I won't let you fail, and I'll show you how...
Read time: 4 minutes
I promise this isn't a dig at you, more a universal meme for anyone who has let January slip by them and they're now onto their 3rd type of detox tea this year 😂
But in all seriousness, it's not just another January that's come and gone; for the average person, it represents 0.11% of their life.
The yellow represents my life so far.
The red represents the average life expectancy in the developed world.
When it's put in front of you like this, suddenly those 4-5 weeks in January start to mean a hell of a lot more.
So, I've got two objectives with this week's newsletter:
- Share a funny meme tick ✅
- Course correct you if 2026 hasn't gone according to your plan.
Let's get stuck straight into it, because, as the graph above shows, we don't have any time to waste!
Step 1: Review January properly
Before you do anything else, you need to review January.
Not with guilt. Not with excuses. Not with “it was a weird month”.
Just some cold, hard facts.
Here are the three questions I want you to answer:
- What did I do consistently in January?
- What did I completely avoid or drop off?
- What made things harder than they needed to be?
Don't look at January as some test you either pass or fail, but rather as information.
If you skip this step, you’ll repeat the same patterns for the next 11 months and wonder why nothing sticks.
You'll be left banging your head against the wall and cursing yourself for not listening to this tall and devilishly good looking irish lad 😂
Step 2: Update your goals for the year
Most people treat their goals like some dodgy tattoo they can't get rid of.
Once it’s written, it’s locked in forever. 'm sorry, but that’s stupid. You’re allowed to update your goals.
Life changes.
Stress changes.
Energy changes.
If your goals no longer fit your current reality, they won’t get executed, and your health will be in the same place, if not worse, in 12 months.
Ask yourself:
- Are these goals still realistic for my current life?
- Do they excite me or drain the life out of me?
- Would I still choose them if I were starting today?
If not, update those bad boys.
Progress doesn’t come from stubbornly sticking to the wrong plan. What's that old cheesy saying you see on LinkedIn 10x per week...
It’s better to admit you walked through the wrong door than to spend your life in the wrong room.
😂😂😂😂😂
If you're active on the platform, I'm going to assume you're also wheezing from laughter.
Step 3: Before you add anything, decide what needs to go
This is the step almost everyone skips.
Most people (and I include myself in this at times) have this rather annoying skill of piling habits on top of a life that’s already full.
More training.
More steps.
More rules.
More pressure.
Then they wonder why it collapses, and everything falls apart.
So, before you add new habits into your life, you need to get crystal bloody clear about the sh*t that is holding you back:
- What’s currently taking your time but giving you nothing back?
- What behaviours are actively working against your health?
- What are you doing out of habit, not intention?
- Who around you is an energy vampire and needs to get kicked to the curb?
Late nights scrolling.
Mindless snacking.
Overcommitting.
Saying yes when you should say no.
You don’t need more discipline. You just need less sh* in your life that makes an already tough task even tougher.
Step 4: Then decide on the habits you need to start building
Now you do a little addition, but once again, this is an area where people go wrong.
They choose habits based on what they think they should do, not what will actually move the needle with their health.
The habits you build should solve real problems, not create more for you.
Low energy → build a sleep routine
Inconsistent training → fixed training days
Poor food choices → bulk cook meals
If a habit doesn’t clearly improve your life, it won’t last. If you can’t explain why a habit matters, you won’t stick to it.
I love the effort people bring to their health goals, and the desire to do it all at once can't be questioned, but it can be faulted.
If you take on too much too soon, one thing, and only one thing, will happen...
You'll get overwhelmed AF and throw in the towel. I've seen it happen countless times to know it's anything but a coincidence.
Step 5: Choose the smallest possible dose
This part is non-negotiable. Your habits should feel almost too easy at the start.
Not because it’s weak, but because consistency beats intensity every time.
For example:
• Two workouts per week, not five
• A short evening wind-down, not a perfect sleep routine
• Protein at one meal, not every meal
• One daily walk, not 15k steps
Start small. Nail it. Then increase slowly.
That is how you stay consistent and build momentum that actually makes a difference.
Remember, momentum comes from compounding wins, not ambition.
Step 6: Build accountability into your life
Motivation is unreliable. Accountability is bulletproof.
If everything relies on “I’ll just be disciplined”, you’re gambling with your health.
Your aim is to build systems that make picking the right choice easier, and that happens a hell of a lot quicker when you've got someone keeping you accountable:
• Someone expecting you to show up
• Tracking what actually matters
• A coach, a plan, or a structure outside your own head
Again, you don’t need more willpower because willpower is about as strong as a teacup in a storm.
What you need is fewer decisions and someone to hold you accountable daily.
According to research by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the odds of a person acting on a habit go up dramatically when they have a specific accountability appointment (1).
The probability of completing a goal if:
- You have an idea or a goal: 10%
- You consciously decide you will do it: 25%
- You decide when you will do it: 40%
- You plan how you will do it: 50%
- You commit to someone that you will do it: 65%
- You have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed to: 95%
Step 7: Don’t let setbacks stop you
This is the final piece and arguably the most important.
Listen to me loud and clear...
You will miss workouts.
You will eat badly some days.
You will lose momentum at times.
You will second-guess everything.
You will feel like a bag of sh*t at times.
But that’s not failure, that's just part and parcel of the journey.
F*ck me, I've lost count of how many times I've messed up in my life, but I keep showing up in the hope that bigger and better things are in store for me.
And this is the same mindset you need to adopt. The real failure is to use a setback as an excuse to quit. One bad week does not undo a year of work.
The skill you actually need to develop is restarting quickly when sh*t goes a little sideways every once in a while.
No punishment.
No guilt.
No “I’ll start again next month”.
No screaming at yourself in a mirror and calling yourself a naughty boy... just me? 😂😂
Just get back on track as quickly as you can and keep plodding forward eachtime you 'fail'.
If you follow my lead on this, trust me, next February you'll be a whole new person.
You'll be bouncing out of bed like some big sexy mo fo with a bit between their teeth and a point to prove!
January doesn’t define your year. What you do after January does.
You don’t need a fresh start. You need a better strategy...
And now you’ve got one.
Go make the most of those 4000 weeks rocket🚀
Chat soon.
