Episode
329: Why I Am Not Setting Goals in 2026
- Podcast
- Crystal Paine Show
- Published
- Dec 30, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 2672
- Processing state
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- http://crystalpaine.com/
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Summary
Tune in for our final episode of 2025 as Jesse and I talk about the top books we read, some major shifts in how I want to show up in life, and why I'm not setting any goals for 2026. I share my top four reads from the year - books that challenged me, inspired change, and gave me perspectives that I didn’t even know that I needed. From Is Your Daughter Ready? by Kari Kampakis, which offers guidance on raising daughters through modern challenges, to The Fight for Us by Rebekah and Gabe Lyons, which made me face the reality of a lopsided marriage and rethink how my priorities shape our relationship, each book left a lasting mark. Habits of the Household opened my eyes to the rhythms and habits already present in our family life, helping me reframe intentionality in small, practical ways, and The Many Lives of Mama Love gave me a raw, compassionate look at addiction, incarceration, and motherhood, pushing me to expand my understanding of struggles that so many face unseen. Alongside these book reads, I am also unpacking a major personal shift: I am not setting any goals for 2026. For someone who has been goal-oriented since childhood, this feels like an especially huge step for me, but after reflecting on a lopsided marriage, watching Jesse take such brave steps with his own coaching and health journey, and seeing how chronic stress has been silently wearing me down for decades, I realized that constant planning and pushing has been a default, not a necessity. My blood work and coaching experiences showed me how disconnected I had truly become from my own body, always running on adrenaline, cortisol, and extreme stress while mistaking calm endurance for health. I have ultimately decided that 2026 is about creating real breathing room - intentionally cutting back on commitm…