Note: I originally wrote this article for a previous (and now lost!) iteration of the Life Success Factors website – I’ve re-created it below but made it relevant for current day (2025 going into 2026) – enjoy!

As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to share 3 ways you can improve your mindset for 2026.

Use 2026 as a reason to improve your mindset. Photo Credit: Medium.com

Why mindset is so important

Now Mindset is such an important enabler for achieving success in your life. It trains you to think positively and manifest your will and desires and enables you to then turn that into affirmative action and results.

We’re coming to the end of another year, 2025 and are almost half way through this decade. Geez that went by quick! 

Watch my video below for more on how you can master your mindset for 2026! (note this was originally recorded in 2019 for the 2020 year)

The following video from Brendon.com is really helpful for programming a positive mindset!

I found this video really helpful when it comes to programming your mindset. Credit: YouTube and Brendon.com

There’s no better time than the present then to change things up for the new year, I’d urge you to use this opportunity to create a new you. To look forward to the new decade of opportunity, wealth, success and happiness.

Change Is Inevitable

Change is inevitable. They say that the only constant in life are death and taxes, I’m going to come out and add Change to that phrase.

Guys, the world’s in a constant state of change and if you’re not evolving and changing with it, then you’re being left behind.

If you’re in school or university, or maybe you have a 9-5 job, you constantly have to change, evolve, to keep up. You’ve got to find new ways of learning, new ways of doing your job quicker, to a higher standard.

It’s for this reason guys that you need to continuously change and adapt.

Enjoy the now

The first way you can improve your mindset for 2026 is to focus on the now. Guys, too often we look to the future as some utopian state where we’ll be happy and have everything we ever need. Here’s a great video from Mel Robbins that speaks about a simple, proven way to live in the moment.

How to live in the moment. Credit: YouTube and Mel Robbins.

There’s always something over the horizon

Sadly, too often I’ve experienced that state never come. There’s always something more on the horizon that I’ve wanted to achieve, and it’s hard to keep content this way. 

For 2026, it’s so important to focus on the here and now. Whether you’re building your business or finishing off your studies, or perhaps you’re pursuing new opportunities, enjoy the process and the journey as you get to where you want to be – there’s always something more to achieve, and a bigger hill to climb.

Image: It can seem like there’s always something more to achieve. Credit: Brainy Quote.

True happiness is sometimes found in the going through change, rather than the destination.

Seek balance instead of burnout

The second way you can improve your mindset for 2026 is to seek balance between your professional and personal lives. We’re all busy people and I know that 2026 is going to be your busiest yet.

Always seek to keep the balance in your life. Photo Credit: LinkedIn.

I recently created a video on this topic – of how to get more balance back in your life – check it out below.

Prepare for 2026

Now is the best time to prepare yourself for the coming year and understand that in the midst of the upcoming chaos, that you prepare yourself to balance the stresses of your studies or job, with that of living a fulfilling personal life. Think about how you’re going to balance:

• Professional and personal relationships
• Physical and mental health
• Work and play

Build your life like a Parthenon

If you only focus on developing one area of your life, the other’s will naturally suffer. I want you guys to think of your life as a Parthenon. Now a Parthenon was essentially a structure, a building in the Ancient Greek civilisation that was built with amazingly strong foundations.

Our lives are no different. Every new layer we add to our lives, needs to be built on a solid layer immediately beneath. If you have weak foundations, well the entire structure will collapse.

The same is true of our lives. If we try and build a successful career on a shaky personal life, well then your career will suffer, and your personal life too.

I’m going to challenge you guys to seek better balance in your life. Seek equal amounts of achievement professionally, as well as personally.

Develop and track progress against your goals

Finally the third way you can improve your mindset for 2026 is to develop and track progress against your goals.

If you haven’t already, now’s a great time to be thinking of your goals for next year. Now I don’t like to call them New Year’s Resolutions, because well that makes them sound like things you only bother to focus on once the new year rolls around.

Baselining

No, you should be constantly evaluating and baselining your goals. It’s important to think about what you want your life to look like, what does your ideal day look like? 

Zack Kauffman in the following video does a really good job of explaining baselining and why it’s so important.

How would you like your personal relationships to look like? Would you like a be promoted next year? What about your health, do you want to lose weight or do you want to maybe gain muscle?

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

You need to set goals for each area of your life and then develop a plan to achieve them. I always use the S.M.A.R.T system when designing my goals. It stands for goals that are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic; and
• Time based

Image: SMART Goals. Photo Credit: Fossil Consulting Services.

In a nutshell, your goals should be realistic and you should be able to measure your progress against them over a specific timeframe. If your goals don’t feature the above characteristics, then you run the risk of not achieving them at all.

Focus on the end goal

I would encourage you guys to think about your long and short term goals for next year. This will work wonders for your mindset and focus your actions. It will stop you from focusing on things that bring little value to your life, or don’t align with your values and goals.

Closing comments

In summary guys, I’d encourage you to challenge yourselves and change your mindset for 2020 in the following ways:

• enjoy the now
• seek balance instead of burnout; and
• develop and track progress against your goals

If you enjoyed this article, please leave a comment below and I’d really appreciate if you can share this with your family and friends so they too can get value from it.

Until next time guys,

Peace!

Craig