Good afternoon 👋
How are you doing today?
At the end of each year, I like to take some time to reflect on the last 12 months before setting out my goals for the year ahead. As we’re on the final day of January, I thought that now would be the ideal time to share them with you all, which is exactly what we’re going to be doing today.
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
If you’ve been following along for the page for a while, you know that for the last couple of years, I’ve been sharing my New Year’s resolutions, and then doing little update posts on them every three months or so. This is a great way to keep myself accountable, while bringing you guys along on the journey with me.
When it comes to planning my goals, I tend to look back on the previous year’s set and realistically think about how I can further develop them for myself, professionally, personally, and in other ways. I see growth as this compound effect, all helping to progress us on our journeys through life.
So, with all of this in mind, what are some of my goals for 2026? Let’s take a look:
🚗 Have loads of adventures and intentional trips away
I want to plan adventures around culture, people and stories, making the most of whatever opportunities are available to me in life. This doesn’t necessarily mean going away loads, it’s about the purpose of the trip – whether it’s about the cultural aspect, time with friends, solo discovery, or a combo of all three.
🪴 Incorporate self-care and self-appreciation into my daily life
This seemed a natural build-on from my goal last year to work on mindfulness – taking this one step further to think holistically about how I treat myself. This can take the form of occassional self-care days, skincare, mindfulness, you name it really. It’s about putting myself first more.
👋 Meet up with more connections in person:
I can’t wait to hopefully meet up with so many more friends across the year. There are so many memories just waiting to be created, so bring them on, I say!
📚 Read 60 books from across cultures and genres
I’m keeping the reading goal, but slightly altering it – focusing on a range of voices, countries, styles and formats along the way. We’re already on book six for the year, so we are well on track for smashing this one out of the park!
🗣️ Use my voice to help others find theirs
This year, I want to begin mentoring someone who has a stutter, so we can learn together, build our confidence and show that everybody has a voice.
These aren’t all of my goals. I tend to set some smaller ones as we move through the year, and, for some of the others, I prefer keeping them quiet – seeing them as little personal challenges/aims. I’ll keep you all updated on them as we move through the year, don’t you worry.
How about you? Have you set any goals for 2026? How do you reflect on your journey through life?
I’d love to hear your thoughts 😊
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!
James
Sweeney's Blogs 