Standards vs. Motivation: How to Live Your Life on Your Own Terms in 2026

“Most people overestimate what they can achieve in twelve months and underestimate what they can accomplish in a decade.” I first heard that quote from Tony Robbins, and it completely changed my approach to yearly goals. I stopped setting ‘New Year’s resolutions’ and began looking further ahead to see what I could do over the next twelve months that would move me closer to my longer-term dreams and goals. In this week’s special episode, I will share with you why smaller steps over the next twelve months will do so much more for you than trying to do something big and scary that you ultimately fail at. Let’s go. Links: Email Me | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Linkedin

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Get Your Copy Of Your Time, Your Way: Time Well Managed, Life Well Lived The Working With… Weekly Newsletter Carl Pullein Learning Centre Carl’s YouTube Channel Carl Pullein Coaching Programmes Subscribe to my Substack The Working With… Podcast Previous episodes page Script | 399 Hello, and welcome to episode 399 of the Your Time, Your Way Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development, and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein, and I am your host of this show. What are the mistakes most people make when it comes to goals and resolutions for the New Year? Well, the simple answer is that they overcomplicate things and try to do too much in one year. Let me explain. Like most people, I used to set New Year’s resolutions when I was growing up. At various times in my life, they included losing weight and getting fit, quitting smoking, saving money and many more. And, again, like most people, I failed miserably every time. What Tony Robbins’ quote made me realise is that I was failing because none of these resolutions were connected to my long-term goals or vision. I was in my twenties, and I believed I was immortal. It wasn’t until I reached my early thirties that three-day hangovers convinced me that I wasn’t immortal after all. It wasn’t until I’d settled down, married and begun to see a life ahead of me that I started to wonder if I could control that life and the direction it would go in. And yes, I could. And so can you. But you do need to know what kind of life you want to be living in ten or twenty years. Hope is not a good strategy. It’s no good carrying on as you are and “hoping” you will one day reach the goals and the life you’ve always wanted to live. To achieve that, you will need to take action. To give you an example of what I mean. I want to be active well into my eighties and nineties. I long admired Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh. He died in 2021, just a couple of months short of his 100th birthday. And yet he remained active throughout his eighties and nineties, being one of the hardest-working members of the Royal family. The Queen allowed him to retire at 97. How did Prince Philip maintain his strength and endurance? He did something called the 5BX every morning for eleven minutes. 5BX is a series of body-weight exercises you can do anywhere that was developed by the Royal Canadian Air Force in the 1940s to keep their servicemen fit, healthy and strong. I highly recommend you search for the original Royal Canadian Air Force instructional video on YouTube and watch it. It seems so quaint by today’s standards. He also walked miles and miles every day, ate small portions of food based on a traditional balanced diet, limited his alcohol intake, and went to bed and woke up at the same time each day. If we were to break that down into daily activities, it was simple and doable. Because he was able to do it every day—even when he was travelling—it meant there were few excuses he could use not to do it. You wake up, and after a few minutes, do your 5BX session, shower, have a small, healthy breakfast, and g