Before You Plan 2026 ..

Here is 14 Questions Every Athlete Should Answer

As the year winds down, it is tempting to jump straight into planning.

New numbers goals. New competition standards. New goals for a new year.

Most athletes start by asking what they want to have in 2026. A bigger total. More consistency. A body that feels stronger and more capable.

From there, they decide what they will do to get it. Train more. Push harder. Be stricter. Get disciplined.

And finally, they hope that through all of this effort they will somehow become a different kind of athlete. More confident. More resilient. Less reactive. Less all or nothing.

But lasting change does not work this way. The athletes who actually create sustainable progress flip the order entirely. They start by asking a different question: Who is the person I need to be in order to do what is required, so I can have what I want?

This is the Be Do Have model.

You do not change your results by forcing better behaviour on top of the same identity. You change your results by becoming someone who naturally behaves differently.

When who you are changes, what you do changes. When what you do changes consistently, what you have follows.

So before you plan your 2026 training blocks, your next competition or your target numbers, pause here.

These questions are not about goal setting. They are about identity awareness.

Some will feel uncomfortable. Some will feel grounding. All of them are designed to help you see yourself clearly, not just as a collection of results, but as the person who produces them.

You can answer them in one sitting or return to them slowly over the break. Write them down. Do not rush. The quality of your next year will depend far more on the depth of your honesty here than on the ambition of your goals.

Part One - BE: Who Have You Been, and Who Do You Need To Become As An Athlete?

This is the identity layer. Not who you perform as on good days. Not who you want to appear as on social media.

This is about who you are when you walk into the gym, step onto the platform or show up to a session after a long day. Before you think about progress, sit with these.

1. When you think about yourself as an athlete in 2025, what story do you tell yourself?
Is it the story of someone rebuilding, someone stuck, someone quietly getting stronger, someone who keeps almost committing? Notice the language you use. These words are not neutral. They shape how you show up.

2. In the hardest parts of this year, who did you become?
Think about the weeks where you were exhausted, stressed, in pain or overwhelmed. Did you disappear, push harder than your body was asking for, communicate, withdraw, ask for help or pretend you were fine? This is your default pattern under pressure.

3. What parts of your athlete self did you hide from others?
Maybe you hid frustration, fear of failing on the platform, worry that you are behind, confusion around technique or lack of confidence with certain lifts. Awareness starts here, with the parts of yourself you tuck away so no one sees them.

4. What were the loudest beliefs you carried about yourself this year?
For example: “I am injury prone.” “I am not naturally strong.” “I always fall off when life gets busy.” Ask yourself whether you challenged these beliefs or quietly collected evidence to confirm them.

5. Who are you quietly jealous of, and what does that jealousy reveal about who you want to become?
Jealousy is often a signal of desire. Instead of judging it, listen to it. What do you see in others that you want for yourself: confidence, calmness, consistency, technical trust or courage to compete? You can do those things too.

Part Two - DO: What Did You Actually Do When No One Was Watching?

This is where awareness turns into behaviour change. First, we need to get honest with not what you intended to do. Not what you planned to do. What you actually did.

6. Where were your actions aligned with the athlete you want to be?
Maybe you checked in even when the week felt average, turned up to sessions when you were tired, took rehab seriously or made small, steady nutrition changes. These matter. Name them.

7. Where did your behaviour quietly contradict your goals?
Did you skip the sessions you said mattered most, avoid accessories you knew would help, ignore niggles until they became pain or only communicate with your coach when things were going well? This is not about blame. It is about pattern recognition.

8. What did you avoid this year because it made you uncomfortable?
Hard conversations with your coach. Filming lifts you did not like watching back. Entering a competition. Training during stressful periods. Trying a different approach to warm ups or technique. Avoidance often sits right next to growth.

9. Which excuses sounded most reasonable in the moment?
“I will start fresh Monday.”
“I will push again once work calms down.”
“I do not want to waste a session when I am tired.”
Ask yourself what part of you was being protected by these stories.

10. How often did you act from short term comfort instead of long term self respect?
Comfort looks like skipping, numbing out, staying vague or doing the bare minimum without intention. Self respect looks like showing up in some capacity because your future self deserves that effort.

Part Three - HAVE: What Did That Identity and Behaviour Create For You?

Now we look at outcomes. Not as success or failure, but as feedback.

Your results are not random. They are the natural consequence of who you were being and how you behaved over time.

11. What did you build in 2025 that you are genuinely proud of?
Think beyond numbers. Trust with your coach, resilience through stress, a stronger relationship with your body, better boundaries or a calmer nervous system are real outcomes.

12. What did you want to have by now that you did not create?
A certain total, a competition on the calendar, fewer flare ups, more confidence or consistent training. Instead of labelling this as failure, ask what would have needed to change in your Be and Do for that outcome to be possible.

13. What did this year show you that you are ready for next?
More structure. More communication. More responsibility for your warm ups or recovery. A different relationship with pain. Readiness is not about talent. It is about willingness.

14. If nothing external changed next year, what internal shift would still make 2026 feel successful?
More self compassion. Deeper honesty. Less drama around imperfect weeks. Better communication. A calmer head in the gym. This is the heart of the Be Do Have model. When who you are changes, everything else can be approached from a different place.

Bringing It Into 2026

Once you have sat with these questions, do not rush into big, shiny goals. Instead, choose three simple decisions.

One way you want to BE different as an athlete in 2026
For example: “I am an athlete who stays connected, even when life is busy.”

Two things you will DO consistently from that identity
For example: communicating with your coach when weeks change and training in some capacity instead of disappearing.

What you would love to HAVE by the end of the first quarter
A stable training rhythm, a calmer relationship with hard sessions or a clearer understanding of your lifts.

From here, your numbers, competitions and progress goals have something solid to stand on.

Your next year does not need a different personality. It needs a deeper level of honesty and a clearer sense of who you are becoming every time you step into the gym.

Take the time to meet yourself on paper now. Your 2026 self will thank you for it.

— The MWBC Coaching Team