Cut the Anchor: Why Your Most Powerful Resolution for 2026 Might Be a STOP List - Edge of the Napkin Series #18

This time of year, something familiar happens. 

We turn the page on the calendar and feel the pull to do something different. 
We reach for a word like resolution and instinctively pair it with action. 

More discipline. 
More consistency. 
More output. 
More effort. 

Most resolutions are framed as additions — new habits, new systems, new rules we promise ourselves we’ll finally follow. 

But what if the most powerful move forward isn’t about what you start doing? 

What if real momentum comes from what you’re willing to stop? 

 

Growth Isn’t Always About More 

We’ve been taught that progress is cumulative. 
That success comes from stacking behaviors, strategies, and systems. 

But clarity doesn’t work that way. 
Focus doesn’t work that way. 
Energy doesn’t work that way. 

The leaders and entrepreneurs who move with conviction instead of exhaustion aren’t doing more. 

They’re carrying less. 

They’ve learned that growth is often subtraction — and that the fastest way forward is removing what no longer belongs. 

 

Why Most Resolutions Don’t Stick 

Most resolutions fail for a simple reason: 

They ask you to become someone new without letting go of who you’ve been. 

You try to build a new future on top of old beliefs, habits, and emotional patterns — patterns that were never designed to support where you’re going next. 

That creates friction. 

You don’t need more motivation. 
You need fewer anchors. 

 

A Parable: The Boat That Wouldn’t Move 

A seasoned sailor couldn’t understand why his boat felt heavy. 

The wind was strong. 
The sails were raised. 
The destination was clear. 

So he worked harder. Adjusted the sails. Studied the charts. 

Still, the boat barely moved. 

An old shipwright finally took a look. 

He didn’t touch the sails. 
He leaned over the side and pointed. 

“You’re dragging anchors.” 

Plural. 

Old anchors. Forgotten anchors. Anchors from earlier journeys that once made sense — but no longer did. 

“But I never dropped anchor,” the sailor said. 

“No,” the shipwright replied. 
“But you never stopped carrying them.” 

Leadership works the same way. 

You don’t need more wind. 
You need to cut what no longer belongs. 

 

The STOP List: A New Kind of Resolution 

If growth is subtraction, then the most powerful resolution you can make is a STOP list. 

Not aspirational. 
Not performative. 
Practical. Honest. Personal. 

Here are some anchors leaders and entrepreneurs commonly drag. 

Stop second-guessing yourself 

Second-guessing masquerades as responsibility, but it fractures momentum. Certainty doesn’t mean being right — it means not abandoning yourself mid-decision. 

Stop playing small to make others comfortable 

Dimming your light doesn’t protect people. It deprives them. Leadership requires clarity, not contraction. 

Stop using belief in the wrong direction 

Belief shapes behavior. Behavior shapes results. If belief is aimed against your future, it becomes your most expensive anchor. 

Stop giving unsolicited advice 

Sometimes people don’t need fixing. They need safety. Presence often outperforms expertise. 

Stop playing devil’s advocate when encouragement is needed 

There’s a time for rigor — and a time to borrow belief to someone who’s still finding theirs. 

 

Certainty Is the Lens That Reveals What to Stop 

Certainty isn’t arrogance or rigidity. 

It’s clarity of direction. 

When you’re certain — even loosely — about where you’re heading, you gain a powerful filter. 

You see what doesn’t fit. 
You notice where energy leaks. 
You recognize what you’ve been tolerating. 

Certainty doesn’t make life easier. 

It makes decisions cleaner. 

 

A Personal Reflection 

I thought I was being generous by holding back. 

Being measured. 
Being considerate. 

But I realized I wasn’t being my full light. 

A friend reflected this back to me in a Christmas message: 

“You’re selfless with your love and advice to all of us lucky enough to have you in our lives.” 

It didn’t land as praise. 

It landed as a call to action. 

If that’s true, then holding back isn’t humility. 

It’s withholding. 

So my STOP list became clear: 

Stop dimming. 
Stop self-editing. 
Stop believing that being fully myself is “too much.” 

My commitment isn’t to do more. 

It’s to be more by stopping what isn’t aligned. 

 

5 Key Takeaways (with Take Action) 

1. Growth is often subtraction, not addition 

Take Action: Write a STOP list before you write a goal list. Identify one habit, belief, or behavior to remove before adding anything new. 

 

2. Certainty reveals where energy is leaking 

Take Action: Ask yourself: “What am I tolerating that no longer fits where I’m going?” Circle one answer and act on it this week. 

 

3. Second-guessing is an anchor disguised as humility 

Take Action: Make your next decision without polling others unless expertise is truly required. Practice trusting your first knowing. 

 

4. Playing small is a form of withholding 

Take Action: Share one idea, truth, or conviction you’ve been holding back — publicly or privately — without over-editing it. 

 

5. Belief must be aimed intentionally 

Take Action: Notice where you’re rehearsing what won’t work. Consciously redirect belief toward what you want to build instead. 

 

Your Edge of the Napkin Question 

If growth is subtraction… 

What’s on your STOP list for 2026? 

What belief, habit, or behavior is anchoring you to the past — and ready to be cut? 

Sometimes the most powerful move forward isn’t adding another habit. 

It’s cutting the anchor. 

 

One Napkin. One Insight. One Shift. 

This post is inspired by Episode 326 of the Paper Napkin Wisdom Podcast and Edge of the Napkin #18. 

For more leadership conversations, reflections, and napkin wisdom, visit: 
https://www.papernapkinwisdom.com 

What will you stop — so you can finally move forward?