8th day of the new year.
A great moment to check in. How are you doing? How are you
feeling? Energy level?
The first days of the new year come with a lot of excitement
and a lot of pressure.
Excitement for the sense of renewal, and becoming better versions
of ourselves. Excitement in putting the last year to rest and starting with a
clean slate. Excitement at putting down some old habits and picking up some new
habits.
Pressure to become better, to change, to have ambitious
goals. We feel that pressure each time someone innocently asks us about our new
year’s resolutions. However, a lot of the pressure in January is self-inflicted.
It comes from a very good place – our desire to improve and enhance our lives
and our living. And pressure, whether external or internal, can be a very good
motivator for us to do things we would not otherwise do. Think back to coaches,
teachers, and bosses you have had. The ones that got the most out of you probably
did so through a healthy amount of pressure to succeed.
A few thoughts as we link arms to accept the challenge and
opportunity that 2026 provides us, motivated by both the excitement and
pressure to make some good changes.
First, the need to be flexible. I had a patient this week
who proudly told me they want to exercise every day this year. It was the 5th
day of the year when they told me, and they had not yet started. So, their
ability to move the start date back a few days is going to be a key to their success.
Many folks who set the same goal would have already given up if they hadn’t
started on January 1st.
Second, if you don’t feel like you have had a chance to set
meaningful goals for 2026, make space to do just that. The holidays can get
busy and lots of us emerge from them without having had the time to reflect on
what we want to work on. Take part or even the entire month of January to come
up with goals for yourself. This isn’t a timed test. Take as much time as you
need.
Third, find and build your community that will support you
in these goals. Life is a much easier game when we are surrounded by family and
friends, neighbors and classmates, co-workers and supporters. Strengthening
your community may even become a goal in itself for the new year.
Last, once you have goals in hand, I like the 3-2-1 method
for getting started. Think about the 3-day, 2-week and 1-month perspective on
the goal. This is the art of making bite sized morsels out of an
overwhelmingly-sized cake. Take, for example, a goal of trying to learn to
swim. The 3-day goal might be to sign-up for swim lessons. The two-week goal
might be to find a bathing suit. And the 1-month goal might be to have had a few
lessons, to feel slightly more comfortable in the water. The bigger goal has been broken into immediate, achievable steps.
Have fun as we kick off the 2026 journey together.
