Stop. Start. Continue.
- Dec 22, 2025
- 5 min read
A reflection as we close out 2025.
By Sarah Williams, Founder of Tough Girl Challenges & the Tough Girl Podcast 🎙️
As we reach the end of 2025, there’s a familiar buzz in the air.
Everywhere you look, people are talking about goals, plans, and intentions for the year ahead. What they want to stop doing. What they want to give up. What they want to achieve in 2026.
Stop drinking.
Stop smoking.
Lose weight.
Get fitter.
Be stronger.
Read more 📚
There’s nothing wrong with any of that. Having a sense of direction matters.
But many of these aren’t really goals – they’re ideas. They’re vague. They’re not specific or measurable. And without clarity, they’re incredibly hard to turn into action.
Take something as simple as: “I want to read more.”
What does that actually mean?
Is it one book a month? Twelve books a year?
Or one book a week – 52 books?
How much time can you realistically commit? Ten minutes a day? An hour?
Are you a fast reader or a slow reader?
For me, I know that if I focus, I can finish a book in four or five hours – depending on the topic, my energy levels, and how engaged I am. That kind of self-awareness matters. Goals work best when they’re personal, realistic, and specific to you 🎯
The comparison trap 🪤
One of the biggest dangers at this time of year is comparison.
We compare ourselves to people we know in real life – and even worse, to people online.
Social media shows highlight reels: gym selfies, sunrise starts, big wins, exciting announcements. What it doesn’t show is the rest of the day spent doubting, procrastinating, editing, or simply feeling exhausted.
On the Tough Girl Podcast, I say this constantly because it’s so important:
Comparison is the thief of joy.
The only person you should ever compare yourself to is you.
Who were you a year ago?
Five years ago?
Ten years ago?
What habits have you built? What routines now feel automatic? What progress have you quietly made?
Motivation doesn’t last. It comes and goes.
Habits, routines, and structure are what carry you forward – especially on the days you don’t feel like it 💪
Different tools work for different people 🛠️
At this time of year, there’s no shortage of techniques being shared online – vision boards, planners, goal-setting frameworks, challenges, templates.
I’ve tried many of them. And honestly? Most of them do work… if they work for you.
If you’re a visual person, creating a vision board might be incredibly powerful. You might love sitting down with Canva and designing something that excites you 🎨
But if you’re not visual, staring at pictures of a life you don’t yet have can actually make you feel worse. It can turn into “Why don’t I have that?” instead of inspiration.
Another option is straightforward goal-setting – maybe ten goals for 2026, written in a SMART format: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
Recently, I came across a fun idea I really like: a 2026 Bingo card 🎉
I’m even tempted to make two:
One filled with realistic, grounded goals – gym consistency, pull-ups, reading more, growing YouTube, podcast milestones.
And another for an alternative timeline – the wild, improbable, “never in my wildest dreams” version of life. Things like earning £30,000 in six months, cycling around the world 🚴♀️, flying business class to Japan ✈️, or stumbling into an unexpected adventure.
Sometimes letting your imagination run free is powerful in itself.
Stop. Start. Continue.
One reflective exercise I used years ago – and am coming back to now – is beautifully simple:
Stop / Start / Continue.
Stop 🛑
For me, this is about stopping the quiet whingeing.
Not loud complaining—but that subtle internal sadness of:
“I’m not where I thought I’d be by now.”
Instead, I want to reframe.
To look honestly at what I have achieved over the past year, two years, ten years.
To recognise that the life I’m living today is the result of choices I made long ago.
Continue ▶️
I want to continue living my truth.
Continue building Tough Girl in a way that aligns with my values.
Continue reminding myself not to let comparison steal my joy.
Progress doesn’t always look dramatic. Often it’s invisible – but it’s still progress.
Start 🌱
This one has been on my list for years: read more.
Less mindless scrolling.
Less consuming content without engaging my brain.
When I think about the hours I poured into platforms like Twitter/X – building followers, chasing numbers, seeking validation – I have to ask: did it actually add value to my life?
I don’t want to repeat that pattern elsewhere.
And yet… social media is also how I promote the podcast, connect with guests, and discover inspiring women doing incredible things. It’s a genuine catch-22.
I can’t quit entirely – but I can be more intentional.
Reduce the hours. Increase the purpose.
That balance is something I’ll keep exploring in 2026.
Showing up – even when it’s unglamorous 🏔️
If there’s one lesson that has shaped everything I do, it came from walking the Appalachian Trail:
Show up every day.
Get out of the tent.
Take the next step.
Even when you don’t feel like it.
That lesson applies directly to the Tough Girl Podcast.
It’s been running for ten years now. Ten years.
Not an overnight success – a slow, steady grind.
Sometimes it feels like the needle barely moves.
But I love it. I love sharing these women’s stories ❤️
What people don’t see is the behind-the-scenes work: the editing, the artwork, the website updates, the emails, the follow-ups, and the social posts.
The same is true for YouTube. I’m proud to say I’ve started editing the GR10 vlogs—six done, three to go. The final ones are hard. Hours of footage turned into something watchable. It’s not glamorous, but it matters 🎬
If I keep showing up—like I did on the trail—there will be consistent content in 2026: GR10 vlogs, South West Coast Path vlogs, weekly uploads, and momentum.
Maybe the channel grows.
Maybe it reaches 10,000 subscribers.
Maybe the £1.24 monthly ad revenue becomes something more meaningful.
Maybe it funds future adventures.
Maybe it helps build long-term security.
A final thought 🌟
The end of the year isn’t about judging yourself.
It’s an invitation to reflect.
What are you proud of?
What’s on your highlight reel—big or small?
If you’re moving, even slowly, in the direction you want to go, that matters.
Just keep showing up. 💛
Your year, your goals, your Bingo Card. Print it out and bring your plans to life!
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