Tag: 2026 Goals

2026 Goals: Find Your Purpose

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Health, Leadership, Relationships, Success

Finding your purpose is a well worn phrase and can often cause people to switch off and stop listening. There is another phrase that can be used when talking about purpose that was popularised by Simon Sinek, and that is starting with why.

We all have a central reason why we do what we do and this reason is hard wired into our brain by the time we get to our early 20s. It is our operating model that is the root of our decisions and how we live our lives.

It also comes from the central part of our brain which has no capacity for language. So, identifying what our Why is and describing it can be difficult. The good news is that Simon Sinek wrote books entitled Start With Why and Find Your Why that can help you figure it out.

Once you find your Why it will supercharge your success and happiness in your life. Also, your Why will help you figure out your 2026 goals. Goals that will more likely be reached because they will be aligned with who you are rather than trying to achieve generic goals that you have no emotional connection to.

2026 Goals: Choosing Your Beliefs

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Health, Relationships, Success

Whenever we begin a new year there is pressure to set new goals around health, finance and personal development. Very rarely do these goals continue to be worked on beyond the first quarter of the year. We rationalise ourselves out of them until they fall by the wayside.

The problem is that we all have an unconscious set of beliefs that unconsciously run our lives. Where possible our brains automate things, so the familiar becomes a habit and then it becomes automatic. We do the same things because we always have and our brains tell us to, and then we get the same results.

To change the results in our lives we need to figure out what negative beliefs we have and work on replacing them with better, more effective ones. Negative beliefs about ourselves often come from trauma where the brain comes up with a story to explain what has happened and then turns it into a belief as a self protection mechanism.

One of mine is that I am not capable because in a previous role working with special needs children I made a decision that resulted in being assaulted to the point where I had concussion. My brain interpreted that as ‘making decision and taking responsibility is dangerous ‘ because I am not capable of making good decisions. This is not true but my brain believed it.

I am working on replacing that belief with the phrase ‘I am always capable’. Obviously this will not always be the case but your subconscious believed what it is told, whether consciously or unconsciously. Adding ‘always’ makes it effective.

What unconscious beliefs are holding you back and what can you replace them with?

Make it your new years resolution to find these negative unconscious beliefs and rewire them. Then set your goals.

Think Like A Leader

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Leadership, Relationships, Success

I have come to realise recently that I have been thinking of myself as a victim. I have had circumstances that have left scars and trauma and as a result I now see that I saw myself as a victim. I am sure that I have come to this realisation before and decided to make changes to take ownership of my life but fell back into the same mental habits when life got challenging. A cycle that can be hard to break. When you have a victim mindset you are essentially helpless in whatever situation you find yourself in.

I have been reflecting on times when I was thrust into a leadership role and had a responsibility to take care of those I was leading and I stepped up to the role and thrived. The feelings of victimhood fell away. I was happier and more in control and I made a difference.

I now realise that the moral of the story is that the route to happiness is helping others to be happy. The route to confidence is to think like a leader and take care of those around you. When you do that you will step up and lead, and you leave no room to be a victim. You do not need to be in a leadership role to think like a leader. It is more about the way you carry yourself and how you act. It is about how you treat those around you.

Choose Your Direction In Life

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Health, Relationships, Success

When you stand or sit still you are already moving. The Earth is spinning moving you in one direction, the Earth is orbiting the Sun moving you in another direction, our galaxy is rotating moving you in another direction and the universe is expanding moving you in yet another direction. We don’t feel any of this because the speed is constant in all of these directions, but we are always being moved. When we pick a direction to move in and we start to move then we are choosing our own direction.

In life we are often moved by the will of others or our circumstances, but in each situation we have a choice in how we respond. Be a victim or believe in yourself. Be pushed down by life or rise up. Choose how you move and no matter how the world moves you, you will be in charge of your life.

Why We Should Thrive

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Health, Leadership, Relationships, Success

A tree like all things in nature tries to thrive. It does so naturally, it is it’s normal state of being. In thriving it roots itself to the ground, it fights against gravity and grows towards the light, and it produces fruit to serve those around them.

We are not much different. Our natural state of being is to try and thrive, but often our past experiences and our understanding of them shape our mind in ways that make us think small and live small. To thrive seems scary, it seems beyond our capabilities or too dangerous to attempt. It is as if we don’t want to sail the sea because we think we might fall off the horizon.

As scary as it might be to try and thrive, a life wasted living small would be a regret worse than thriving and failing along the way.

My past traumas make me want to live small. My unconscious beliefs formed like mental scares from my past experiences feel like an invisible force stopping me from doing what I know will help me thrive. It takes courage to push through these mental barriers. I plan to try and be brave. I will fail along the way, but no mountain can be climbed sitting in a chair.

Remember, you are not alone. Like trees whose roots link with other trees to share resources and hold each other against strong winds, you have a community to lean on, so do. When we serve each other we all thrive together. There is no me without you. We all exist interconnected. We walk our own paths but we do so beside others walking their own paths.

When we thrive we can better serve others. When we serve others we thrive more ourselves. Take your first step. I am taking mine.