The more concisely and clearly you can state what you want, the more likely you are to get it. Lately, I’ve been asking people to give me one word—or even a couple—that describes what they want in the year ahead.

It’s surprising how many people muddy the waters. They list as many as five things. Unfortunately, most of us can’t chase five meaningful goals at one time, or even three. To be clear, I’m not talking about all the goals you want to achieve, but rather about the one overarching outcome you plan to seek in the next year.

For example, back in 2018 when I went out on my own as an executive coach, the word I had in my head was: independence. The tradeoffs of working for someone else had gotten to the point where the costs were higher than the rewards; I wanted the independence to help clients in the manner that felt right to me. I also wanted the independence to work solely with leaders of my choosing.

The constraint I’m suggesting you adopt here—to find your one word for the year ahead—is significant because it leaves you no choice but to get very specific about what matters most to you.