The Goals of 2026: Starting my 2026 on a Good Note

The Goals of 2026

A new year is always a great time to feel fresh and ready for a new start. Many people start New Year’s Resolutions and if you are like me, add a dozen more resolutions and try to solve every problem all at once. Using the new year as an excuse to make the changes I am looking for in my life. 2024 was one of the best years of my life. It was one of the most productive years of my life where I found out what I liked to do, I trained for a marathon, I maxed out a Roth IRA, I improved in school, went on several cruises and I dropped to my lowest weight in a few years.  

2025 was a bit different in personal gains. Still enjoyed my year but I had some failures. I didn’t get to max out my Roth IRA, I could only max out my HSA and take my employer match at work. I put in almost $2,000 in my Roth so I was far away from maxing it. School went well. I got to go on two different Disney cruises, and three Royal Caribbean cruises. I got to see snow for the first time, I got to go to Canada for the first time. I also went on a solo trip to an all-inclusive in Nassau Bahamas. I also got to see Epic Universe, the newest theme park in Orlando during team member previews, and I got to go six times in the first year of it opening. I ran my first marathon. Moved into my first house. Got a dog. I also became a fiancé. Most of my progress came from experiences this year. I was blessed to experience so much, but it definitely showed in my bank account.

Now that the holidays have come around, I am starting to feel like I am falling short in a few aspects of my life. I am well on my way to being the most out of shape that I have been in a long time. My hobbies have been a relic of the past. My funds are depleting, and I still have a wedding to plan. There are many different things I want to improve but I am locked in place. I had my list ready to make changes in all of them but instead of doing that song and dance this year I am adopting a new strategy.

One thing. What do I need to do to create a better year? One thing that has been running around in my head is health. After these holidays, I have begun to see a large amount of my older family’s health has been declining quick. Either mentally or physically. My grandma is struggling with dementia, and my grandpa is struggling with just walking to his mailbox. It is hard to see these things. And I have been very lazy with my health over the final weeks of 2025. Consistency has been gone since I stopped marathon training. I would get my steps in, and exercise three times outside of that per week, but I would eat everything in sight, and my belly has almost gotten to the size where my anxiety stepped in and made me stop eating so much. Health is a great habit to get started with now, as I have found out with age, that my metabolism has slowed down greatly, and health scares can pop up at anytime. Increased energy, better quality of life from several hours of moderate exercise per week will be a fantastic investment.

Consistent moderate exercise is where I want to take this year. Adding in a strength training element as well. That is the one habit I am putting my direct focus on during the year and I will not be adding anything else other than that.

This will be a new tactic for me. Typically I get extremely excited for the new year and the fresh new start that I try to add in as many new things as possible. Budget, new diet, new exercise routine, new sleep routine, new additions all around my life to try and become the most optimized that I can be.

One new change. Consistent exercise. That is the main goal during the day. It is the one non-negotiable for the new year. Everything else will be on maintenance levels while I push for better health in 2026. Which will make my life all around better.