Welcome to 2026!
I love the start of a new year, where I can take some time to reflect on the past year and dream about what areas I want to focus on for the next year.
The last time I set actual “goals” was in 2023, each year since then, I instead made intentions to continue to pursue those 2023 goals and ingrain them into my everyday lifestyle as best I could. Progress has been slow-going, but those goals were ones I truly wanted to be lasting.
Last year, I posted my 2025 NEW YEAR GOALS, so I’ll just do a review of progress made last year and my intentions for honing in a little deeper for 2026.
1. Develop a LIFESTYLE of fitness.
Progress: Last March, I joined a 5am strength training group that meets three times a week. Our workouts are mapped out for us by our trainer and it is by far the most I’ve been challenged since my college soccer days. I love it, I hate it, but there has NEVER been a day where I’ve gone home regretting it! The lack of sleep is probably the hardest hurdle for me, but this community of women and an amazing trainer is incomparable. I can’t remember the last time where incorporating a consistent fitness routine has not been on my list for new year’s goals. But I can finally say, this habit is set in stone for the most part in this season of my life. I am so grateful to not have to “work” to create a routine or self-motivate, this 5am crew provides the gift of accountability and our workouts are strategically mapped out by our fearless leader, Bill Cummings at Beacon Fitness.
New intentions: Hone in on nutrition. For Christmas, I asked Ryan to gift me a membership with the first trainer I ever hired (online trainer in 2024). My goals are to emphasize nutrition with Sarah Webber, mostly just desiring accountability. In addition, I’m having her add two more days of a strength training routine. These added two days will bump my lifting to five days a week, but her plan will allow me to sleep in a bit more (instead of my 4am wakeup when I go to Beacon Fitness), because I can either workout at-home or head to my local gym later in the morning after school drop off.
2. Learn to longterm plan.
Hi, I’m Shannon. I love change, new challenges, new ideas, if you need someone to come alongside and be a catalyst for starting something new, I’m your girl. I can bring the energy. However, sustainability and keeping enough to steam to see something across the finish line, requires much more focus from me. I have to continue to remember my why or recreate the why along the way, to keep myself motivated. Otherwise, I get bored or distracted and look for something new and shiny. This past year, it is ever so apparent to me that a key (for me) to sustain lifestyle habits that feel like work, requires community and accountability. So with every goal, I know I need a team or a person of accountability surrounding me. This sometimes means needing to pay someone, but it’s worth the cost in my opinion!
I’m learning about myself that it helps longterm planning seem more manageable if I map out my goals for the year, write them down, then work backwards and set smaller monthly goals in order to move the needle.
My list for 2026 goals include:
1. Fitness + Nutrition: focus on optimal health, research hormone testing/HRT, continue with my training group, add a nutrition coach, and run a half marathon.
2. Blog: map out a plan to post that includes things that I want to execute in my family life to provide adventure, nurture and creating memories. Ideas including travel, meal planning, seasonal traditions, scrapbooking our lives, celebrations, and reading.
3. Hosting: we have always prioritized hosting, but as our kids have gotten older and schedules are busier, we aren’t able to host as much as we used to. I’d like to host a monthly book club, as well as host family birthdays this next year.
4. Decorate our home: I’m terrible at getting things up on our wall. For whatever reason, I have a hard time executing this feature of decor. I plan to focus on framing art, family photos, and getting some shelves up in each room. I want our home to feel lived in and cozy and get family memories up on our walls. Without wall decor, it sort of feels a bit sterile.
Well, that’s a whole lot of new year’s goals and plans. My hope is to keep it as simple as possible and as minimal as I can, while pursuing the things I love and am highly interested in. Join me with any or all! I love moseying my way through life and jotting it down in this “journal” of sorts, that I call my blog.
Cheers to a new year! Stay cozy! xoxo
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