As we gear up for the new year, many of us reflect on how we can improve and grow. For those on a hacker journey—whether you're a beginner or sharpening advanced skills—this is the perfect time to commit to becoming better. Here are some practical, empowering tips to help you set meaningful resolutions and stick to them:

1. Never Fail Twice

Failure is part of learning. It’s okay to miss a strike or stumble. What matters is keeping the momentum. Don’t let one bad day turn into a bad week. When you fall, get back up—every single time.

2. Be Kind to Yourself

Hacking is hard. Learning to hack is even harder. It takes time, persistence, and patience. If a challenge feels insurmountable, take a break—go for a walk or step away for a bit. If you're tackling one of our challenges and get stuck, consider looking at a spoiler or watching a video for guidance. If you need the video, that's okay! Revisit the material in a week or two with a fresh perspective. Don’t beat yourself up over needing extra time. Remember: if you’re not failing, you’re not learning.

3. Take Baby Steps

Progress isn’t always flashy. It’s about incremental improvements—one small step at a time. Look at your learning curve as something that compounds over time: 1% better every day for a year makes you 37 times better at the end of the year (1.01**365). Celebrate each victory, no matter how small it seems. Over time, those baby steps will lead to big leaps.

4. Be Laser-Focused

Choose one goal and stick to it. It’s tempting to flip-flop between aspirations, but true growth comes from sustained effort. Whether it’s mastering a specific lab, understanding a framework, or contributing to open-source, commit and follow through.

5. Start When You’re Ready

January 1st might seem like the perfect time to start, but let’s face it—it’s also a time when many of us are exhausted from the holidays, maybe you just partied last night... Not the best day to start something. Give yourself permission to start a bit later, when life has settled and you’re in a better headspace. There’s no rule saying your resolution must begin on the first day of the year.

6. Make It Personal

New Year’s resolutions are deeply personal. Think about what will truly help you grow as a hacker, not what others expect. Maybe it’s diving into web hacking because you’re a web developer, or exploring social engineering because of your background in sales. Tailor your goals to your unique journey.

7. Embrace Mistakes

Mistakes and wasted time are not failures—they’re essential parts of the learning process. Every misstep teaches you something valuable. If you went in the wrong direction, you know now that this direction was wrong, and you won’t go in that direction anymore. That’s part of learning. Don’t shy away from making mistakes; embrace them as stepping stones to mastery.

Share Your Journey

Finally, I’d love to hear from you: what’s your New Year’s resolution? Sharing your goals not only keeps you accountable but also inspires others to set and achieve their own. Let’s make 2024 the year you outdo yourself, tackle new challenges, and redefine what’s possible in your hacker journey!