How to make 2026 the best year of your life without burning out ?

Hey there,

Let me guess what's about to happen:

You're going to set ambitious goals for 2026. Push hard in January. Compare yourself to everyone else. Feel like you're falling behind. Burn out by March. Wonder what went wrong by December.

Sound familiar?

Here's what I know after 15+ years of coaching people on productivity and achievement:

The problem isn't your goals. It isn't your discipline.

The problem is you're running someone else's race at someone else's pace.

Today, I'm sharing three commitments that will completely change how you approach 2026—commitments that honor who you actually are, not who you think you should be.

These aren't resolutions you'll abandon by February. They're foundational principles that will shape an entire year of meaningful progress without burning you out.

Let's dive in.

Here's the paradox of New Year goal-setting:

The moment we enter January, we throw ourselves into a race. We tell ourselves we need to go faster, do more, achieve bigger things—now.

We compare. We feel behind. We panic. We convince ourselves we need to make up for lost time.

This is the fastest path to burnout.

The truth? Everyone operates at a different pace. And your pace isn't just different from others—it changes throughout the year.

Think about it:

Do you feel the same energy in January as you do in July? Does your creative capacity stay constant? Or do you have natural rhythms of intensity and rest?

Most people do. And ignoring these rhythms is like swimming against a current—you can do it, but it's exhausting.

Once you understand your natural rhythms, you can plan accordingly.

For example:

Winter → Introspection and preparation

Spring → Creation and growth

Summer → Reaping and harvesting

Autumn → Evaluation and release

These are just examples. Your rhythms might be completely different—and that's the point.

In my work, I've identified three primary rhythm patterns:

Variable Rhythm → Energy changes day to day Some days you're on fire, others you need rest. Build flexibility into your schedule.

Continuous Rhythm → Fairly steady energy You can maintain consistent output but need to avoid overcommitment. (This is me.)

Periodic Rhythm → Intense activity + necessary rest Sprint-and-recover cycles. Trying to maintain constant intensity = burnout.

Understanding which rhythm you operate on changes everything:

When you work with your rhythm instead of against it, achievement becomes easier.

"I commit to honoring my natural rhythm in 2026. I will plan according to my actual energy patterns, not arbitrary external expectations. I will stop comparing my pace to others."

This means:

Uncomfortable truth time: Most of your goals aren't actually yours.

They're goals you think you should have because:

But when you're chasing goals that don't authentically resonate, you're living on autopilot—following someone else's script.

This guarantees you'll lose motivation.

People always ask me about discipline, motivation, systems, accountability. They want tactical advice on pushing through when things get hard.

But here's what actually works: Meaning.

When something truly matters to you—when it aligns with your deepest values and authentic desires—you don't need to force motivation. It emerges naturally.

This is why generic goal-setting fails. It focuses on mechanics (SMART goals, action plans, tracking) without addressing: Does this goal actually matter to me?

Before you write down a single goal, sit with these:

1. What truly fulfills me? Not what would impress others. What actually brings you genuine satisfaction?

2. What really matters to me? If you could only focus on 3-5 areas this year, what would they be?

3. What am I doing on autopilot? What goals are you carrying simply because you've always had them?

4. What would I pursue if I wasn't afraid of judgment? Sometimes our most authentic goals are hidden beneath layers of others' expectations.

5. What aligns with my values? Do your goals reflect what you actually value, or what you think you should value?

Authentic goals:

Borrowed goals:

It's better to pursue three goals that actually matter than ten goals you think you should want.

"I commit to setting goals that truly matter to me in 2026. I will take time to discern what I authentically want from what I think I should want. I will pursue meaning over approval."

This means:

Let's talk about the years that didn't go according to plan.

Maybe you've had tough years. Years where things felt like they were working against you. Years where you struggled, failed, or felt stuck.

There's a tendency to write these off as "bad years" or "wasted time." To feel behind. To think you need to make up for lost years.

This perspective is not only painful—it's fundamentally wrong.

There's a saying I love: "Nothing is in your way. Everything is on the way."

Or as Ryan Holiday puts it: "The obstacle is the way."

Every obstacle, every difficulty, every challenge is part of your path—not an interruption of it.

The tough years? They're building you. The failures? They're teaching you. The delays? They're preparing you.

When you look back years from now, you'll see that the "bad years" were actually foundational—the ones that gave you the strength and wisdom for what came next.

We categorize years as "good" or "bad." But life is more nuanced.

A year can be incredibly difficult and profoundly transformative. A year can be easy and stagnant. A year can be painful and exactly what you needed.

When I do annual reviews, I don't focus on whether the year was "good" or "bad." I focus on:

This reframe changes everything.

When you see challenges as part of your development rather than obstacles to your success, you stop resisting what is and start working with it.

This commitment is also about being kinder to yourself.

Release the pressure that everything needs to be perfect. Let go of the idea that you should be further along. Trust that you're exactly where you need to be.

This isn't passive acceptance. It's active trust in your process.

"I commit to resilience and self-compassion in 2026. I will trust that everything—including the challenges—is part of my path. I will release perfectionism and embrace the process."

This means:

These three commitments work together to create a completely different approach to the year ahead.

Actions:

Time: 1-2 hours

Actions:

Time: 2-3 hours

Actions:

Time: 10-15 minutes daily/weekly

Review:

Time: 30-60 minutes monthly

There's a powerful saying that captures all of this:

This is the shift I want you to make in 2026.

Stop obsessing over how many years have passed. Stop measuring yourself against arbitrary timelines. Stop feeling like you're behind or running out of time.

Instead, focus on making this year meaningful.

Not by achieving the most. Not by impressing others. Not by checking off endless lists.

But by:

When you do this, you can look back without regret—not because everything went perfectly, but because you lived intentionally.

You respected yourself. You followed what mattered. You built a year with meaning.

That's success.

As time passes—and yes, it seems to pass faster each year—the question becomes:

What are you doing with it?

Are you racing through life on autopilot, chasing goals that don't matter, burning yourself out?

Or are you living intentionally, honoring your natural pace, pursuing what truly fulfills you, and growing through every experience?

The choice is yours.

These three commitments aren't about achieving more. They're about living better—in a way that respects who you are and what you value.

So make these commitments now. Not next week. Not when you feel ready. Now.

Because you don't control life—you live it.

And 2026 is your opportunity to live it fully, consciously, intentionally.

Don't count the years. Make every year count.

Hit reply and tell me: What's one commitment you're making for 2026?

I genuinely want to know what matters to you this year.

Talk soon,

Jo

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