Why most people repeat the same year over and over (and how to make 2026 different)
As the year starts to wrap up, many of us start writing down new intentions for the year ahead with the same familiar optimism:
This is the year I get fit.
This is the year I slow down.
This is the year I finally feel in control.
But for most people, the truth is confronting:
We don’t live new years.
We repeat old ones.
Not because we aren’t capable…not because it isn’t available to us, but because we never examine the systems, beliefs, and nervous system patterns driving our behaviour.
I learnt this the hard way.
The Goal That Stayed on My List (for Years)
For two years straight, I set the same personal goal: “Get toned and build a strong body.”
Every year I wrote the same action plan: “Do weights at home.” And every year… I didn’t do it. It wasn’t until I stopped focusing on what I wasn’t doing and started understanding why that something shifted. I realised I had a belief that: “This should be easy.” And when it wasn’t easy, I assumed something was wrong with me — not the system.
So I changed the system.
I joined a strength-focused gym
I trained with coaches who guided and supported me
I created accountability
I made it easier to follow through than to avoid it
Over time, it became a habit. And eventually, an identity. I no longer set “get strong” as a goal each year — I am someone who trains.
This is the power of identity-based change.
This Year’s Focus: Increasing My Capacity
This year, the habit I needed to build wasn’t physical. It was internal.
Running and growing a business takes enormous emotional, cognitive and energetic capacity. I realised if I wanted to lead well — and sustainably — I needed to take self-care as seriously as performance. But I came up against a deeply ingrained belief: “If I stop, things won’t get done.” I was scheduling downtime… but mentally, I wasn’t letting myself rest.
Even when sick and completely depleted, I found myself:
wrapping presents while watching TV
doing online shopping from bed
folding washing while “resting”
constantly occupying my mind so I didn’t feel I was wasting time
This was my red flag.
The Beliefs That Keep High Performers Stuck
Here’s what became clear:
I believed productivity equalled worth
I feared that pausing meant falling behind
I was convinced that rest was risky
I operated from a constant sense of time scarcity
These beliefs don’t disappear on their own. They must be examined, challenged and reworked. If we don’t do this deeper work, we simply carry the same patterns into the next year — no matter how strong our intentions are.
Why Most People Repeat Their Year
Most people set goals. Few people examine the system running their lives.
We repeat our year because:
We focus on outputs, not identity
We rely on motivation instead of structure
We don’t question the beliefs shaping our behaviour
Our nervous systems are stuck in “always on” mode
We haven’t learned how to create internal safety around rest, boundaries and change
Real growth happens when you upgrade how you operate — not when you add more to your list.
My Focus for 2026
As I head into the new year, I’m choosing a different kind of goal: To dismantle the belief that pushing is the pathway to results.
Because the truth is:
Rest increases performance
Self-care increases capacity
Regulation supports productivity
Downtime fuels creativity
Pausing strengthens resilience
My work this year is to build evidence that rest is productive. To treat recovery the way I treated strength training — deliberately, consistently, and with accountability. Ultimately, I want to become someone who drives results because I care for myself, not in spite of it.
If you want 2026 to be different…
You don’t need more discipline.
You need a new system.
You need to look at:
the beliefs holding you in the same place
the patterns driving your behaviour
the nervous system responses keeping you on autopilot
the habits and identity that actually create sustainable success
This is how you stop repeating the same year.
This is how you evolve, expand, and step into the life you’re capable of.
