So the New Year is here.
And it’s funny, because people always say to us,
“Oh, you guys must be busy because of the New Year’s resolution people…”
And honestly, the answer is no.
Well, not in the way people think.
Yes, we’re busy as a facility.
Classes are pumping.
People are hitting PBs after a year of solid training, better sleep, better food, more hydration, and more time to be happy doing the things they actually want to do.
And yes, we do see traffic rise.
But we’re also busy with something else.
We’re busy with people who have changed focus.
People who have decided this year is their year, but believe that since they didn’t achieve everything they wanted last year, they now need to change everything this year.
This thinking is a problem.
I don’t believe that for a second that that is the solution.
This blog is designed to help you break through the noise and make 2026 the year you succeed more than you ever have before. And if any of this feels confronting, that’s not a criticism, it’s an invitation to do things differently this year.
Because the truth is, you had the chance last year, we all did. You probably just made the same mistakes as in previous years, and we don’t want to repeat them in 2026.
To start, I’ve pulled together the 10 most common New Year’s resolutions from the internet I could find, and, more importantly, the mistakes people keep making with them. Not so you can change tactics or chase a new hack, but so you can finally do what actually needs to be done to succeed.
The 10 Most Common New Year’s Resolutions
So here we are. Before we go any deeper, for the record, these are the big ten:
- Exercise more or get fitter/fit
- Lose weight
- Eat healthier
- Save more money
- Drink less alcohol
- Quit smoking or vaping
- Read more books
- Reduce screen time or social media
- Improve mental health or reduce stress
- Get more organised or build better routines
Now here’s the important part worth noting.
In my opinion, the number one issue of human existence is not laziness, discipline, or motivation.
It is our need to multitask everything.
As I go through this, you’ll start to see the pattern. Most people don’t just try to improve one area of life in January. They try to master all of them at once.
And once again, they become masters of none, because they believe multitasking is the best approach.
At this point, I would like just to take a moment to restate that if any of this feels confronting, the aim of any of this is not to be criticism, but to be taken as an invitation to do things differently this year
How This Usually Plays Out
You want to:
- Exercise more
- Lose weight
- Save money
- Drink less
- Quit vaping
- Read more
- Be more productive
So the plan becomes something like this:
“I’ll start running because it’s free.
I’ll listen to an audiobook while I do it.
I’ll make a homemade smoothie.
I’ll make sure it’s a 10km run each day, so I don’t have time to vape (I’m sure most of you don’t vape! But it may cross your mind to try to burn as many calories as possible too?).
This will save me heaps of money anyway.
And I’ll do it all at 4 am so it’s done before the sun rises.
Oh, and now I’ve quit drinking.”
Sounds impressive, right?
But let’s be honest.
That’s not a plan.
That’s hope with a calendar reminder.
And here’s the real question no one asks themselves.
If motivation alone were enough, wouldn’t you already be doing this?
What happens if you’re not a runner? Even if you are? Why are you doing this?
What happens when sleep drops?
What happens when stress hits?
What happens when life does what life always does?
The whole thing collapses. Not because you are weak, although let’s be honest, is this the first time it’s happened? It collapses because nothing was actually designed to support you.
The Real Mistakes Behind Each Resolution
If we pull this apart, the mistakes become apparent.
- Exercise more
People aim for maximum effort instead of minimum consistency. - Lose weight
People chase the scale instead of changing their behaviours. - Eat healthier
People know what to eat, but never plan when or how to eat. - Save money
People rely on willpower instead of systems and automation. - Drink less alcohol
People remove the drink without changing the life that requires it. - Quit smoking or vaping
People try to delete a habit without replacing it. - Read more books
People don’t want to buy books; they want to borrow them, and they don’t prioritise reading time. - Reduce screen time
People think discipline can beat addiction by design technology. - Improve mental health
People add more practices instead of removing pressure. This whole system exclusively contributes to mental health degradation. - Get organised
People copy routines that don’t fit their reality. No one wants to find more hours; they want to work with the hours that suit them.
Different goals.
Same mistake.
Trying to sharpen ten axes at once.
What Actually Works, And It’s Not Sexy
The keys to success are boring, simple, and repeatable.
You need:
- A support group
- Friends who share your desires
- A clear plan for each resolution individually, and an understanding that success requires sacrifice
- The humility to work on one thing properly at a time before adding another
Each resolution needs:
- Its own goal
- Its own structure
- Its own environment
- Its own support
Not one mega routine that collapses under pressure.
You don’t need to do more.
You need to do less, better.
The Key Is To Start With the End in Mind
If we take a lesson from Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and start with the end in mind, we work from the bottom up.
Instead of attacking each resolution individually, something interesting happens. Most of these problems solve themselves without willpower.
Step 1: Sit Down and Make a Real Plan
Time First, Not Goals
You have:
- 8 hours in bed
- 16 hours awake
That’s it. No extra hours are coming or needed.
This step alone fixes more mental health issues than any app, journal, or breathing technique ever will, because anxiety thrives in chaos, not structure.
So we plan the day in reverse.
Step 2: Reading Goes Before Bed
Not “When I Have Time”
People don’t want to buy books; they want to borrow them. That’s fine, I get it, we’re all trying to save money.
But one way to succeed here is to invest in your reading habits. Use a Kindle if you don’t want books around the house, or buy the physical copy and actually see how much you’ve read this year.
More importantly, people don’t protect time to read.
So add this to your schedule:
- Reading happens one hour before bed
- Phone stays out of reach
- Even 10 to 20 pages count
This single habit:
- Reduces screen time
- Improves sleep quality
You will probably fall asleep before you read much at first, and that’s fine. It still reinforces the basics.
No multitasking.
No audiobooks while sprinting through life.
One job, at one time.
Step 3: Dinner, Then Structured Eating
Every 3 to 4 Hours
Now we move backwards again.
- Dinner before reading
- Four to five meals or snacks
- Roughly three to four hours apart
At this point, eating healthier becomes boring, and that’s the goal.
So now you:
- Write a food budget
- Choose a meal system
- Shop only for foods in that system
If you don’t know what to do here, invest in a nutrition program.
The money you spend on structure saves you money long term:
- Less takeaway
- Less waste
- Less decision fatigue
This fixes:
- Eating healthier
- Weight loss behaviours
- Budget blowouts
Step 4: Training Comes Next
Now, and only now, do we talk about exercise.
Because your day is structured, training has a home.
You train first thing in the morning, not because it’s hardcore, but because it removes friction. If it can’t be the first thing, it’s the first thing you do after work.
And here’s the important part.
You don’t quit the gym.
High-intensity training in a group environment:
- Gets you fitter faster
- Builds consistency
- Creates accountability
- Replaces bad habits with good ones
- Gets all you need done in1 hour!
Running for free sounds smart until motivation disappears.
Structure beats free every time.
This fixes:
- Exercise inconsistency
- Weight loss frustration
- Smoking and vaping urges
- Midweek drinking
Because when your schedule matters, bad habits stop fitting.
Step 5: Alcohol, Smoking, and Vaping Fall Away
Not Forced Out
You don’t quit these habits directly.
They disappear because:
- Drinking midweek ruins sleep
- Smoking disrupts training
- Vaping kills breathing capacity
Your life no longer requires them.
This is replacement, not restriction.
Step 6: Money Gets a Simple, Boring Rule
Now we deal with saving money.
Not $600 a week.
Not hero goals.
Not leaving yourself short.
You follow what The Richest Man in Babylon teaches:
- Save 10 percent of what you earn
- Put it in a long term savings account
- Don’t touch it
If 10 percent is too much:
- Do 5 percent
- But do it automatically
This removes willpower from the equation and fixes the money stress loop.
The Final Truth
Success isn’t hard.
It just requires:
- Sacrifice
- A small pivot
- The willingness to commit longer than 30 days
If you want real change, you don’t do this until February.
You do it until the end of 2026.
So you’re not writing this same list again in 2027.
That’s the difference between New Year’s resolutions
and becoming someone new.
If you want 2026 to be different, stop asking:
“How can I do all of this?”
And start asking:
“What is the one thing I can do well enough that it creates momentum?”
Build that.
Sharpen that axe.
Then move on to the next.
That’s how real change happens.
Get up. Get after it. BECOME EXTRAORDINARY!