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[00:00:00] Well welcome [00:01:00] friends to this episode of The Sink Your Life Podcast. Today we’re gonna be talking about goal setting for 2026. Well, actually, in reality, we’re gonna be talking about how this is really a season of wintering and not necessarily pushing. Now, everywhere I go right now, when I open my podcast app on my phone or my social media, everyone is talking about goal setting.

They’re talking about pushing and productivity, all the hustle, culture talk. And I have done this. I have been the person pushing this message for the last 10 or 15 years, but I’ve learned in my 43 years of life that it’s not always about pushing. In fact, sometimes our goals are achieved easier and better when we slow down a little bit, when we allow our season of winter to happen.

So we’re gonna be talking about that right now here on the podcast. I’m excited for this. This is different than what you’re hearing everywhere else, and for good reason. I mean, right now I’m surrounded by so many women who are setting their New Year’s resolutions. They’re getting back to the gym, they’re back to their drinking water goals and, and clean eating, and that’s all great, right?

Like being healthy [00:02:00] and living a healthy lifestyle is important and should be a priority. But I always find it interesting because a lot of times by springtime, all of that fizzles out, right? All of that energy toward those New Year’s resolutions, they just sort of start to die down. And it’s really unfortunate because I think if we paid more attention to how we’re truly feeling in each season, we could align better.

You guys know I’m all about aligning, right? I’m all about syncing. With our physiology, I’m all about paying attention to nature because we are truly part of nature. And so even though the messaging I’ve always shared prior to this has always been about resolutions and setting goals and pushing, and I’ve always joked that my love language is return on investment.

I’m not somebody who likes to waste time. I like to achieve goals. I also know that when I don’t take the time to slow down, when I don’t take the time for the season of winter to occur, my spring suffers. And a lot of times by the time I get to summer and vibrancy, I start to burn out. And so we’re gonna talk today more about [00:03:00] this idea of wintering and not pushing.

So welcome back to the show. Welcome to 2026. I haven’t told you yet, but Happy New Year. I hope you are off to a good start this year. , I know that for me, you know, the kids are finally back in school when I take a look out my window here in my office today. I see winter, I see, I see winter, I see January.

, It feels like, you know, the last two weeks of winter break have really felt endless. I know fellow moms out there listening can probably resonate with that. So I’m happy to get the kids back in school, but I look outside and I’m like, wow, we are nowhere near spring. The wind is blowing. The trees in my front yard are blowing.

There’s absolutely zero green anywhere , in my sphere out the window. Um, it’s cold, it’s icy. It’s, it’s 30 degrees outside. We are clearly in winter season. And here’s the other thing, we were just talking, my husband and I were just talking about these darker days, right? The sun comes up later, the sun sets earlier by 6:00 PM in the evening.

We’re in total darkness. And it’s interesting because we want to, as human beings. We wanna be part of nature. [00:04:00] We wanna feel like we’re in a season of rest. In the wintertime, you might notice that you wanna sleep in longer. It’s harder to get up in the morning, especially for those nine to five jobs or getting your kids off to school.

You know, functioning in the darkness is, is hard to do both morning and evening. That’s for good reason, right? Because the world around us, nature is taking time for winter. It’s taking time to rest. So when we start to work against that. We push our bodies in those dark mornings and dark evenings, we can start to feel it.

We start to feel exhausted, but society tells us it’s January 1st. It’s the first of the year. We should be setting New Year’s resolutions. We should be pressing play on our workouts and, and, and drinking our water every day. And we should be pushing, pushing, pushing, and hitting all those health goals and setting business goals.

Because it’s January, it’s the start of a new calendar year. Well, yes, it’s the start of a new calendar year, but it’s also still winter. So we’re gonna talk today about rethinking goal setting for 2026. I’m gonna kind of shift your mind into [00:05:00] thinking more about seasons and paying attention to how you’re feeling, how your body is feeling.

So let me ask you this question to get us started. What if goal setting wasn’t about forcing yourself into a version of the future? What about if it’s listening to what’s already trying to emerge? Traditional goal setting is very linear, right? Set the target, create a plan, execute, push through resistance, do the work anyway.

But women aren’t linear beings. We’re lunar beings, but we’re not linear. Our bodies, our hormones, our emotions, our creativity, our intuition, this all moves in cycles daily, monthly, seasonally, and even just over the course of our lives. When we ignore that goal setting can start to feel exhausting. We can start to feel shame.

We can start to feel disconnected from who we really are because we have these goals and everyone else seems to be achieving them, but why aren’t we? Well, I want you to stop asking what do I need to do more of? And instead ask yourself, what season am [00:06:00] I actually in? Because if this is a season of winter, the goal isn’t about growth.

The goal is preservation. The goal is clarity. The goal is quiet transformation. In nature, winter is not a mistake. Trees don’t apologize for losing their leaves. The earth doesn’t rush to bloom before it’s ready. Winter is when roots grow deeper, when energy is conserved, when the unseen work happens.

Women are deeply connected to this wisdom, even though modern culture teaches us to override it. So if you’ve been feeling less motivated. It maybe more introspective if you’ve been feeling drawn to rest or solitude, or really just a desire to simplify instead of expand. That doesn’t mean something is wrong with you.

It likely means that you’re in a natural winter phase. And here’s the key. Winter is not the opposite of ambition. It’s the foundation of sustainable growth. [00:07:00] When we push during winter, a few things happen. We increase our chances of burnout. Our creativity dries up. Our goals feel hollow or heavy, and we start disconnecting from our intuition For women, intuition is everything.

You can technically still achieve things while pushing, but it often comes at the cost of your nervous system, your joy or your health. So again, instead of asking how can I do more in 2026, maybe ask, how can I move in alignment in 2026? Alignment might look slower, softer, less visible, but it’s also more powerful.

So what does this look like when you honor winter energy? Well, there are two reframes that I want you to try. Instead of basing your goals on outcomes, consider basing your goals on intentions and energy and values. For example, instead of, I wanna launch three new projects this year.

Maybe I wanna create [00:08:00] spaciousness so that the right project can emerge instead of I wanna be more productive. Maybe try, I wanna feel regulated, supported, and clear in my daily life. Instead of saying, I wanna prove myself, maybe think I wanna trust myself. These are not weak goals. They are root level goals.

They set the foundation for everything else. So let’s walk through a few reflective prompts together. I wanna get you guys the tools that you need to really understand what you need in this new year. So if you’re listening to this while you’re driving, you might wanna pause this, come back to it later, or maybe just listen to it again.

But let’s start here with this question. What am I being asked to release this year? What old identities or old expectations or timelines no longer fit? That’s where we have to begin because if you’ve ever been to a shopping mall, you’ve seen the shopping mall map that says you are here, where are you?

Where are you right now? What do you need to let go of in order to move [00:09:00] forward? Number two, where am I craving rest, but maybe also resisting it? This points to the area that needs the most compassion. If I’m honest with myself, I’m craving rest in different areas of my life and I’ve been resisting it because of my desire to be productive.

The third question, what feels nourishing instead of impressive? What really matters here? What actually fulfills you? Not what recognition you’re going after or you know what physique you’re going after. Like, not what necessarily looks impressive, but what actually feeds your soul. Number four, what do I wanna protect my energy for?

Where do you wanna spend your energy? This podcast is all about reaching your maximum energy, right? But I also want you to be protective of that energy. I want you to spend it where it’s desired and where it deserves to go. And then finally, if I trust that growth is inevitable, what would I stop forcing?

And this is perhaps the most important question [00:10:00] that you can ask yourself. So let me say it again. If I trust that growth is inevitable, what would I stop forcing? These questions don’t demand answers right away, but they’re meant to make you think. They’re meant to open space. So if you’re someone who still loves structure, and that’s okay, I love structure myself.

Here are some examples of goals that honor your winter energy. First, create a consistent rest ritual. If you’re not already prioritizing sleep or methods of rest, meditation, breath work, downregulation, start incorporating that into your daily schedule. Next, simplify routines instead of adding more. Where in your life can things become more simplified?

I know I can’t be the only one to say that. When we took down our Christmas decorations this year, just these last couple weeks, I started organizing and simplifying everything in the house. I just wanted to have a clear focus. I wanted to have things out of mind. I wanted to have things put away where they needed to go, right?

I wanted to make it so that this [00:11:00] year could be just simple. Next. Think about how to make your relationships more meaningful. This life is really about relationships, and I know for me, I can get really, really, sort of waist deep into the drama of, work and work life balance and all the things I need to be doing instead of the things that I should be doing, right?

And really when it comes down to it, relationships are what matters most. So how can you establish more meaningful relationships? Next, strengthening our boundaries. Where are we giving our energy where it’s not deserved? Right? We come right back to that question just to get, and then finally, how can we reconnect with creativity?

As my life coach, Amy Snow likes to say, where can I create margin in my life so that I can reconnect with my own creativity? What spaces do I feel most creative in? For me, it’s my office and taking walks in nature. How can I incorporate more time in those places? Small aligned actions [00:12:00] compound more than forced momentum ever will.

So we have to trust the pause. We have to understand that wintering is trust. We have to trust that we’re not falling behind. We have to trust that rest isn’t laziness, and we have to trust that you don’t need to prove your worth through productivity. Wow. I might not have to listen to that one again, just for myself.

You don’t need to prove your worth through productivity. But nature has never needed reassurance that spring will come. It just does, and neither do you. So what you’re doing now, resting, reflecting, recalibrating, this is part of the journey. So as we move through 2026 together, we have lots in store for you here on the podcast.

Lots of amazing up and coming science, lots of awesome information to help you really navigate your hormone health. My invitation to you is this, let your goals be alive. Let them breathe. Let them change. As you change, you don’t need to force the future, but you need to syn with the season that you’re [00:13:00] in.

Winter is not a delay. It is a deep remembrance, and when the time comes to bloom, when spring comes, which is just around the corner, you will know. You will know that it’s finally time to bloom. So I hope this helps you, my friends. I, I know this is, again, different than what you’re hearing everywhere else, but I wanted to make sure that you resonate.

I wanna make sure that you understand that I’m giving you permission to slow down. Remember, you’re not behind, you’re right on time, and spring is coming. Happy New Year, my friends. Happy 2026. We’ll talk again next week. [00:14:00]