New Year, Same Old You

Recently, we likely all heard the saying, “New year, new you.” Well, I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but that simply isn’t true.

Nothing changed on January 1st. You didn’t magically become a different person at the stroke of midnight. You don’t have a fairy godmother and you’re not Cinderella. So, your life was exactly the same when you woke up on January 1st, as it was at 11:59 the night before. Sadly, no prince charming coming to see if the shoe you lost that night fits your foot, so he can carry you off into a life you’ve been dreaming about.

There is good news

While it’s true that your life didn’t change at midnight, the good news is that it can. You CAN be a different person with a different life on January 1, 2026, but it will require work. 

At some point in your life, you set a goal to become a nurse. The fact that you are a nurse today proves that you are willing to face difficult things, put in the work, and overcome them. So, how do we turn the person and life we had at the start of this year into the version we want for 2026?

Mindset

Mindset is a bit of a buzzword these days, but there really is something to it. I would define mindset as the beliefs we hold about ourselves and the world around us that either propel us toward our goals or prevent us from reaching them. Here are some mindset examples that might be holding you back:

1. I’ve always been overweight, I probably always will be.
2. My parents weren’t good with money, so I’ll always struggle financially.
3. Living paycheck to paycheck is just normal.
4. Nobody can get ahead in this economy.
5. I’m too old to start something new.
6. I’m just not very good at relationships.

When you read them written out like this, it’s easy to see how these can hold you back. Unfortunately, many of us have these sorts of thoughts running around in our heads and we don’t even know it. Start with recognizing any negative mindsets you may have. Then turn them into positives. Let’s do that with the six examples from above.

1. Losing weight is hard, but I’m not afraid of hard things and I know I can do this.
2. My parents weren’t good with money, but I can learn and build financial freedom.
3. Living paycheck to paycheck is normal, but it doesn’t mean I have to live that way.
4. Even in a challenging economy, with hard work and a plan, I can get ahead.
5. I’m NEVER too old to start something new.
6. My past relationship struggles don’t define me.

In my recently released Companion Workbook to my book, The Restored Nurse, I have an entirely new chapter on mindset, as well as some exercises that will help you build the sort of mindset that will help you build a life you love.

Vision

Merriam-Webster defines vision as “the act or power of imagination”. While we often think of imagination as what our children use when designing new games, or works of art the truth is that it’s just the ability to create a picture in your mind of something that does not yet exist. That’s vision. 

For the sake of this article, vision is you looking ahead to a future life you want to live and imagining what it would look like. Have you lost weight, found a partner, paid off debts, increased savings, moved to a new area, or bought a home? What does the vision of the future life you want to build look like? 

We have to acknowledge that we may not be able to move from where you were on January 1st to the life you want to build in 2025. If you have large sums of debt to pay off, it may take more than this year. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you can get an amazing start, but you may need more than a year. 

Plan

Now that we’ve created a mindset that can help us, rather than hold us back, and we have a vision for where we are going, we need a plan. Dave Ramsey says that goals without a plan are wishes. Whatever the life you will love looks like for you, you have to have a plan that helps you get there from here.

Think of it like a road trip. With a road trip, you start with a destination in mind, that’s the vision. From there you make a plan. When will you leave? What route will you take? Will you stop overnight or drive straight though? If so, where? Will you visit any places along the way? What snacks will you pack? You get the idea. Building a life you love is a journey and, just like this road trip, you need a plan.

Action

Even with all the above items in place, if you don’t take action, nothing will change. You will wake up on January 1st, 2026 only to realize that your life is the same as it was on January 1st of this year. 

This does not mean that you have to make drastic changes to your life right away. I think that sort of action is the reason so many people give up on their resolutions before the month of January has even passed. Instead, consider what small changes you can make that move you toward the vision you built above.

If you’re unsure where to start when it comes to changing your mindset, building a vision or plan, or taking action, my book, The Restored Nurse, and the Companion Workbook are great tools to help you get started.