The Lifestyle CEO

Why January Goal Setting Doesn't Always Work | A Fresh Approach to Planning Your 2025

• Christina Gough & Dr Katie Stirling • Season 4 • Episode 10

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Feeling behind on your 2025 goals already? Clinical Psychologist Katie and Marketing Expert Christina reveal why forcing yourself to plan your entire year in January might be setting you up for failure.

In this episode, we're challenging the "New Year, New Me" pressure and sharing a more intentional approach to goal setting, including:

  • Why winter might be better for reflection than action
  • How to identify which areas of life actually need goals
  • The power of "fallow years" for preventing burnout
  • A practical system for breaking down big goals
  • Why scheduling planning time is as important as doing
  • The truth about creating sustainable change

Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by January pressure or simply craving a more authentic approach to personal growth, this conversation will transform how you think about goal setting.

Perfect for ambitious women who want to create lasting change without the New Year overwhelm.

Website: www.lifestyleceo.co.uk
Instagram: @thelifestyleceo.podcast
Christina: @itschristinagough
Katie: @drkatiestarling
TikTok: @thelifestyleceo.podcast

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Lifestyle CEO, a community designed for women looking to take their life into their own hands and redefine what success looks like for them.

Speaker 2:

I'm Katie, a clinical psychologist and couple therapist.

Speaker 1:

I'm passionate about connecting you with the tools you need to create the life and relationship you want, and I'm Christina, a marketing and business expert who has built her life around giving herself and those around her the ability to choose what their lifestyle looks like for them.

Speaker 2:

Together, we have created the podcast for women just like us who are looking to redefine what success looks like for them and enjoy a lifestyle that they love.

Speaker 3:

Hello, hello Good morning.

Speaker 2:

I'm kind of laughing because this is the first time we've done a podcast where we're not in the same place and there was just like a little couch out of the screen.

Speaker 3:

I know I feel a bit sad.

Speaker 2:

We're not together yeah, it feels strange, it feels very strange, but it's, it's so lovely to see you online anyway.

Speaker 3:

I know, and we're literally in opposite sides of the world, which is crazy.

Speaker 2:

We are, so I'm on the morning temperature in Australia, and you're joining us from from the Midlands in England, yeah, so also in different seasons, aren't we?

Speaker 3:

we are, we are, and I'm actually starting to really miss Bali weather. At the moment, it's very cold here, but we were very lucky in that we got snow, which is obviously delightful, um, so, yeah, I feel like I ticked off all the kids wants for the Christmas holiday and now it's time to get back to Bali. Um, but yeah, so just a strange time, I think. Just, I think mainly for expats as well, because a lot of people tend to return home to their home country. This is the first year we've come back since moving to Bali and it has been incredible. We've been here for, like, well, nearly two months now.

Speaker 3:

I guess it's just all a bit bizarre, but it's. It's interesting because I think obviously we're so out of our routine. But that sort of Christmas period, new Year period, often comes with this sort of sense of need to get myself, you know, new year, new me sort of stuff and, just like you know, goal setting and everyone's talking about it on Instagram and on you know, everyone sort of just loves this whole you, you know, setting your goals and stuff like that, which obviously I love buying into as well. Um, but it's been really interesting this year, I think, probably because we're a bit out of our routine. But also I think it just was so much more apparent to me that this pressure we put on our January goals and like having everything figured out by the first of January to enter the new year ready to accomplish, is just such a crazy amount of pressure we put on ourselves absolutely it's.

Speaker 2:

It's interesting because I have a confession to make to you, because we did jump on a call probably uh, a week ago I think, and we talked about topics and we did talk about maybe setting our New Year's goals before we did this podcast. But I'm in the Southern Hemisphere, so down here in Australia it's still summer holiday, so it's still that time of year where kids are at home it's a little bit more chaotic, a little bit busy and it's really hard to carve out that time. And you know, I could have done it Like I actually was like I'm going to set my alarm and wake up this morning and, you know, get to it, and I was like you know what, I'm not going to do that, because actually that's not how I like to do goal planning, like I like to take my time.

Speaker 2:

I like to have a really nice day and just spend some time really kind of thinking about what it is that I want for the year, how I want the year to feel. Um, so yeah, full disclosure. Sorry, christina, not done my homework, but I'm sure that listeners out there are feeling the same, where people aren't in their routine yet, and they're just not ready to set their goals for, yeah, 25 and I think that's that's kind of it, right.

Speaker 3:

I think we and you know the period between Christmas and New Year, which I like to refer to as Twixmas. Like you know, I actually I was kind of feeling a bit of resentment towards using that time to start planning for the next year.

Speaker 3:

It's almost like you're wishing away this beautiful period in the year where like everyone is off work, you've got your kids, you can take that pressure off because you know everyone, everyone's on holiday, it's not just you and you're going to come back to a pile of emails.

Speaker 3:

Like it's such a special period of the year and I felt like actually using that and I'm a bit like you, like I need a good couple of days to sort of reflect and write loads of notes and then eventually it gets drilled down into, like you know, know my kind of three key areas of focus or whatever. Um, and yeah, I was a bit the same. I mean, I have done mine eventually, but it honestly has taken like a good like three or four weeks and I'm still distilling it down. But that's, there's a beauty in that as well, and I think that's the kind of that's the point. All these people who do like goal setting parties or you know, set your goals with me in one hour. I just don't think that's the point of it really, and I just don't think it gives us enough time to really enjoy the process of reflecting on what we've achieved in 2024 and really looking ahead at what do we want to achieve in the year ahead.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely agree, and I, you know, I think that idea of really reflecting reflection takes time, doesn't it Like it takes time just to kind of think about how we felt over the past year, what we have achieved, what we do differently, what we want to get out of next year and I think that that really is the key is kind of and enjoying the process, like it shouldn't be another thing on our to-do list to dig off Exactly.

Speaker 2:

It should more be something that we're looking forward to, you know excited about, and yeah, I am really looking forward to doing mine actually.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and it is a beautiful thing and like I think like you really need a time that you're on your own like a whole day, basically, and you have to be in the right mood and you kind of have to have nothing else in your brain that you're thinking about. Like it really needs that space. And we talk about this a lot, we're carving out time just to think and reflect and, you know, really just get deep into those thoughts. It's quite hard to come across times like that, especially if the kids are off school and you've got loads of other stuff going on, so it's just yeah, absolutely so.

Speaker 2:

Tell me about yours, I'm really intrigued. Okay, and firstly, actually can you tell me about your process, because I'm probably going to copy yours a little bit. Yeah, you know. No, I do have my own process, but you know, no, I think one of those people that are highly organized. You have great structures and great systems um, which I highly respect, and so I'm really keen to learn about your process for setting your new year's goals, and I'm sure I will take something away from that yeah, okay.

Speaker 3:

So I mean a big, big part of it is that reflection piece, um, and I think it's really important to take, like we've just said, take a lot of time to reflect and like I even looked through all of my camera roll and just looked at stuff that had happened across the year, cause I think it's really easy to also forget what we've done.

Speaker 3:

And a big part of that is like celebrating things, you know, and just really celebrating big, small wins, whatever, because I think we I mean I definitely have a habit of thinking like, oh well, I didn't really achieve anything last year because I stayed quite, you know, I didn't really move the needle in any risk, in any kind of massive way, but actually when I looked through my camera roll, I was like god, we had some incredible experiences and we spent so much time as a family or with the children and just experiencing amazing things, like spending so much time with my, my, my parents, my sister, all of that sort of stuff, um, and you know that is an achievement in itself, right.

Speaker 3:

So it's just sort of reflecting and really kind of admiring everything that's happened in the last year, while also obviously looking at areas where perhaps you haven't achieved what you wanted to. You know, if you had set out 2024 goals, looking back at them and seeing you know what worked, what didn't, maybe what just doesn't even feel aligned anymore, that you didn't you know, you maybe don't want to focus on.

Speaker 3:

So that's, that's a really nice part, and I tend to journal quite a lot around that and just write notes and all of that stuff, um, and then we have like a wheel of life. So you have eight sections of your wheel of life where you can write. You can kind of choose between, like finances, business, personal relationships, adventure, money, you know, like the important areas of your life, and you can score yourself between one and ten of how you feel like you're doing in there. Um, and this is why it's important to do it on a good day, I think, because if you're having a bad day, like I looked back at mine today and I was like, wow, I must have been having a really bad time that day because I scored myself so low and I was like, okay, it's not that bad. So I've kind of reversed that a bit. Um, so yeah, and then I guess the next part is I think it's important to not overburden yourself with goals so choosing maybe three areas of your life that you really want to focus on.

Speaker 3:

So for me, mine's kind of like business, uh, finances, and what was my other one? Oh, like fitness. So I kind of um, yeah, it's kind of I, I think I how did I put it Family, fitness and finances, because business and finances are kind of the same thing. So I have my three F's basically, and then this seems like such a long process. I actually do have a workbook that I can share with you. That would be great.

Speaker 2:

Maybe we could share that with the audience too. Yeah, we can put it as a download.

Speaker 3:

And then within those three areas it's then breaking that down, and I do it by quarter basically. So like, what do I want to achieve in quarter one, quarter two, quarter three, quarter four? And then you can break it down by month. So by the end you have, I do, like an a3 sheet for like January, what's the key things I want to achieve. And it just makes it feel so much more manageable because you can just stick January up on your wall and you can say, right, actually that's not that hard, because sometimes goals can feel so massive or so far away that you're just like, oh, whatever, I'll deal with that later. But actually if you have sort of monthly it broken down monthly, then it feels much more manageable and you kind of push yourself to keep moving on each month.

Speaker 2:

You know, and that is the process it's so structured, we are so different and I love that about us and our friendship. Because you know me, I'm gonna start with the feelings, like I'm gonna mind map and think about how do I want to feel?

Speaker 2:

how did? How did last year feel for me, and then, kind of, how do I get there? You know, when you were talking, there was a few things, so, um, that I wanted to ask you about, because I think this is really, uh, quite insightful. When you were talking, there was a few things that I wanted to ask you about, because I think this is really quite insightful. When you're talking about those areas, I noticed that you didn't try and choose goals for each area and I'm wondering. Part of it sort of felt like that you had decided that you're actually doing well in some of those areas, so you didn't really need to change anything, and I think sometimes we can almost set ourselves too many goals, and part of that is that we're actually setting goals around things that we're already doing well and we don't need to change.

Speaker 3:

So is part of that process a little bit for you looking at some of those areas that are just working and there's nothing that you need to to shift in those yeah, I think so, think you know a lot about goals is actually getting into a habit of something that then becomes part of your lifestyle, and I think when I'm setting goals specifically, it tends to be around areas that I maybe haven't made a habitual part of my life yet, because that's really the only way to achieve a goal. You don't ever really get to a point. Well, sometimes you do, but it depends what the goal is. But, like in general, it tends to be a goal around creating a habit that's going to push you towards that goal, right so?

Speaker 2:

for example friends, family.

Speaker 3:

I put a lot of effort into that over the last couple of years and I really feel like that's in a really good place. And it's not that I'm not going to pay attention to my friends and family. It just feels like I don't need to necessarily set myself a goal around building a community in Bali or, you know, building a relation, a better relationship, with my sister whatever it may be.

Speaker 3:

I feel like that was. You know, that's kind of in a really good place. So, yeah, like you say, it doesn't necessarily need a focus because it's kind of part of my life now already, whereas, like finances, I really want to get into like good levels of investing this year and that is certainly not a habit yet. So that's something that I really want to. You know, you know research, set goals around how I'm going to learn about that and you know, blah, blah, blah. So I think that, yeah, that's what it is. It's sort of looking at areas of your life where you know you've got something that you haven't quite achieved yet yeah, I love that because you are recognizing that it's really you have created those great habits in so many areas of your life, and so, of course, you want to maintain them, but it's not something you're striving towards or something that you need to create that routine around and maintain that routine, like going to the gym.

Speaker 3:

Yes, well, that's something that you need to create that routine around and maintain that routine like going to the gym. Yes, well, that's something that has been on my goal board for about 18 years.

Speaker 2:

I still have it every year, I know, but I feel like in Bali we were in such a good routine weren't we, we were like we were very consistent with going to the gym, and then both of us have come back to life, real life.

Speaker 3:

Honestly.

Speaker 2:

And you're finding like your new groove with that and you're finding your new way how to carve out that time, how to maintain that commitment, and I think that's been interesting for me, because it's not about a lack of motivation or wanting to do it, it's just been finding out how to do it in about a lack of motivation or wanting to do it, it's just been finding out how to do it in this new way of living my life. Um, so that is a new habit that needs to be created around. What does that look like now and how do I, where do I put that in?

Speaker 2:

yeah yeah, so it is about adjusting and it is about creating new habits, even where they're having habits in the past for sure, and I think that's been the.

Speaker 3:

You know, I'm really excited to go back to Bali because I feel like I've learned so much about myself just coming back to England and it's definitely like I think I took for granted how much time I had in Bali. And it might be because I work in the night time, so actually my days are just longer because I have all day and then most of the night. So, you know, I just do naturally have 12 more hours in the day. But it's like here and I guess this kind of comes on to a really a topic that we're really passionate about it's like when you're working a nine-to-five job, let's say and obviously there's so much at the moment about this, um, this kind of topic, but obviously just living with it or seeing people in england and seeing kind of how they live, it's literally like you leave for work at half past seven, eight in the morning.

Speaker 3:

You're dropping your kids to school, you're getting your kids ready for school, let's say in the morning. You get home from work at six o'clock. You have to get your kids dinner, get you, get them into bed, and then it's like by the time you finish that, like really who would want to go into the gym after that. It's exhausting and obviously not everyone has children, but you really do have to add hours, either right at the beginning of the day, so like 5am, half four, whatever or at the end of the day, when really you want to be relaxing and it's. I mean, it is finding a habit and obviously people do it. But I think for me, I've just realized that I'm definitely not a morning person, especially when it's not dark and rainy outside, and I'm definitely not an evening person when it's dark and rainy outside, like I don't want to be leaving the house are you an anything person when it's dark and rainy outside?

Speaker 3:

no, and it's freezing like I just cannot deal with it. I mean, I'm sure, like anything, if you force yourself and you put yourself in the habit, but, god, you know, I feel like very proud of people that do that, because that is not me, um, but it is. But I think it's, once you get a routine, wherever you are you do tend to just run with it and you get. You know, if you make a habit, you're disciplined with it. It tends to become easier and easier. But I guess when you're living a bit more of a fluid is that the right word fluid lifestyle. I'm just sort of not committing to a routine here because I know I'm going to be leaving in a couple of weeks, you know so, um, but yeah, it is tricky, but I think that is the key thing with goals and that's why breaking it down into like monthly mini achievements you want to do towards those goals is really helpful, because that's where you're building those habits, you know so actually speaking on that.

Speaker 2:

You know I haven't done my goals, but what? One of my goals is probably to be a little bit more organized, and I have done a lot of organizations. A little bit more organized and I have done a lot of organizations. So I've found that here I need to. I can't do things at the same time, so it's just not going to work when the kids go back to school and their schedules and that sort of thing.

Speaker 2:

So it will be for me it's going to be different times, different days, so I really need to schedule it out because it's it's much easier. I think when it was still like I'm going to get up at 7 am and go to the gym every morning in. Bali versus here.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes it's going to be 6 am, sometimes it's going to be the middle of the day, sometimes it's going to be the end of the day, and so I have found it's a little bit harder to create habits when your life isn't as structured, which is kind of similar to Bali in some ways. So I have to really be more organized and really, you know, put it in the calendar and map it out, and figure it out and get very micro-organized which is not really my personality type.

Speaker 2:

So this is more I'm, more you at the moment. I've gone the other way. I've like really mapped out like the micro things. You have a colour coded calendar. I do. It is extremely colour coded and there is a kids calendar. And then there is, like my work calendar.

Speaker 3:

Nice.

Speaker 2:

And even the kids. They have colours.

Speaker 3:

And who's?

Speaker 2:

responsible for the past colours, Because it is a juggle. It is trying to maintain your own needs in. That is really really hard and I find if it's not in there it's just not going to happen, because there's always something that could take priority over something else that's important to you.

Speaker 3:

And I think that's actually a really good point about, actually, when you're doing your goals, think about stuff like that. Like maybe one of the goals is making sure you have enough time for yourself as well, you know, and how do you map that into?

Speaker 3:

your life and it is getting as granular as that because, like you say, it's quite hard to actually like, even with goals which feel like so, for example, with the business. For me, a lot of my goals require me to work on the business rather than in it, but naturally every day is taken up with, like client work or, you know, things that are in the business rather than on it, and on the business just gets sort of pushed to the side. So it's kind of like right, one of my January goals is to schedule time into my diary to actually have time to work on those key things in the on the business. Basically, um, because it is hard.

Speaker 2:

I feel like if you look at my calendar, you would be so proud of me because I have so many planning, kind of oh yes, amazing, it's something also I've never done before.

Speaker 2:

I agree, like there's so much the doing kind of stuff that I'm I schedule all that out, but I never schedule out the planning time and then you don't get to it right. So this year I've absolutely oh my gosh, I'm just thinking my calendar is. I think this is the most organised I've ever been in my life. Oh my God, I'm so proud, but it's, you know, there is there's very much like planning times. I've kind of got different days for different things. But I think for me too, like I really want to make sure that I'm focusing on the planning, not just the doing. So I think it's it's so important that you carve out that time, because it's it always is the thing that drops down the priority list, isn't it?

Speaker 3:

And do you know what I find as well? I find that actually, by knowing it's all scheduled, it means I'm able to be more present in everything else I'm doing scheduled.

Speaker 3:

It means I'm able to be more present in everything else I'm doing. So like, for if it's, you know, spending time with the children or having family time or whatever normally that would really kind of I'd have my brain would be all over the place thinking about everything else I need to do. But now it feels a bit more like, well, I know that there's allotted time to do that, so I can be fully present in whatever it is I'm doing at the moment.

Speaker 3:

And I think it's quite freeing in a way, although it takes some time to maybe map it out and plan it out and it feels a bit over the top, but actually in terms of taking that mental load out of your brain now and it's done and you're like okay, well, like like someone's running my life, basically because I know what I've got to do every minute of every, hopefully.

Speaker 2:

I've got some freedom in there yeah, schedule free time well, I do, I do actually have that too. Oh my gosh, who am I?

Speaker 3:

oh, I really want to let. I want to see what your goals are when we. But but to come back to the whole point of that, it's like I was thinking January or December is not a good time to plan goals. I've decided, and I think even if you kind of, you know, live by this whole cyclical living type thing, like we're in the winter, and winter is the time that you should be like, hibernating, reflecting, you know, not really pushing ahead, and then, as we move into spring, that's when you can really that's, and you'll probably feel more energy to do it as well. It's like that's when you really should be looking forward and start, you know, sowing the seeds for new growth or whatever, if you want to look at it in the farming terms.

Speaker 3:

So actually, I think a lot of people put pressure on themselves to plan all these new year goals, but I think actually the first quarter of the year you could spend your whole quarter planning and reflecting, ready to kind of start doing it in this sort of spring, summertime. And also, nobody, it's not like we're on this sort of clock, like every year we have to clock in against our achievements. It's like just do it when it feels right, and some days it will feel like right, I'm ready to sit down now and do this, and other days you're just like. I just don't want to think about that. To be honest, I just want to snuggle up and do nothing.

Speaker 2:

So I think that's the key, isn't it Like doing it when it works for you and like really all of our work years look so different, so for some people this can be a really busy time. For some people this can be a quiet time. So it's really about carving out what fits in with your lifestyle and when planning works for you when you want to reflect. So I think that really trying to figure out when that is for you, is key.

Speaker 2:

And I think even in the Southern Hemisphere, even though we are in summer here, it's actually a really kind of weird time compared to the northern hemisphere experience, because we have going into christmas, it's summer, it's the end of the year, obviously, school hall is our long school holiday period, um, so it's actually a very busy time sort of socially compared to other times in the year, and it's actually a bit of a downtime in terms of the business sense.

Speaker 2:

So I think, equally, it's maybe not the best time to plan, even though seasonally it may seem that way, it tends to be a time where either you know, in December it's just extremely busy as people are wrapping everything up, and then you've got all the end of year stuff happening in terms of like a big summer break and then the start of the year, a lot of people you still have school holidays. Business kind of context is a little bit different. So I think it really is just about finding the time that works for you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I agree, and yeah, it definitely doesn't have to be like January to December or whatever Like.

Speaker 3:

If you even look at business financial years, it's like April to April most of the time.

Speaker 3:

But it's I think you're right it's more just finding what works for you to feel so you feel like you're moving forward, because I do think that's a really important thing to feel as a human being that you're pushing towards.

Speaker 3:

You know, whatever you're trying to do, but in a way that's helpful, not in a way that you're so kind of feeling pressured by the societal need to share our reflections and our, you know, goals for the year, year ahead.

Speaker 3:

It's just like just do what feels natural for you and and then it will kind of fall into place with the natural, like you say, the natural way your, your kind of life works in terms of reflecting on them again the next year and setting them again. So I just think think people love a trend, people love jumping on a bandwagon, but really we need to just take a minute and step back and think what's what's right for me and because also the other thing I love which I kind of read about this year, is some people have fallow years where it is a case of just like not doing anything and just you know you might be going through something quite traumatic or big, but it doesn't even need to be that. It could just be that you had a massive year, or you're just knackered, or you're a new mum or you're whatever.

Speaker 3:

You just don't need to achieve something that year so you can have a fallow year where you're almost letting yourself rest, recuperate, think, and then you know, next year you're ready to maybe think about what the next steps are like. You obviously don't need to be achieving massive things every year of your life, so I like that concept as well. It all kind of comes back to farming terms, doesn't it? But yeah, like a fallow year I've never heard that term.

Speaker 2:

I love it, though. It's good, though right, it makes you think it's yeah, yeah, it's very healthy. Because, you're right, like a lot of people are experiencing, whether it's burnout or whether it's just that they know it's going to be a year they need space and time. Maybe it's a good life transition year. Maybe they're moving somewhere, they're having a baby, they're heading into retirement, whatever it may be that we need to carve space for those transitions as well. Um, and so allowing ourselves that time and space to be like, actually, this I don't need to achieve anything, or maybe you're just happy with where you're at, you know, we actually think oh my gosh, can you imagine actually don't need to achieve anything, I don't need to change anything.

Speaker 2:

Life is just good and I think I think that's something I was reflecting on earlier when you were talking about those areas is that you know, we don't need to change anything if it's working, if it's not broke, don't fix it. So I think we can get really caught constantly trying to achieve, constantly trying to do better, but we don't need to. If it's working, if we feel good about it, if we're happy, if that's in alignment with our idea of what success looks like, then we're good, you know and we don't have to always be achieving goals, yeah, and for me that is kind of one of the points of it.

Speaker 3:

I think, like I want to get to a point where I feel happy in every area of the light of my life. And it's all sort of running, quite naturally, and I think it's not necessarily about achieving a certain figure or getting in six pack or I mean I'd love a six pack, but like it's not necessarily these key milestones. It's actually getting to a point where life is running and I've got all the habits I want in place and I'm moving towards the target quite automatically.

Speaker 3:

If that makes sense, I've kind of got the areas ticked off, but not always necessarily about achieving a really big goal, or it's just yeah, it's just kind of the wheel is spinning and I'm happy in all areas of it really. So I think that's a nice way to do it. I mean, obviously it's good to have big push goals as well, stretch goals, um, and I think for me, in the areas I'm focused on at the moment, it's definitely getting. It's more about getting a habit, a discipline, a consistency in place and then perhaps looking at like, right, what, what can we strive to achieve now, you know, so yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3:

It's really interesting and I'd love hearing other people's goals, like I'd actually love people to jump on Instagram or something and just share what their kind of key, maybe their key reflection and their key goal is. Because I just think it's so interesting, because we all think we're aiming for the same stuff, but actually most people are just we're all in going completely different directions. I think it's so cool and, katie, you'll have to share yours once you've done them.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I think you know I tend to focus, as you know, more on kind of like the feelings and the lifestyle I want and how I want life to feel for that year, or sometimes I've chosen a word in the past.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I was going to say have you chosen a word, no, not yet.

Speaker 2:

So I had connection last year, which I think, yeah, on reflection, was definitely the right word for me, and the year before was ease um, which was the move to bali so it was kind of you know, easing, just creating a life with ease um, so it was a big lifestyle change in 2023, and 2024 was really about connection and reconnecting and making new friendships.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love that and yeah, really, and and just connecting with the people that I love really. So having that time and space with the kids and my partner and those sort of things and friends. But yeah, I'm not sure it does take me a little while to kind of chew on which I like this period of kind of being a bit social, having a bit more time just to sort of think about what, what that is for 2025 yeah, I can't remember what my word was.

Speaker 3:

I did come up with one, did you? What's your word? It was either consistency or I can't remember quite a big. There are quite a lot of shifts going on in life at the moment and I feel like it was something like empowerment or power. I can't remember. Once I find it I will share. But consistency definitely needs to be a word for me as well In some areas of life.

Speaker 2:

I think that's what I want to do this year. I don't know if it's my word, but definitely. I think, the organization, the consistency is probably more organization.

Speaker 2:

I think for me this year, amazing, a lot of organizing to do. But you know, one of the other things that you touched on is what you call the wheel of life, um, and we have a similar kind of thing that we think about in psychology terms in terms of those different key areas of our life. But I love, I don't know if this is the case, but when you were saying it, what I was thinking, when you sort of went through the different areas, is that you've created some of those areas that may be important to you, because I've never heard, for example, um, so you mentioned adventure, yeah, yeah, and so when you know, in therapy, when we're talking about goal setting or what we want to achieve, etc. A cetera, a lot of it comes back to people's values and what it is that they value in their life. So I'm wondering, did you create your kind of wheel of life, like, is that around, like the key areas that are important to you, or is there some sort of structure that has nominated this.

Speaker 3:

There was kind of. I think there's like suggested words you can use and there's definitely like a universal wheel of life. But I think I kind of do it exactly like that a bit more freehand, because there's so many that you could choose from and you kind of can pick what's important to you. And I felt like there's like personal development, business, finances, friends, family and they're all quite separate but you can kind of lump them together so, like for me, family and adventure kind of go together at the moment because I want to take my children on incredible experiences. Money and business go together because obviously I've run my own company and it's so. It's kind of like you can look at different ways to put them together that work for you. But there is definitely a kind of cheat sheet you can probably find online as well if you want some guidance around the different areas.

Speaker 2:

Um, well, I think there's so many different right, depending on which lens you're coming from. If you're coming from more of a business lens, yeah, or, like you guys, obviously, wellness. We think of different key areas, but I really like the idea of creating your own, like it just made me think about that when you were talking, because I think that's what it's about. It's not about saying, you know, this is what society or this is what this framework has decided is important.

Speaker 3:

You know, those frameworks are really just developed to highlight the different areas, but it is about kind of figuring out what do I value and what are the key areas of life that I want to focus on, to live the lifestyle or achieve the life that I want and, yeah, you can then look back and reflect on which, like all the areas that you've kind of you know that were important last year, and then hopefully they've grown for you in importance or like they've grown in how successful you've deemed them for yourself, and then obviously you can choose those again or look at different areas that you want to look at and I think it's like you said, it's a really nice way of just choosing how you want to live your life and how you want to focus, rather than people always suggesting ways for you to do it.

Speaker 3:

Basically, but, yeah, I think setting goals is a really important part of you know, moving forward and making yourself feel like you've got a purpose and achieving, but actually doing it at a time that feels right for you and when it, yeah, when it kind of makes sense for you, rather than forcing yourself into this January the 1st setting goals. So if you haven't done it yet, don't worry, there's still plenty of time to do it. Basically, but, yeah, thank you so much for listening and we'll see you next week.

Speaker 1:

You're ready to create a life on your terms. Join us every week and make sure to like and subscribe to keep up to date with new episodes. All the links to keep in touch with us are in the bio.

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Christina Gough

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Dr Katie Stirling

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