2026 Mantra: Do Hard Things
For the last few years, instead of making a New Year’s resolution, I’ve chosen a mantra.
It started as a way to stay motivated on my own health journey, but over time it’s become something much bigger — a framework I return to when things feel uncomfortable, frustrating, or just plain hard.
- 2022: No excuses
- 2023: Best until better
- 2024: Nice self talk
- 2025: Get stronger – Do gooder
Each one builds on the last. They’re cumulative. I don’t drop the old ones — I anchor them in and move forward. Having one clear focus each year, while knowing the others are already part of me, has created a foundation that actually works. It motivates me. It steadies me. And it makes the next step feel possible, even when it’s uncomfortable.
So for 2026, my mantra is:
Do hard things.
This one comes directly from my work and my conversations with clients.
I hear it all the time:
“Weight lifting is hard.”
“Losing weight is hard.”
“Changing habits is hard.”
And they’re right. It is hard.
In a way, this feels like the action side of No excuses. Not ignoring how hard something is — but choosing to do it anyway.
Implementing real habit change in your life is hard. There are a lot of easy things to do. Believe me, I started with the easy things on this journey because I needed early wins to feel successful. But maintaining it? That’s where the work is. That’s where it gets hard.
One of my clients said something recently that really stuck with me. She laughed and said,
“I feel lied to. I thought I was going to work out when I was young and that would carry me through being old. They lied! You have to keep working out if you want to get old — there is no rest.”
And honestly? She’s not wrong.
Last year, I met a huge personal goal. I went to the gym at least three times a week for the entire year. I am so much stronger — but more importantly, everything is better. My balance, my confidence, my energy, my body composition, my resilience.
I joke with my clients that weight training is the answer to everything — and I mostly mean it. But keeping it going? That’s hard. Improving my diet? Hard. Pushing my heart rate into higher zones? Definitely hard.
And that’s exactly why Do hard things is my mantra for 2026.
Not because I’m chasing perfection. Not because I expect it to be easy. But because I now understand that doing hard things is how change sticks. It’s how strength — physical and mental — is built. And it’s how you keep moving forward when the novelty wears off.
I’m not afraid of hard anymore. I’m just practicing meeting it head-on.
Here’s to 2026 — and doing the hard things anyway. Happy New Year! Let’s do all the things!
Christina