January goals

Every year January 1 arrives and slaps you in the face with all kinds of promises, New year! New you!  But 2026 will be different, not because I’ve suddenly developed superhuman-like willpower or a taste for green smoothies, but because this entire year will be dedicated to finding small, sensible ways to make my life better. 

As a middle-aged Australian woman who has already survived low-rise jeans, the Rachael haircut and the great eyebrow over-plucking of the early 2000s, I’ve decided that 2026 will not be about reinvention but rejuvenation. 

So, I’m starting off in January by making sure that everything on the inside is still working properly.

Because lately my body has started making noises that it never used to.  I have a back that seizes if I so much as sneeze or make any sudden movements.  And let’s not forget the mysterious shoulder issue that arrived uninvited, unpacked its bags, and now refuses to leave. 

January is less glow-up, more check engine light.

First things first, finding the right doctor to guide me through the next ten-plus sweaty, hormonal, and emotionally confusing years.  Someone calm and reassuring.  Someone who won’t placate with me “it’s all just part of aging” and send me on my way.

Then it’s blood tests, hormones, weight, diet and gut health. 

No vision boards.  No punishing resolutions.  Just making sure nothing important is rattling around loose in there.  Because if everything on the inside is ticking along nicely, the outside can wait until February.  Or March.  Or after Easter…

I’ll be reporting back with my results, but the main goal is to start 2026 with (hopefully) a clean bill of health.  Then I can deep dive into other areas of my life that need improving – and boy is there a lot to tackle.

As for the rest of the year, I’ll be working on:

Making time to prioritise myself.  Exercise.  Rest.  New hobbies.  Maybe even reviving some old ones.  Sleep will also fall under this category.  I would genuinely like to know if waking up feeling refreshed is still a thing, or just a rumour spread by people who don’t have kids.

Body image and aging.  Finally learning to love, or at least tolerate, myself.  This will be tough.  I’ve punished my body for as long as I can remember.  From no carbs to diet pills.  From bulimia to gym-junkie.  I hate to think of how many years I’ve spent being cruel instead of kind.

The glow-up.  After years of living in jeans, t-shirts and hoodies, I feel that it’s time to find my style.  I love nice clothes.  I just don’t own enough of them to make any nice outfits.  I’ve heard of this thing called the ‘capsule wardrobe’ - a mystical entity that involves 20 items, endless outfits, and effortless style.  Reality pending.  Hair and make-up will also need a rethink…  One brave appointment at a time.   

Discovering my values (and significantly harder, living by them).  I read once that the real secret to success is living in alignment with your values - not status or wealth.  I want to work out what actually matters to me and then set standards accordingly.  A radical concept, I know.

Feeding my soul.  Learning to be present.  Loving without conditions.  Being kinder to myself.  Changing the judgemental voice in my head that narrates everything like a disappointed school principal.  I want to rewrite the endings of the negative stories that I tell myself and finally forgive myself for the past.

Work on my relationships.  With my partner, my daughters, my parents, family and friends.  These relationships deserve time and care.  I will get out what I put in, meaning I need to stop scrolling on my phone and rather use it for its intended purpose – making actual phone calls.  Remember those?

Finding enthusiasm for work again.  Getting up each morning and mentally preparing myself for 8 hours of work each day has never felt more challenging.  I worked hard to get where I am, and now that I’m here, work suddenly no longer fulfils me.  I dread the thought of doing the same thing for the next 15 years until retirement.  Surely there’s more to it than this.

Play.  Finally, I need to re-learn how to loosen up and have fun again.  To enjoy the moments minus the mental load.  Somehow, thoughts about laundry, dinner or unpaid bills always seem to creep in no matter what I’m doing.  I need to remember that joy doesn’t need to be earned, it’s allowed. 

In conclusion, I’m not trying to become a new woman.

I’m just trying to improve the woman I already am.  The tired, creaky and saggy one who has finally realised that she deserves to take the time (a whole year in fact) to focus on herself.

Lauren x