267. Before You Plan 2026, Do THIS First

Dec 1, 2025

This conversation highlights the importance of reflection before diving into new year planning. It introduces six life categories for self-assessment, covering health, finances, work satisfaction, connections, joy, and curiosity. Listeners learn how to measure success by progress, not distance, and are prompted to evaluate their accomplishments and what they’ve let go. Engaging exercises help identify personal accelerators and constrictors to guide energy for the upcoming year. It’s all about intentional growth and finding balance.

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ADVICE

Check Six Life Categories First

Check in with six life categories before planning: health, money, work, connection, joy, and learning.
Use this inventory to spot imbalances and guide where to spend energy in the coming year.

ADVICE

Prioritize Sleep As A Health Domino

Treat sleep as a foundational domino: prioritize it to improve movement, food choices, and social energy.
Identify your own health domino and structure routines around it to unlock other improvements.

ADVICE

Choose The Right Kind Of Rest

Reframe rest: choose the kind of relaxation you need rather than defaulting to passive screen time.
Ask whether you need peace, creative expression, or a social outing to actually recharge.

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably hit the end of the year and thought:

Wait… what actually happened?!

How did we blink and suddenly find ourselves staring down a new calendar, new goals, and the same coffee mug we’ve dragged through the highs and lows of the last 12 months?

Before you sprint into planning mode for 2026 (don’t worry, we’re doing that next week!), today’s episode is all about slowing down long enough to look back—at what worked, what didn’t, what you let go of, what you gained, and most importantly… how it all felt.

Because building a business on your terms means regularly checking in with yourself—not just the metrics, money, or milestones, but the very real human (you!) behind all of it.

Inside this episode, I walk you through the exact year-end reflection process I do myself, including the six life categories I evaluate every single December to help me understand what’s out of balance, what’s thriving, and where I want to direct my energy next.

Grab your notebook, a cup of something warm, and prepare for some gentle-but-honest self-inquiry.

In this episode, you’ll hear…

The six life categories I use to check in with myself each year
Why reflecting before planning will make your 2026 goals actually stick
The progress-based mindset shift that will keep you motivated all year long
What to ask yourself about what you accomplished, added, and let go of
How to identify your “accelerators” and “constrictors” going into a new year

Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.

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DISCLAIMER

Mentioned in this episode:

Yearly Planning Guide

Download my fee yearly planning guide at https://www.samvanderwielen.com/yearly-planning-guide/

Yearly Planning Guide