TGIM: Be. Do. Have.

Welcome back to Thank God It’s Monday!
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​tl;dr 2026, we have arrived! The first Monday of the new year, absolutely stoked with potential energy. Big plans, new goals, and budding hopes can all feel exciting, bordering on overwhelming. How can you ensure you keep yourself on the hopeful side of this precipice and not tumble down the too-stunned-to-move side?

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The New Year allows us to leave our undesirable habits behind and create the version of ourselves we have always envisioned. The hope of finally quitting a job we don’t want to be at, moving to better weather, practicing healthier habits, and finally cutting back on the drinking, doom scrolling, and complaining that don’t fulfill us are all within reach. We wake up excited for change, as if it will come to us in a dream one night and stick around like gum to a shoe.
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Somewhere in these first few weeks of the year, the thought of waking up every day to choose to change can become daunting. Change is always an uphill battle, and if you have been subjected to the human experience before, you know there will inevitably be days you might not have the energy to fight that battle. Some days, you fall into the systems you already have in place.
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So how can you harness that excitement of change to keep propelling you without being halted by the enormous task of committing to something for the rest of your life?
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The first step is to break down the goal into daily actions. Do you want to be healthier? What does that look like in your day-to-day? Move more? Eat more fruits and veggies? Protect your sleep better? Drink more water? All of those things? None of those things? Break down the big goal for the year into daily actions.
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Once you have your daily action step, you can change that crippling thought of “2026 is my year to be healthy!” and instead think “I just have to get an extra 10 minutes of walking in today!”
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You can model the “Be. Do. Have.” structure for change. We can be pushed over the too-stunned-to-move cliff when we think of what we want to have in the new year (a healthier body, more wealth, better habits). To mitigate the overwhelm, break down what you want to have into what you can do to get there.
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Then, once you have your “to-do” list (which should move you towards what you want to have), you can practice being the person who does those things.
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Be the person who walks 10 minutes after dinner. Be the person who immediately puts $50 of their paycheck each week towards their retirement. Be the person who is not intimidated by others and says hello.
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If you can wake up excited to be that new person just for one day, you can harness the excitement without being worried about how you will fight the uphill battle for a whole year. Can you be the person who walks, saves, or says hi for just today? I bet you can.
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To keep the energy of the New Year ignited as we move forward through January, start your days with the same fervor you began the year with. Set your goals each day. Write them out, look at them, and visualize what it would be like to have accomplished them. I mean, what are you doing to start the day anyway? Reading the news about things you can’t change or scrolling social media and starting your day with brain fog and dopamine withdrawal?
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Instead, start the day with those goals that you envision for yourself in 2026. What tasks can you do that day to move towards them? Who is the person you can be that will get those tasks done? Get excited and use that momentum to move forward.
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Don’t worry about sustaining the work for 365 days or the rest of your life. Just worry about one day. Can you be the person who practices new habits for one single day? Great. That’s all you have to get excited about.

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Who do you want to be in 2026? Get excited about it! Be that person today who does those habits, and you will have those results before you know it. Hit reply and let me know what you are working on today.
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If you found some value in this, please share it with a friend you think would enjoy it! And let me know if you’d like to be added to get TGIM.
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This week, my podcast recommendation is from The Ed Mylett Show, “9 Unbreakable Rules of Consistency and Commitment.”
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With that, let’s be the people we need to be just for today and see where that gets us. As my fortune cookie foretold, Monday’s energy is your secret weapon for achieving your dreams.
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Until next week,
Shannon