New Year Resolutions

It’s New Year’s Eve and a perfect time to reflect on the previous year.

In the chaos of life, we can lose sight of just how much can happen in a year. The highs and lows, the goals earned, and the unexpected moments that send our lives in new directions. Would the person you were at the start of the year be surprised at what happened between then and now?

I made a practice years ago to carve out some quiet time on New Year’s Eve; just me, a notebook, and a pen. A space to reflect on the previous year. What were the highs, what were the lows, what chaos did life throw at me, and where did it lead me? I then take a look at the hopes and intentions that I wrote down on January 1st. How did I do? Did I achieve what I set out to? What habits served me well and which ones derailed me? What will I bring into the New Year and what am I leaving behind? Am I proud of the year I had, or do I need to have a hard talk with myself? Then I close that note book for the last time and head out to close out the year.

The next morning, a new notebook gets opened to the first page (really the second, I like a clean first page for whatever reason). I write about my hopes for the year, the beautiful dream of what I’d love for my small world. I set my intentions. What I want to accomplish, the habits I wantt o continue, and those I need to build to make those intentions a reality. When I’m at my best, that notebook gets opened each day. To reflect, to dream, to have a heart-to-heart talk with myself. On the final day of the year, it gets opened one last time.

It’s become increasingly “cool” to make fun of New Year’s resolutions over the years. Some are so good at crushing life that making a resolution is beneath them. Others are so jaded that they are projecting their own acceptance of failure onto others who set goals and work to achieve them. I can clearly picture a guy, a few years ago, sitting at a table in a faded Beastie Boys T-shirt, loudly exclaiming, “No one accomplishes their dumb resolutions, they all quit by March.” Maybe that’s true for most, but not all.Working in fitness for my whole adult life, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with countless people in January who, in a slightly bashful way, told methat they set a New Year’s resolution to create meaningful change in their health. I then got to remind them at the end of the year about that goal thatthey are so far past they forgot they had even set it. The bummer about the“too cool” people is when their voice wins out over the bashful desire of the person who was just about to make change. So what if someone has loudly proclaimed “New Year, New Me” the last 10 years but hasn’t actually checked offa ny of their goals? The beauty of a New Year is that it’s a fresh chapter. A symbolic clean notebook.

In a few hours, I will be sitting down with my notebook before heading out to a very hot and humid dinner with my family on a beautiful beach in Mexico. To be completely honest, this practice is not going to be especially easy for me this time around. It has been a rough year, and I feel further from my most authentic version of myself than I did twelve months ago.

However, do it I will. I’ll have the hard talk with myself,take the lessons, and leave the emotional drag of the shortcomings in that notebook. Then I’ll close it for the last time and join my family for a beautiful dinner. Tomorrow morning before heading to the airport, I’ll open anew notebook. A clean space for a fresh start. I invite you to join me. There is nothing naive about believing you can improve your life. There is nothing embarrassing about starting again. Growth is not invalidated by previous setbacks. Choosing to believe in yourself, even when it is hard to, is self-love.

If you want to join me in reflecting on 2025 and setting intentions for 2026, I have included a set of prompts below. You do not need a fancy system. Grab a simple notebook or sheet of paper and close out 2025 on the pages. Keep it, throw it away, or burn it with your New Year’s sparkler.

Then start the year with a new notebook. Invest in a space that signals to yourself that this matters. That small act alone is evidence that you are rooting for yourself.
Use it in whatever way feels realistic. Monthly. Weekly. Daily. Consistency matters more than intensity.

I hope you all have a great night and I look forward to another year of being a part of helping people create positive change in their life, one squat at a time!
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- Aaron

2025 Reflection

·      How do I feel in this moment?

·      What were my hopes for this past year?

·      What went well? What am I proud of?

·      Did I treat myself with respect and care?

·      What story did I tell myself about who I am?

·      Where did I come up short? What disappointed me?

·      What habits should I carry into the new year?

·      What habits need to stay in this year?

·      What single memory from the past year brings methe most joy?

·      Am I ready to close the book on this year and move forward?

·      If not, what needs to happen first?

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2026 Intentions

This is the first step in a year of thriving. Putting pen to paper is not symbolic. It is action.

☐ Check the box. You showed up.

·      Who do I want to be by the end of this year?

·      What will it feel like to live as that versionof myself?

·      What needs to happen to move me in thatdirection?

·      What thought or action no longer belongs in mylife?

·      What will I replace it with?

·      Where do I need tough love?

·      Where do I need patience and grace?

·      Who else benefits from this version of me?

·      When I stumble, because I will, how will I resetinstead of quitting?

·      What do I need to do to keep my intentionsvisible throughout the year?

·      Do I believe this is possible?

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