The Diary of a CEOChris Williamson: Why your ladder leans on the wrong wall
How to design 2026 with subtraction, hidden metrics, and one brutal question; covers the deferred life trap and reflection between Christmas and New Year.
At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Design 2026: Fewer Goals, Deeper Growth, Start Truly Living Now
- Chris Williamson joins Steven Bartlett to dissect why most New Year’s resolutions fail and how to design the next 1–3 years so you don’t “climb a huge ladder against the wrong wall.” They advocate using the quiet period between Christmas and New Year for a structured annual review that clarifies what success in 2026 actually looks like and what must be subtracted to make it possible.
- Core themes include aiming at fewer, higher‑leverage goals, understanding region‑beta complacency, avoiding the deferred‑life trap, and recognizing that problems are a permanent feature of life rather than a bug. They also explore hidden vs observable metrics of success, the Mexican Fisherman parable, and how unteachable lessons about money, fame, and striving only land after you’ve lived them.
- Later, they dive into habits and behavior change (sleep, phones, alcohol, walking, ‘never miss twice’), productivity dysmorphia, procrastination, and the lonely chapter of personal growth where your old social world no longer fits. The conversation finishes with love and family (what to look for in a partner, the child‑bearing crisis), male emotional health, and Chris’s own recent health collapse, which forced him to redefine strength, happiness, and self‑worth.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasDefine success for 2026 with one brutal question
Ask, “What would have to happen by the end of 2026 for me to look back and consider it a success?” Then narrow it to one or two big outcomes and ruthlessly kill the rest; otherwise you guarantee overwhelm and failure.
In order to pick something up, you must put something down
Assume your capacity will not magically expand in 2025–2026; every new habit or project must be matched by a conscious subtraction (less social media, less admin, fewer events) or you’ll overload and quit.
Use structured reflection instead of random rumination
You already obsess over past regrets and future worries; converting that into an annual review with specific questions (e.g., 85‑year‑old you, what plagued your thoughts, what advice you’d give last‑year you) turns anxiety into direction.
Design life around hidden metrics, not just visible ones
High salaries, titles, and prestige often trade away unseen essentials like commute time, peace of mind, presence with family, and health; chasing observable metrics at the cost of hidden ones quietly destroys wellbeing.
Win with low‑effort, high‑ROI habits before big reinventions
Simple changes like no phone in the bedroom, a short morning walk, delaying caffeine, post‑meal walks, and a 3–6‑month alcohol break dramatically improve sleep, energy, and willpower—the ‘first dominoes’ that make other goals possible.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesStop taking life so seriously. No one is getting out of this game alive, and in three generations, no one will even remember your name.
— Chris Williamson
You can become anything you want behaviorally, but you can’t be everything you want.
— Chris Williamson
Because if you’re not careful with how you design what it is that you chase after, you can spend your entire life realizing that you climbed a huge fucking ladder that was leaning up against the wrong wall.
— Chris Williamson
Suppression isn’t the same thing as strength.
— Chris Williamson
Fame won’t fix your self‑worth, money won’t make you happy… you don’t fix internal voids with external accolades.
— Chris Williamson
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