People | Support roles, accountability | | 56:54–59:00 | The 6th P: Practices | Rituals, reviews, resilience | | 59:00–60:20 | The 7th P: Pledge | Commit with kindness | | 60:21–61:03 | Final integration, weekly review | Sustainability, small steps |

Action Steps and Tools

• Download the Free Success Scaffolding PDF: Includes all prompts and frameworks discussed.
• Write Your Own Pledge: Use the provided template; make it private first, and consider sharing selectively for support.
• Set up a 10-Minute Weekly Review: Schedule specific time for reflection and adjustment.
• Build Your Success Team: Identify at least one supportive person to invite into your process.
• Start Small: Commit to one practice, one action step, or one outreach before moving on.

Takeaway Message

The key to lasting, meaningful change, Fields emphasizes, is not more discipline, bigger resolutions, or self-critique. It’s about designing a supportive, flexible structure—“success scaffolding”—around your most important goal. This structure honors your humanity, your past, and your wholeness, making progress sustainable and nourishing, not exhausting.

“You don’t need a clean slate. You don’t need perfect resolutions. You don’t need to earn your worth. You just need a structure that supports what matters. Built by the person you already are.” — Jonathan Fields [61:07]

Listen to the episode for all the detailed prompts, stories, and examples. For in-depth self-work, grab the free Success Scaffolding PDF linked in the show notes.