Why goals are not useless, even if you don't meet them

The end of the year is approaching, and one of the typical activities for this time is making goals for the next year, and possibly checking how you did on the past year's goals.

Me and goals is a bit of a fraught relationship. It seems hard for me to develop and keep good habits. I mean things like, for example, going for a daily walk, wiping down the shower stall to reduce calcium deposits, or hanging up my jacket after coming home rather than tossing it over whichever convenient piece of furniture is closest when I take it off. I'll keep it up for a while, think it's become automatic... and then drop it again.

On a bad day, thinking about that makes me feel like a complete failure.

It also invites thoughts like "Why bother even making goals?"

But here's the thing:
Even if I drop a good habit after a while, my life will be better for the few weeks or months that I do actively keep it up.

So, I'll keep making goals regarding better habits, and I'll keep trying to meet them, but I'll do my best to not feel bad if I don't meet one.