Just start
A very Happy New Year to you!
I hope you had a fantastic break over Christmas.
The alarm clock going off for the first full working day yesterday wasn’t as much of a shock as I had anticipated. I think, like a lot of people, I was ready to get back into “normal life” following the celebrating over the Christmas and New Year period. Talking to clients yesterday it sounds like a lot of people were feeling the same. A sign, I’m hoping, that everyone managed to properly rest and recharge over the last few weeks. 2025 felt like a heavy year for the majority so a decent period of rest was full deserved.
Christmas, this year, was a quiet one for me. We took a trip to the Harry Potter studios in Leavesden on the first days of the holidays. I’ve been twice before but it gets bigger and more spectacular each time. The level of detail is mind blowing. If you haven’t been, I’d highly recommend.
The real Hagrid and Harry or more Wallace and Gromit?!
The much anticipated and now traditional Christmas quiz of the year on Boxing Day went down a storm. If life as a health coach and therapist doesn’t work out, I think I’ll try life as a Quizmaster.
Throw in a few walks, a bit of festive football and one-too-many ciders, the festive break was exactly what the doctor ordered… Chilled out, drama free and very enjoyable!
As we turn our attention to 2026, inevitably there has been a lot of chat about plans for the year, New Years resolutions and how to tackle them.
In the first feedback to clients yesterday, I think I must have mentioned the mantra “imperfect action” at least a dozen times. It should be the focus for everyone, not just this week, but for this month too.
If you want to start any habit, improve your health or make any significant change this year you need to build some consistency and some momentum.
The biggest mistake people make in January is trying to be perfect. They set super-high, unrealistic standards and then a few weeks in when that standard isn’t met for a few days, they feel like failures and stop altogether.
In this week and in this month - just start. The first tickbox you need to tick is consistency. Whatever the target is, this is the first thing you need to focus on.
Let’s take going to the gym.
If your target for 2026 is to improve your fitness and going to the gym is part of that, then your only focus for January should be to keep turning up to the gym.
It doesn’t matter what you are doing there (for now), what your form is like, how long you are there for, you just need to keep turning up. You have another 11 months to focus on the other stuff. For now, you just need to build some consistency and some momentum.
There will be countless amounts of people that will have given up on targets by the end of January because standards have been set so high, don’t be part of that number.
Keep it simple and repeat the mantra “imperfect action” in January.
Of course, if you need help with anything, I’m here.
I hope your first full week of January is a good one.