Setting Your Goals and ROUTINES for Your Best 2026 Yet - Part 1 - Your Morning Routine

Episode Summary

In this transformative first installment of a two-part series, Amy Mewborn guides listeners through intentionally designing 2026 in a way that truly supports their body, energy, and life goals—rather than creating overwhelming to-do lists based on what they think they should want. This episode emphasizes that daily routines matter far more than ambitious goals alone, and that a regulated nervous system is the foundation for achieving anything meaningful. Amy introduces the SIMPLER Morning Method, a flexible framework designed to create the conditions for success through consistent, small daily choices.

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Key Topics Discussed

The Goal-Setting Problem

• Most people fail at New Year's resolutions due to unrealistic goals and lack of actionable plans (University of Scranton research)
• 92% of people fail to achieve long-term goals—not from laziness, but from never breaking goals into manageable steps
• By January 15th, people have already abandoned their resolutions; by early February, 35% have quit

How Daily Routines Create Success

• Your daily routines are the foundation that either supports or sabotages your goals
• Research shows it takes 66 days (not 21) for a new behavior to become automatic; health-related habits take 2-5 months
• Consistency is only possible with structure in place

The SIMPLER Morning Method: A Six-Letter Framework

1. S - Silence (2-5 minutes)

   • Quiet space before input to regulate your brain and nervous system
   • Harvard research by Sara Lazar: 10-15 minutes of daily meditation increases gray matter in the hippocampus (learning & memory) and reduces it in the amygdala (fear & stress)
   • Literally rewires your brain at a structural level

2. I - Intention (Choose 1-3 daily priorities)

   • Shift from reactive to proactive—lead your day instead of being pulled into others' agendas
   • Ask: What truly matters today? What's the highest leverage action?

3. M - Movement (Any form that feels energizing)

   • Doesn't need to be intense; walking, stretching, yoga, or strength training all count
   • Mayo Clinic research: Morning exercise improves insulin sensitivity and stabilizes blood sugar all day
   • Prepares your metabolism to support your goals and reduces cravings

4. P - Prioritize Nourishment

   • Eat ~30g of protein at breakfast (University of Missouri research shows this improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking)
   • Drink water first before coffee or tea—even mild dehydration (1-2% body weight loss) impairs concentration, alertness, and memory

5. L - Learn (10 minutes daily)

   • Read, listen to a podcast, or study something aligned with your goals
   • Growth compounds through consistency, not intensity
   • Keeps you connected to why your goals matter

6. E - Express (Journal, brain dump, affirmations)

   • Clears mental clutter and reduces background stress
   • Gets swirling thoughts out of your head and onto paper

7. R - Recognize Gratitude (5 minutes)

   • Increases long-term well-being and happiness by 10% (Grateful Heart Study)
   • Reduces cortisol (stress hormone) by 23%
   • Improves sleep quality by 25% by reducing nighttime worrying

The "How Do You Want to Feel?" Framework

• Before setting goals, identify 3-5 words describing how you want to feel in 2026
• Use these feeling-words as a filter for every decision
• Goals that don't support these feelings should be revised

Identifying Your "Big Three"

• Choose just 1-3 accomplishments that truly matter (not a lengthy list)
• Ask: "If I could look back at 2026 and call it successful, what would need to be true?"

Starting Small

• Commit to just one small change—either morning or evening
• Examples: 5 minutes of quiet, a short walk, writing tomorrow's priorities, turning off screens earlier, or ending with gratitude
• You don't need to do everything at once; just begin

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Notable Moments & Quotes

Opening Invitation:

"Imagine we're on a quiet morning walk together. Wherever you are, I want you to give yourself permission to just slow down for a few minutes, to breathe, and to be present right here."

The Core Philosophy:

"Your goals are not created by your motivation. Your goals are created by your small daily routines and actions. How you start your day and how you end your day either supports your goals or silently works against them, often without you even realizing it."

The Plant Metaphor: Amy uses a powerful garden metaphor to illustrate how daily routines nurture goals: A beautiful vision without daily care (water, soil, sunlight) will never truly thrive.

Reframing Morning Purpose:

"The goal of your morning is not productivity...The goal of your morning is regulation, clarity, and direction. Because if your nervous system is dysregulated first thing in the morning, no amount of coffee or willpower is going to fix that."

The Gratitude Science:

"By starting your day with gratitude, you're not just being positive or Pollyanna-ish. You're literally reducing your stress hormones. You're improving your sleep. You're increasing your happiness."

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Key Statistics & Research

• 35% of New Year's resolution makers break their promises before January ends
• 92% of people fail to achieve long-term goals
• 66 days is the average for a behavior to become automatic (range: 18-254 days)
• 2-5 months for health-related habits to feel natural
• 10-15 minutes of daily meditation physically changes the brain (Harvard, Sara Lazar)
• 30g of protein at breakfast improves appetite control and reduces snacking (University of Missouri)
• 1-2% dehydration impairs concentration, alertness, and memory
• 10% increase in long-term well-being from a 5-minute daily gratitude journal
• 23% reduction in cortisol (stress hormone) from gratitude practice
• 25% improvement in sleep quality from regular gratitude journaling

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Coaching Moment: Interactive Reflection

Amy includes a guided coaching section encouraging listeners to:

1. Identify how you want to feel in 2026 (3-5 feeling-words to use as a filter)
2. Define your "Big Three" (1-3 goals that truly matter)
3. Commit to one small change (either morning or evening routine)

She emphasizes: "You do not need to do everything at once. You just need to begin."

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Episode Links & Resources

Related Living Simpler Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 19: Simple Year in Review (Part 1) https://living-simpler.com/stop-the-drift-5-steps-to-align-your-life-energy-in-2026/
  
  
• Episode 20: Simple Year in Review (Part 2)
  https://living-simpler.com/year-end-health-review-2026-vision-with-amy-mewborn-living-simpler-podcast/
• Coming Next Week: Part 2 - Your Evening Routine & How to Set Goals That Stick

Free Living Simpler Health Resources: https://living-simpler.com/resources

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