Charge Your Energy Before You Run Out: A Different Kind of New Year’s Resolution
Why 2026 Might Be the Year You Finally Stop Draining Yourself
Every January, I see the same “new year, new you” both on social media and in advertising (in particular from gyms).1 We’re tempted to buy into the usual pattern: declare some big, shiny resolution for some neglected area of life. For real, this time. But when my clock was approaching midnight, I thought about something less glamorous, and maybe a bit more honest.
My phone was charging beside me, as I make sure it never goes down to zero. I’ve enabled all the latest battery-health features, I carry extra chargers and a power bank when I travel, and generally make sure it has enough juice to get me through my day. But do we extend that same battery care to ourselves?
So the real question for my new year’s resolution2 became painfully simple: Where is my emotional battery at today? Am I charged? Charging? Drained? Or quietly running on empty while pretending everything is fine?
Checking In Before You Shut Down
We’ve normalized the idea that our “smart” devices deserve constant care and proactive maintenance, yet we treat our own energy like something that will magically replenish itself. It doesn’t. When the body runs low on energy, the mind starts borrowing negativity to explain it. Suddenly everything feels heavier, more dramatic, more hopeless. Not because life changed, but because your battery did.
Solitude, I’ve come to realize, isn’t a luxury for me. It’s oxygen. My nervous system doesn’t simply prefer alone time, it requires it.
For you, the recharge might look completely different. Some people refill through movement, noise, connection, or doing something creative. Others find it in spa days, motorcycle rides, long solo runs, or hiding in my office at home to do some writing. Whatever these are for you, it’s the equivalent of plugging yourself in and charging the battery.
Feeling guilty for needing solitude, or whatever it is for you, is like feeling guilty for needing sleep. You can’t function on no sleep. Recharging is required for a functioning human system.
Relaxation Equals Trust
One of my favourite reminders for the year ahead is this: relaxation is not the absence of doing; it’s the presence of trust. Trust that the world will not fall apart if you take a breath. Trust that being still doesn’t make you less ambitious or lazy. We’re human beings, not human doings. Before anything else, relaxation is the foundation for ambition.
Res(e)t is proactive. Recovery is reactive. As much as I’ve tried to convince myself otherwise over the years by always keeping going, I deserve proactive.
This is something I’ve known for a long time, but will try to take more seriously in 2026: my mental, physical, social, and financial wellbeing are not separate categories on a todo-list. You can’t work on one area of life without impacting the others. When you neglect one, the others will eventually wobble. When I take care of myself in one area, the benefits spill over into everything else.
The traditional idea of New Year’s resolutions doesn’t work. Resolutions assume we need to overhaul our entire identity. But real change more often comes from tiny pivots and micro-habits we integrate into every day.
Tiny Changes, Big Year
As you step into 2026, ask yourself the same question you instinctively ask about your phone: How much charge do I have right now, and what do I need to stay energized?
Whatever your answer is, honour it. Your wellbeing is asking to become the priority this year. Not when you’ve hit zero percent, but while you still have the power to act.
The small adjustments matter most:
A two-minute check-in with your energy.
A moment of solitude before jumping into the noise.
A small ritual that keeps you grounded.
A choice that makes you feel more like yourself.
Forget resolutions. Build a mental fitness plan for the new year. One that strengthens the system that holds all your goals together. Maybe that’s the quiet magic of a new year: becoming more supported, more grounded, more yourself.
If you’d like a little guidance or inspiration as you map out the habits, rituals, and micro-shifts that will carry you through 2026, you’re welcome to preview any of my courses for free. Not because I have all the answers, but because sometimes your brain just needs a few fresh sparks to discover what works for you, and to get there a little faster.
Further reading
I appreciate Equinox for claiming to not participate in “January”, and they accept no new memberships on January 1. Check out my VIP Lounge for a preview ticket for any other day of the year though. You get a private invite to try (almost) any of their clubs, and usually some other perks should you decide to join. Just not on January 1.
Of course there’s more on my resolutions list, which typically doubles as a list of travel destinations. Check out my travel hacking course at www.travel-revolution.com if you’d like some help to get started on yours.