Will You Follow Through on Your Pickleball Resolutions for 2026?


Do you usually make New Year's resolutions?

Hopefully, you have already been making your list of resolutions.

Here is a list of the top 10 most common resolutions people make.

 1.  Exercise more
 2.  Lose weight
 3.  Get organized
 4.  Learn a new skill or hobby
 5.  Live life to the fullest
 6.  Save more money/spend less money
 7.  Quit smoking
 8.  Spend more time with family/friends
 9.  Travel more
 10. Read more  

Many people make resolutions.

Yet statistically, most don't follow through.

Surveys reveal 23% of people quit in the first week of January.

And 64% quit by the end of January!

In fact, the second Friday of January is often called, "Quitter's Day."

Sadly, only 8-10% of resolution makers actually achieve their goals by year's end.

I don't mention those statistics to discourage you.

Quite the contrary!

I mention them to drive home the point that most people, despite their good intentions, return to their default way of living.

So, if you seriously want to achieve your New Year's resolutions, it will take extra work, perseverance, and determination.

But, you can be in the 8-10% who succeed!

And you can succeed in whatever goals you have chosen, if you want to.

Yet, you may be wondering what you can do to succeed when the vast majority fail.

Here are 10 tips to help you achieve your resolutions:

 1.  Make super-specific and realistic resolutions
 2.  Tell others about your resolutions
 3.  Surround yourself with supporters, not critics
 4.  Connect with similar resolution "buddies" online
 5.  Break your big goal into a series of smaller objectives
 6.  Reward yourself for each smaller win
 7.  Be patient with yourself
 8.  Track and document your progress
 9.  Utilize positive self-talk
 10. Frequently visualize yourself achieving your goals

Those tips can help you achieve any resolution you make.

But this article is primarily about pickleball and pickleball resolutions.

Looking at the above top 10 most common resolutions list, it is interesting that pickleball can fulfill resolutions 1, 2, 4, 5, and 8.

Pickleball in general can be included under health-related resolutions.

But have you thought of making specific pickleball-related resolutions?

I would encourage you to do so.

Here are some thoughts:

 1.  Play more often and more consistently.
 2.  Enter a tournament if you never have.
 3.  Work on improving one skill, e.g. dinking, serving, resetting, etc.
 4.  Challenge yourself by playing better opponents more often.
 5.  Play longer than one hour at a time. It's better for your health.
 6.  Upgrade your paddle, if you didn't in 2025.
 7.  Watch more professional pickleball matches on TV.
 8.  Add a new skill - e.g. Erne, drop shots. two-handed backhand, etc.

That is by no means an exhaustive list.

Your list may look way different, and that's just fine!

The purpose of this article is to encourage you to plan.

Plan for 2026 successful pickleball growth and improvement!

You can do it!

Good luck!!


Ben Holt
​​CEO, Pickleball Living