Understand What Your Goals Really Require
Build Your Best 2026 · Part 2 of 5
In Part 1 of this series, Define Where You’re Going, we explored how to set the direction for the next chapter of your life — the long-range path you want to be moving toward and the handful of goals that actually deserve space in 2026.
You zoomed out to define the big picture for the life you’re building, then narrowed that down into the few goals that matter most right now for the next year.
Part 2 is where you figure out what those goals will demand from you in the real world.
Most people fall in love with a goal before they look at what it asks of them. They get stuck in the dreaming stage — imagining the finish line and the feeling of success — but never slow down long enough to understand the work it will take to get there.
But every meaningful goal comes with real requirements — time, energy, consistency, skills you may not have yet, tradeoffs you’ll need to accept, changes your life has to support, and so much more.
This step isn’t about talking yourself out of your goals. It’s about being honest about the hill you’re choosing to climb, so the climb feels possible instead of running headfirst into overwhelm.
When you understand the real requirements, your capacity, and how each goal serves your mission, your goals stop being daydreams and start becoming commitments you can follow through on.
This is where your 2026 goals stop being ideas and start becoming something real.
“Dreams are worth nothing until you make them work.” — John C. Maxwell
If you’re stepping into goals that ask more of you, let’s talk. Book your FREE Discovery Call, and we’ll look at what you’re building next and the support that will help you carry the work it requires.
Start With Honest Expectations
Before you dive into the work behind your goals, you need a clear picture of what you’re stepping into.
Most people never take this pause. They imagine the result — the stronger body, the new career, the race finish, the calmer daily life — but skip the part where they look at the road that could lead there.
Honest expectations help you see the goal for what it is, not for the fantasy version you built in your head. When you start here, you’re not surprised when the effort gets uncomfortable or when progress takes longer than you hoped.
You knew the work would be hard.
This step isn’t about lowering your ambition. It’s about grounding it. When your expectations match reality, you don’t get thrown off by the first setback or the first moment the goal feels bigger than you planned.
Clear expectations give your goals shape.
And they make the next steps — understanding the actual demands, checking your capacity, and mapping your milestones — far easier to carry.
This is the place where you stop dreaming and start preparing.
The Real Demands of Your Goals
Every goal sounds simple when you say it out loud. Run the race. Change careers. Build strength. Create a new routine.
But the moment you move from talking about a goal to working toward it, the real demands show up. You start to see the hours it takes, the effort it requires, and the changes it will press into your daily life.
And every meaningful goal has a few core demands you can’t avoid. Naming them gives you a clear sense of what you’re committing to and what the next year will ask from you.
Time — hours in your week that need to be protected.
Energy — the physical and mental effort that stacks over months.
Consistency — showing up when you don’t feel sharp or motivated.
Skills — the willingness to start as a beginner and improve slowly.
Tradeoffs — choosing what matters over what’s easy or familiar.
Support — systems, routines, or people who help keep you moving.
Structure — a daily setup that doesn’t work against your goal.
Seeing these demands laid out tells you what your goal will cost and what needs to shift in your daily life to support the work.
Take a moment to look at each of your goals and assess where these demands will show up, and how much space they’ll take. This is the point where you can stop guessing and start getting clear about what the next year will require — and whether you’re ready to take responsibility for it.
Can Your Life Support This?
Now that you’ve named the demands, the next step is simple: take each of your goals and evaluate it against the life you’re living right now.
This isn’t judgment — it’s accuracy. Goals fall apart when the work they require has nowhere to live in your day.
Start with the core demands you came up with for each goal, and ask yourself:
Where does this demand fit into my week?
Where does it conflict with my current responsibilities or routines?
What already supports it?
What will need to shift to make space for it?
Your schedule, commitments, and rhythms shape what’s possible. Some goals fit cleanly. Others need adjustments. Some require more room than you’re currently giving them.
Seeing this clearly helps you plan from reality instead of forcing your life into a version it can’t support.
As you work through this, patterns start to show up — where friction will hit, where you’re already supported, and where you may need new systems, skills, or people to help. This is what turns a goal from an idea into something your life can actually hold.
And this is also where service comes in.
When your life has the structure to support your goals, your growth strengthens the people around you as much as it strengthens you. More stability, more clarity, and more strength spill outward — into your relationships, your work, and your community. The effort you put into your goals changes the way you show up for others.
This step shows you what the year will truly require, and what needs to shift so the work has a real place to live.
A Quick Sanity Check
Before you close out this part of the planning, take one more pass through your goals and look at the demands with real-world examples in mind. It’s easy to list “time, energy, consistency,” but those words only matter when you understand what they look like in practice.
Here are a few ways demand analysis shows up clearly:
Training for a Half Marathon: If the goal takes 5–6 hours of running a week, plus mobility, plus recovery, does your current week have that space? If long runs sit on the same day as your busiest work or family commitments, that’s a friction point you need to address.
Building a Creative Project or Skill: If the goal requires 3–5 hours of focused practice each week, do you have a dedicated block where your brain isn’t fried? Skill development demands quiet, consistent effort — not leftover energy at the end of the night.
Strengthening Your Health and Daily Routine: If the goal requires better sleep, more structured meals, or steady training, does your current lifestyle support that? Late nights, chaotic mornings, or unpredictable work patterns will make the demand harder than it needs to be.
Changing Careers or Positioning Yourself for a New Role: If the goal requires courses, portfolio work, networking, or new certifications, where will those hours come from? Career change isn’t just skill work — it’s capacity, energy, and consistent attention.
This sanity check isn’t here to shrink your ambition — it’s here to show you the load you’re choosing so you can carry it with purpose. Ambitious goals should challenge you, but they shouldn’t blindside you.
When you can see the demands clearly and match them against your actual life, the path forward stops feeling vague and starts feeling doable.
What you’re building in 2026 deserves accuracy, not guesswork.
“First say to yourself what you would be; then do what you have to do.” — Epictetus
The work behind any big year begins with honesty — seeing the load your goals carry and the space they’ll need in your life.
When you understand the demands, you’re able to choose your goals with clarity instead of wishful thinking. That clarity makes the effort feel steady, not chaotic.
From here, you’ll start shaping the systems and habits that support the work — the daily actions that make your goals sustainable instead of overwhelming. Each step builds on the one before it, giving 2026 a structure you can rely on.
What demands are you ready to commit to in the year ahead?