Why looking forward matters more than the miles already ridden
January arrives in Yorkshire with its usual mixture of hope and hype.
Every High Street window suddenly promises a brand-new you.
Every other social media post entices you with the means (at a cost!) to become the best version of you!
Gyms fill up. Diaries get fresh pages. And resolutions get declared.
And then reality turns up, with a mug of strong Yorkshire tea..!
There is a well-known statistic in the fitness industry that makes me smile every year. Around 80% of new gym memberships taken out in January are no longer being used by the time February comes around.
In fact, national research shows that roughly a third of all annual memberships lapse completely within the first three months. The treadmills keep spinning – just not with the same people on them.
That tells you something important about New Year resolutions. They are usually about guilt, not goals. They are reactions to the past, not reflections on the future. So, this year I’ve been doing things differently…
Instead of writing a list of promises to myself that will be broken by Burns Night, I’ve spent the first week of 2026 quietly thinking about ambitions, direction, and the year ahead – though admittedly I’ve had a bit of help from the weather.
Snow and black ice have stopped my cycling jaunts for the week (sadly you get to an age where you no longer bounce during a spill – and I have had plenty!). Even the beloved D-Max has stayed parked up for a day or two.
The roads have stayed treacherous and the Lycra has remained firmly in the drawer. Although that hasn’t kept me off the bike altogether. I’ve had plenty of time on an indoor cycle trainer; a piece of kit that doubles as a clothes airer when the sun is out and the real hills and glorious Dales are calling!
Sitting there, pedalling to nowhere in particular, gives you a surprising amount of mental mileage.
It has also given me time to think…
Cotton Associates has opened doors I didn’t even know existed. Conferences. Client meetings. New relationships. Fresh challenges and some amazing opportunities.
One day we are supporting a global supplier of security technology – helping an international brand understand the UK retail landscape better and shaping products that genuinely reduce loss, rather than simply look clever in a brochure. The next, we are helping a High Street household name reduce friction whilst maintaining security; exactly the kind of work my team excels at, drawing on global perspectives to distil and implement best practice.
Reflecting on the year ahead is about asking better questions of yourself. What do you really want to build? Who do you want to help? Where can you add the most value? Those are stronger foundations than promising to eat fewer pork pies or the local delicacy of fruit cake with a slab of Wensleydale cheese!
I’ve realised this week that ambition doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be honest.
Cotton Associates will take me wherever good retailers need our solid risk thinking. To global suppliers who want real-world guidance to do things better. To stages and roadshows, and meetings where networks still beat algorithms.
And it will probably take me back out onto the Yorkshire lanes as soon as the ice clears.
You never know where the road may take you, but I do know I am excited to find out…