I know a post about goals right before the New Year is a tad cliche. But as someone who works in the self-development area and spends a lot of personal time studying self-development, I feel like goal setting is key to improving. I think what makes it seem “cliche” at this time, is that most people don’t stick to the goals they set at the beginning of the year. Instead, by March, they are back to the same habits that got them stuck in the first place.

This was on my mind as I sat down to make my goals and plan for 2026. I looked back over my past few years of goals and realized…I haven’t really accomplished anything in the past few years. The goals I planned for 2023, 2024, and 2025 were the same. Yes, I have had some growth over these years…like getting promoted each year at work (including getting promoted recently and starting off 2026 in a new role). I’ve managed to make more money and save more money. But looking back, I am not where I had hoped to be at this time, and I accomplished very little in the way of the goals I set each year.

One of my big goals each year is my body: losing weight, being healthier in food choices, working out more, and generally just feeling happier and more comfortable in my body. Yet, year after year, I have stayed the same. I try to create healthier habits but then often slide back into making poor choices after a few weeks, or months. Stuck in the same patterns.

The picture above is me in 2018 at my healthiest and happiest. Little did that version of me know that life was about to come crashing down around him. That version of me was oblivious to the small changes happening within my marriage. That version of me was happy because they were hopeful for the future, he thought he had achieved everything he wanted in life: a rewarding career teaching yoga and Pilates, prioritizing his health, in a loving marriage, living in a beautiful home, being able to travel the world with his best friend (my ex-husband).

That version of me went from a period of radiating light to an era of complete darkness. Things shifted in my marriage that led to a very toxic period spanning 2-3 years. My ex-husband began abusing drugs and alcohol. We decided to move back to Florida. With everything going on in my marriage, I was unable to teach full time anymore and I had to get a “real” job. Eventually, my ex-husband had to be put into rehab. While he self-medicated with drugs and alcohol, I was self-soothing with food.

I have always had issues around food. I was anorexic from the age of 11 until into my early 30s. I felt my worth was based on how I looked, that if I had a perfect body, I was worthy of love. It was my yoga and Pilates practices that put me back in touch with my body in healthy ways, and I began to heal from my eating disorder.

During this toxic time at the end of my marriage, I began to have food issues again. However, instead of with holding, I began to emotional eat. Bingeing when I was sad, depressed, overwhelmed, angry. I wound up gaining 50 lbs. of excess weight during this time. This extra weight made me not comfortable in my body anymore. And due to my work schedule, I wasn’t able to work out like I was accustomed to. All of this compounded my depression.

Then on a day in 2020, my best friend told me he wasn’t in love with me anymore. I remember him saying “I thought you would be crying about this” to which I responded, “I have no more tears to give you”. Because I had cried over what he put me through for the past three years. It was that day that we decided to divorce. It was also that day that I made a decision to start putting myself first. I had been putting his happiness over my own for so long.

But here we are almost 5 years later, and I am not where I want to be. I have not been able to lose what I call my “divorce weight”. I think maybe I haven’t been emotionally and mentally ready? It’s been FIVE years, and I am stuck in the same place. Maybe it’s an emotional block that is keeping me stuck? Maybe I have not fully released the version of me that was stuck in a toxic relationship for years? Maybe I have not forgiven my ex and now it is keeping me from being able to move forward?

But something this year feels different. Something feels like it has shifted. I feel ready to step into the version of myself that is healthy, happy, and radiant. That is what my signature series, “Becoming Your Most Radiant Self” is all about. Stepping into the best version of yourself, whatever that is for YOU! This is not about living up to someone else’s standard or putting other’s before yourself.

So, when I sat down to think about my goals for 2026 and what the best and most radiant version of myself looked like back then. I thought back to that time before my marriage started to deteriorate. What habits did I do daily, how did I nourish my body, what type of workouts did I do regularly. I realized that my health and wellness habits were pretty simple back then: eating a vegan, plant-based diet, running, and doing yoga and Pilates.

I have decided to go back to the habits that worked for me back then, when I felt my healthiest, happiest and most radiant. Here are my goals and plan for 2026

• Live a slower, simpler, more intentional life
• Find the joie de vivre in everyday
• Cultivate my inner light and shine that light unto others
• Setting boundaries and protecting my peace
• Back to a more consistent Pilates practice – and this being my main form of workout
• Also, becoming a Pilates Master teacher – sharing my knowledge more and building up my classes and following online
• Entering my “Socialite Era” (more on this later)
• Getting to my goal weight – losing 50-60 lbs
• Eating a vegan, plant-based diet (my plan is 80/20)
• Going back to running but in a more mindful, gentle way. I do want to complete a half marathon, but not in a way that pushes or puts stress on my body.
• Quitting alcohol (except for special occasions)
• No more sugar, processed foods
• Creating more financial stability and prosperity
• Next work goal is to get promoted to manager in 2026-2027
• Self-publish a book
• Brush up on my French in order to prepare for my Europe trip in 2027

What does becoming your most radiant self look like? Let me know in the comments below or send me a message on social media. I would love to hear and help you on your goals for the next year.