Happy New Year! I pray you enjoyed the holidays and are excited for all that 2026 has to offer. It’s likely that your social media feeds are brimming with goal setting workshops and motivational quotes intended to help you “be the best version of you.”

We like to think that because the calendar rolled over and we watched the ball drop that magically our lives would be transformed come New Year’s Day morning. Oh if it were only so! Yet there’s only one thing that will foster real change and it begins with a decision to do so.

We all know that any kind of change we want to make begins with us making a choice to either stop or start doing something differently

If physical health is on our vision board, then we need to toss the poor eating habits and start a healthy lifestyle.

If mental health is on our list of resolutions, we need to take steps to rest, recharge, and change our mindsets.

If spiritual health is one of our 2026 goals, then we need to dedicate time to learning more about who God is and renew our minds to His promises in His Word.

Real change takes two things: a decision and discipline.

The decision is easy. Anyone can make a decision, create a lovely vision board or an impressive list of goals. However, at the end of the year, it will only be the ones who stuck to those decisions every day who will experience success.

Here’s what I know: Change is hard but we never have to go it alone. We can ask for and receive help from trusted advisors, friends, loved ones, and…God. While God never changes – He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), God loves it when we make changes to live better, to do better, to be better.

And – guess what? He loves it when we ask Him for help. Did you know that you can do that? Did you know that you can ask God to help you make whatever changes you want to make? 

Many years ago, on one of my b-zillionth attempts to lose weight, I said this to God: “You parted the Red Sea so I know you can help me lose weight.”  And He did. 

When I was told I should write a book, I said this to God: “If you want me to write a book, then you’ll have to download it to me because I’ve no clue what to write about.” Nine days later, I had the first draft of my award-winning memoir, “Finding God. Finding Me.”

You see, if we want 2026 to be different than 2025, it’s going to take some effort. We can’t “wish” for the changes to happen. We can’t just hope we’ll wake up tomorrow twenty pounds lighter or have a New York Times Bestseller on our hands.

We must take actual steps to achieve our goals.

The best way to start is to get really clear on what you want December 31, 2026 to look like. Here are some strategies that I hope will encourage you:

1.    Get with God for some time alone. Ask Him what He wants your year to look like. He has great plans for you (Proverbs 16:9, Jeremiah 29:11).
2.    Translate that conversation into actionable yet do-able goals. Many people fail because they make unreasonable goals and they give up (Luke 14:28).
3.    Write down your goals and make a plan to do something each day towards achieving them (Habakkuk 2:2-3).
4. Speak truth into your life every day. Changes begin in the mind and then are spoken with the mouth (Proverb 18:21).
5.    Celebrate wins. Humans are wired for achievement so be sure to high-five yourself and thank God when goals are reached (Psalm 136:1).

Remember, if you want 2026 to be different, then you must choose to make it different. 

For more on this topic, click here to watch or listen to the Elevate The Day Podcast – “Write It Down. Make It Happen.”