You make lemonade. Of course. And a new year brings forth a once-in-a-year opportunity to sit down and think about your priorities for the next 12 months, and set new exciting goals. Right now, the whole of 2026 is like a blank canvas, on which you can paint your ideal life.
Have you taken time to think about what you will paint on yours? In other words, what are the most important things for you right now that you’d like to accomplish this year, both in the short and long term?
WHY NOW?
By far, January is the best month to:
Review the past year in terms of what achievements you made (however small they may seem to you now) and how you dealt with any obstacles that came your way;
Learn from your experiences – both successes and challenges – and move on (i.e. only take the learning, not the unhelpful emotions);
Build on your progress – decide to continue with what worked well or take it to the next level;
Allocate time to sit and write new SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-oriented).
Next, look for and choose the right kind of support to help you commit to your objectives – this can be an online support group, your local community, a like-minded friend, access to online or offline DIY tools (see suggested tools below), or a professional life coach. One of the benefits of connecting with someone else (whether a friend or a coach) is for accountability reasons – which will likely get you out of your comfort zone and focus on your action plan.
FREE SELF-HELP TOOLS
With my hat on as a life and career coach, I can offer you these free tools to help with your goal-setting. You can download them straight from my website.
A Vision Board for 2026, which you can print, write your desired aims on, and pin on the wall. You can also take a photo of the finished product and save it as a phone/laptop screensaver. The point is that it’s somewhere you can see it everyday.
A SWOT analysis chart, where you list down your strengths, weaknesses (or rather challenges), opportunities and threats. Remember, acknowledging what you’re good at and what you should improve on, is a strength by itself.
A Wheel of Life chart to determine which areas of your life you are currently satisfied with, and which ones need your attention. Then think how and when you will address the areas that require action.
Click here to download free self-help tools.
I realise that sometimes people could feel apprehensive about self-assessments, perhaps fearing that the results would be disappointing, or overwhelming or the goals unachievable. To use a typical coaching term, some may even ‘self-sabotage’ with excuses like ‘I don’t have time for this’ and postpone it endlessly. In coaching, we take the pressure off, by following easy-to-follow guidelines and breaking down an overarching goal into manageable or ‘bite-size chunks’ and spreading them out over weeks or months, somewhat akin to good project management practice.
Writing down your intentions down to the smallest detail is a crucial aspect of the process. Firstly, it shows commitment, secondly it makes it easier for you to action on, and lastly and perhaps most importantly, it communicates to the sub-conscious mind to stay focused. And this is exactly how affirmations work as well, which are also a feature of coaching.
HELP IS HERE!
Having thought about your new year goals, and what I discussed in this blog, if you would like any kind of support, even if it’s just having a non-judgemental sounding board as you bounce ideas, draft your first Vision Board, complete a SWOT analysis or a Wheel of Life, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to have a free 30-minute chat on the phone, Zoom or Googlemeet.
Click here to book a free chat with me.
Alternatively, if you’ve already done some thinking and know exactly what you want to achieve this year, you can go ahead and book a one-to-one coaching chat. And towards this, I would like to offer you a very rare 40% discount in January with promo code COACHING40. That’s just £30 for a 60-minute coaching session. Please note: there are no additional costs for telephone or online coaching. But there will be venue costs for in-person coaching at a virtual office in Bath, UK.
Click here to book one online coaching session with promo code COACHING40.
Finally, I’d like to invite you to visit my coaching page, learn about coaching, how it’s different from mentoring, read my reviews and Frequently Asked Questions.
Click here to learn more about coaching.
That’s all for today. Remember ‘time waits for no man’ (or woman) – plan ahead and stick to your goals, no matter what. Of course you could and should make adjustments as you go along, but definitely keep your eyes on the ball!
Wishing you a very happy, successful and fulfilling year ahead!
Sossi
Qualified Life & Career Coach
Yoga & Meditation Teacher
Bath, UK
