Make 2026 Your Best Year Ever Using Six Questions

Stop letting life happen by chance and start designing it by choice. This proven year-end planning ritual has worked for 22 years because it forces you to extract wisdom from the past before rushing into the future—the critical step most people skip when setting goals.

Look Backward Before Moving Forward

Question 1: What Were the Low Points?

Acknowledging difficult moments isn't dwelling on negativity—it's essential processing that frees you from carrying emotional weight into the new year.

• Review your camera roll and calendar starting from January to identify struggles, disappointments, and draining experiences
• Research shows that people who process negative emotions rather than suppressing them experience less stress and better physical health
• Writing down hardships creates distance from negative thought patterns and prevents you from repeating the same mistakes
• Common low points include overworking, neglecting self-care, missing important events, strained relationships, or unmet goals from the previous year

Question 2: What Were the High Points?

The highlights reveal what you want more of and what you're willing to work toward.

• Small moments often matter most—a surprise visit, a morning walk with a friend, or finishing a meaningful book
• Look for patterns in what brought genuine joy, energy, and fulfillment throughout the year
• Claim your wins without shame because celebrating success reinforces what's working in your life
• High points show your values and indicate where to invest more time and energy

Question 3: What Did You Learn?

Your experiences contain data about what you need, what you're capable of, and what must change.

• Highs and lows aren't just memories—they're information telling you what works and what doesn't
• Key lessons often include discovering your need for structure, recognizing the importance of relationships, or understanding your capacity for resilience
• Research from California State University shows that connecting who you've been with who you want to become increases motivation and changes real-world behavior
• Self-awareness is the starting point for change because you can't create directions without knowing where you're starting from

Create Your Strategic Plan Forward

Question 4: What Will You Stop?

Winners quit strategically to make room for what matters.

• Stop activities, habits, and obligations that drain energy, waste time, or no longer align with your values
• Examples include making excuses about health, controlling others, doom scrolling, or staying in situations that don't serve you
• Real productivity comes from subtraction before addition—focusing on what matters by eliminating what doesn't
• Quitting out of strategy differs from quitting out of fear when something no longer works for your life

Question 5: What Will You Continue?

Identify what's working and commit to maintaining those positive patterns.

• Continue habits that create positive domino effects like daily walks, meal prepping, or scheduling time with loved ones
• Protect practices that improve your wellbeing including therapy, proper sleep routines, or using frameworks like the Let Them Theory
• Keep investing in relationships because research confirms they're the number one predictor of a good life
• Maintain systems and structures that help you feel energized, focused, and in control

Question 6: What Will You Start?

Begin something new that pulls you toward the person you want to become.

• Starts don't need to be dramatic—they can be as simple as walking with a neighbor three mornings weekly or going to bed 30 minutes earlier
• Consider what you've been pulled toward for years but dismissed as impossible or impractical
• Write it down to make it real because taking ideas from your mind onto paper is the first step toward reality
• Choose something that excites or scares you slightly as that indicates you're reaching for something meaningful