Happy New Year’s Eve! And Happy New Year if you’re reading this from Thailand!

2026 is here…isn’t that crazy to say?

If your holidays have been anything like ours, it’s been a relaxed - borderline lazy - few weeks and we’re ready to get back into our routine.

Maybe your holidays have come with extra indulging in alcohol, cookies, and sweets. If so, no judgement at all.

With the New Year comes a perfect time to wipe the slate clean and start anew.

That’s why one of my favorite things to do around this time is set goals for next year.

No, not a resolution.

When only 8-10% of people follow through on resolutions, it tells me the problem isn’t motivation.

It’s how you set the goal.

And that's what we’re going into today…

How to make 2026 a year you can follow through on.

Resolutions fail for one main reason.

They focus on outcomes without a plan.

These are common outcome goals we’ve all set before:

“I want to lose 30lbs.”

“I want my clothes to fit better.”

“I want Adam Levine to sing Happy Birthday to me.”

These are good goals, yeah?

But they are missing one critical piece. And that’s the process. Or better said…how you’re going to get there.

See, the outcome goal is like the destination.

The process goals are like the road map to get you there.

Let’s use the goal of losing 30lbs as an example.

You can wish this goal into existence all you want but if you’re sitting on the couch watching The Real Housewives with a bag of Lays…it ain’t happening.

Instead, you’ll set process goals based on what your outcome goal is. Some process goals that will help get you to losing 30lbs would be:

The outcome goal is what you want to achieve while the process goals are the daily steps you’ll take to get there.

It sounds easy, right?

Set your outcome and process goals and you’re ready to go!

Well…not quite.

And it has to do with what you’re bringing with you from 2025.

When the clock strikes midnight, you have a chance to become a better version of yourself.

One piece of the “new-you” puzzle is setting a big, exciting goal like we talked about above.

And the other has to do with acknowledging the not-so-great parts of yourself.

Because the goals you set don’t fail…it’s the old patterns you ignore that usually do.

You can set the most meaningful goal ever but if you don’t consider your habit of “waiting till Monday to start”, your goal will never get off the ground.

Where most people get this wrong is thinking they need to become someone else.

Or forget about and cut off parts of themselves they don’t like.

They push them down only for those habits and patterns to pop back up in other ways later.

Maybe you’ve tried this before?

The truth is, you are perfect the way you are AND there are things you can improve about yourself.

It’s not about becoming someone else and forgetting the bad parts about you.

It’s about transcending where you are now and including - not trying to get rid of or forget about - the parts you don’t love to remember where you came from.

You have everything you need already inside of you to be the person you want to become.

This should feel empowering to hear. You don’t need to become someone else. You are enough.

Now this all sounds great in theory but let’s make it actionable so you can take something away from this and use it to have an amazing 2026.

In the next 20 minutes, you’ll have a simple and actionable plan to make 2026 your best year. I promise you that.

To make that happen, we’re going to break this up into two parts.

Part one is about reflection…creating what I call your anti-vision, the future you want to avoid. While part two will be all about your greatest vision for yourself and what you want to become.

I’m an 80 year old man at heart so I recommend a piece of paper and a pen for these exercises. But if you want, typing in a note app on your laptop or phone will work too.

On one piece of paper, I want you to sit with these questions and write what comes to your mind. Don’t worry about it being perfect or making sense. Write down what comes to mind, and more importantly, to your heart.

After you’ve answered these questions, take a moment and read back over them.

This is what I call your “anti-vision.”

This is what you want to avoid.

But we’re going to keep this close, because it holds the key to you reaching your goals.

Do you know why?

Research shows that potential negative outcomes are often stronger motivators than positive ones.

Better said, fear of a bad thing happening will motivate you more than the hope of a good thing.

Now that you have your anti-vision, it’s time to move on to part two…setting your goals.

Fast forward to December 31, 2026. It’s 12 months from today and you are blown away at how you look and feel.

Both on the inside and out. Your energy and skin is radiating. You feel calm and abundant. Your life feels like it’s on the right track and you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

What would have to happen for you to feel this way?

Whatever you write down, this is your outcome goal for 2026. Your North Star. The thing that’s going to guide everything else you do.

And it’s not about perfection with this goal…it’s about direction.

After writing down your outcome goal, ask yourself these questions:

Based on your answers, you’ll be able to spot a clear pattern to create your process goals. Ideally you have 3, maximum 5 process goals.

If you set too many, it’ll be hard to make them all happen.

Want to know the best part of setting process goals?

With outcome goals, you can’t really control them. You probably know this better than anyone.

Think of a time you had a weight loss goal. No matter how much you wanted to accomplish the goal, how many times did you step on the scale for it to not be a number that you wanted?

Frustrating…I know.

That’s why you set process goals. Because these are goals you can control.

You do get to decide if you exercise or not. If you eat protein. If you go to bed on time.

These are within your control. And you can have full confidence that, as long as you do these things consistently, you’ll take one step closer to your ideal outcome.

I know 2026 is going to be a great year for you.

And to make that more than just a feeling, I’m going to simplify everything you just read into one clear action.

If you only do one thing today, do this:

Grab two pieces of paper and answer these questions.

Paper #1: Your Anti-Vision

This isn’t about judgment.

It’s about clarity.

Paper #2: Your Becoming

Fast forward to December 31, 2026.

You feel calm, confident, energized, and proud of how you showed up this year.

What would have to be true for you to feel that way?

Then ask:

These become your process goals.

One last thing.

Keep these papers somewhere visible and read them every morning.

Not to pressure yourself but to remind yourself who you’re becoming.

Because you don’t need to become someone else. You are already enough.
And everything you need to make 2026 your best year is already inside you.

I’m rooting for you.

Your friend and coach,

Ben Miknis

P.S. I have a lot of exciting things coming this year and I can’t wait to share them with you ◡̈