How to Make 2026 Your Best Year Yet

As the year draws to a close, conversations everywhere turn to goals, plans and New Year’s resolutions.

If you’re honest, how often have those intentions quietly faded by mid-January?

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve written goals, felt motivated for a few days, and then rediscovered them months later in a forgotten notebook or iPhone note. Sometimes I’d achieved a few by accident. Often I hadn’t. What was missing wasn’t motivation or ambition. It was clarity, commitment and accountability.

In this article, I want to share a different approach. One that doesn’t start with to-do lists or rigid plans, but with a different perspective. These are the same questions I explored in Episode 37 of The Solo Coach Podcast, and they’re designed to help you make your 2026 genuinely different, and perhaps even your best year yet...

Question 1: Imagine It’s the End of 2026

Picture this. It’s 31st December 2026. We bump into each other in a coffee shop or supermarket. I ask how you are, and you tell me “Dave, 2026 has been the absolute best year of my life, without a doubt!”

What would have happened for that to be true?

Think about your work. Your career. Your business. Your finances. Your relationships. Your health. Your sense of fulfilment.

Did you change roles or rediscover a passion for the work you already do? Did you finally start the side hustle you’ve been talking about for years? Did your relationship with your partner deepen, or did you meet someone new? Are you sleeping better, feeling calmer, more confident, more alive?

This is not about being realistic. For now, realism can wait outside. This is about permission. Permission to dream, to imagine, and to articulate what “your best year yet” would actually look like.

If nothing else, grab a pen and paper and write one sentence that starts with: “2026 has been my best year ever because…”

Question 2: What Did 2025 Teach You?

Now let’s backtrack through the last 12 months.

Before we rush into the future, it’s worth looking back honestly at the year you’re leaving behind.

What were the highs of 2025?

Moments you’re proud of. Wins, big or small. Conversations that mattered. Progress you made. Times you felt energised, connected with a bigger purpose or deeply fulfilled.

And what about the lows?

Challenges. Disappointments. Setbacks. Periods of stress, burnout or uncertainty. Things you hope you don’t have to repeat.

This isn’t about self-judgement. It’s about, as my coach says, “springing forward with learning”.

Ask yourself:

• What worked well this year?

• What didn’t?

• What patterns do I notice?

• What do I know now about myself that I didn’t know before?

If 2025 taught you anything, how can you use that information to make better decisions in 2026?

A year only becomes wasted if we refuse to learn from it. Don’t allow this year, or any other year, to be wasted. There’s opportunity in every difficulty and something new to learn from every mistake and setback (if you look for it). Here’s your prompt to get the magnifying glass out and search high and low for it!

Pen and paper time: “The biggest lesson I learnt from 2025 was…”

Question 3: Who Do You Need to Become?

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was this: If you want to attract something new into your life, become the kind of person who is aligned with it.

The same applies to careers, relationships, finances, health and fulfilment.

So ask yourself this: Who do I need to be for my vision of 2026 to become reality?

Not a completely different person, but an evolved version of who you already are. {Your Name} V2.0

What habits would that version of you have? What behaviours would they practise consistently? What would they say yes to? What would they not do/say/tolerate?

Equally important is the flip side: Who do you not need to be?

What behaviours, coping mechanisms or patterns might quietly sabotage your progress if left unchecked?

Long-lasting transformation starts with small, repeated actions, carried out consistently. Also known as habits. The things we do so often, that they become second nature, and we do them ‘on autopilot’. What kind of pilot do you need to be to fly your plane to destination success, in 2026?

Pen and paper time: “In order to achieve my ambitious goals for 2026, I need to become the sort of person who…”

Question 4: What Are You Truly Set to Gain?

On the surface, goals often look material or external. A new job. A higher salary. A big house. A fast car. A prosperous business.

But beneath that, there’s usually something deeper.

Ask yourself: If I achieved this, how would I actually feel?

More at ease? More confident? Proud? Energised? Secure? Excited about the future?

Understanding the emotional payoff matters. It’s what keeps you going when motivation dips. It’s what turns a nice idea into something worth committing to.

When the ‘why’ is clear, the ‘how’ becomes far easier to face.

Pen and paper time: “When I achieve my big goals and ambitions for 2026, my life will change for the better starting with…”

Question 5: What Would Be The Total Cost of Standing Still?

This question can feel uncomfortable, but it’s an important one.

If you ended 2026 in exactly the same position as you were at the end of 2025, what would be the cost?

Nothing gained, ventured or achieved. Stalemate, stagnant, a complete standstill.

Would it lead to a loss of confidence? Would it feel like frustration? Would it look like unfulfilled potential?

Another year of thinking “maybe next year”.

Most people don’t regret trying and failing. They regret never trying at all.

Standing still is still a decision, and it has consequences.

Pen and paper time: “The cost of total inaction would be…”

The purpose of this question isn’t to get all down in the dumps. On the contrary. It’s to consider the value of living up to your full potential, alongside the cost of allowing your hopes and dreams for the future to slip away, unnoticed. This is a price too high to pay, for all of us.

A Final Thought on Support

You don’t have to answer these five questions alone.

Sometimes clarity comes from conversation; saying things out loud, being challenged, supported and held accountable.

This might be with a coach, a mentor, a trusted advisor or someone who’s already walked the path you’re intending to follow.

The key thing is that you don’t keep everything locked up inside your own head, as this is a recipe for procrastination. Trust me, I’ve been there many times.

2026 doesn’t have to be a repeat of 2025, or any other year. It has the potential to be different, to be intentional and to be totally and entirely your year.

What are you willing to do differently, this year, to make that happen? And when will you get started?

Here’s to you, tackling your challenges head-on and racking up many successes, in 2026.

- David
The Solo Coach