Every January, we talk about goals.
We make lists. We choose words like discipline, consistency, and willpower. Many of us already know how to set SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Yet even the best-designed goals often stall.
Recently, I watched an interview with Oprah Winfrey where she was asked about achieving and maintaining her weight-management goals. The interviewer asked a simple question:
“How do you feel now when you get dressed in the morning?” Oprah’s answer wasn’t about numbers on a scale or clothing size. She said: “I feel joy.” That one word, joy, tells us something important about real, lasting change.
Goals Aren’t Just About Results — They’re About How You Feel
People might think they want:
Weight loss
Better health
More money
Increased productivity
Personal growth
But when you look beneath the surface, what people truly want is:
Ease
Confidence
Freedom
Calm
Joy
Oprah didn’t just reach a goal. She changed her internal experience. That’s where many goal-setting systems fall short.
Why SMART Goals Alone Aren’t Enough
SMART goals are incredibly useful at the conscious level of the mind. They help you define what you want and how you plan to get there.
But here’s what I see every day in my hypnotherapy practice:
Clients often know exactly what to do. Yet something inside still resists following through. That resistance doesn’t come from laziness or lack of desire. It comes from the subconscious mind, which may still be operating from:
Fear of change
Old identity patterns
Self-doubt
Emotional conditioning from the past
If your subconscious associates change with stress, pressure, or loss, even the best SMART plan can feel exhausting.
Hypnotherapy: Aligning Goals With the Subconscious
Hypnotherapy works by gently guiding the mind into a relaxed, focused state where the subconscious becomes more receptive.
In this state, you can:
Identify unconscious blocks to joy and success
Reframe outdated beliefs
Install new emotional associations with achievement
Instead of thinking:
“I have to force myself to do this.”
The mind begins to experience:
“This feels natural.”
“This feels good.”
“This supports who I am becoming.”
That’s when follow-through becomes easier and more sustainable.
From Achievement to Joy
One of the most powerful questions to ask yourself is:
“How do you want to feel when you’ve reached your goal?”
Not what you want to prove.
Not what you want to fix.
But how you want to feel living your life.
When joy becomes the emotional target, not just success, the nervous system relaxes. The mind stops bracing. Change becomes something you move toward, not something you push through.
Hypnotherapy helps you:
Feel at home in your body.
Experience confidence without pressure
Enjoy progress rather than fear setbacks
Joy isn’t a reward at the end of the journey. It becomes part of the process.
Making 2026 Goals Mind-Friendly
When you’re setting goals this year you are invited to consider this:
1. What does your conscious mind want?
2. What does your subconscious mind believe is possible? 3. What emotional experience are you truly seeking?
When those three are aligned, goals stop feeling like work and start feeling like self-expression.
A Gentle Invitation
If you’d like support aligning your goals with your subconscious mind so that progress feels calmer, steadier, and more joyful, I invite you to explore one-to-one, in-person or online hypnotherapy sessions.
You can book your free, private 30-minute phone consultation today. Please call me at 818-929-4944 or go to cindaroffman.com for more information.
Together, we focus not just on what you want to achieve but on how you want to feel living your life. Because real success isn’t just measurable. It’s wearable. It’s livable. And just like Oprah described, it’s joyful.
Sincerely,
Cinda
HypnoNews and Resources
For another perspective on goal achievement and happiness please see:
How hypnotherapy boosts health, wealth, and happiness
For a deep dive into the scientific evidence based world of hypnosis and neuroscience please see the following:
Brain Functional Correlates of Resting Hypnosis and Hypnotizability: A Review
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10886478/