The Two Questions That Will Change Your 2026 (Jo Moment)

We share a simple, identity-first practice to end the year with clarity and begin 2026 on purpose. Two questions help you release what no longer fits and choose the version of yourself that your habits and calendar will support.

• shifting from self-judgement to curiosity and compassion
• leaving behind old labels, guilt and unhelpful stories
• choosing identity before goals and outcomes
• translating beliefs into small, aligned behaviours
• creating space to reflect and feel the truth
• reducing noise and clarifying your why
• turning declarations into daily evidence
• previewing upcoming conversations with women who rebuilt

Go grab whatever it is you need, make that space, and see what you're leaving behind and what you're taking away

The Balance & Beyond Podcast Hosted by Jo Stone, founder of The Balance Institute

For women who are already succeeding, but beginning to wonder if they're willing to keep losing themselves in the process.

We know high achievers, because we are one. This podcast draws on Jo's 20 years in global leadership and thousands of hours coaching executives and ambitious women: the patterns she sees, how to untangle them, and what it actually takes to keep your success without paying for it with yourself.

If something landed today, there's more where that came from.

And if you know a woman this would resonate with, send it her way.

🎙️ https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
🔗 www.balanceinstitute.com
💼 https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
📷 @therealjostone

Transcript

Welcome And Year-End Pause

Jo Stone (Host) 0:04

Welcome to Balance and Beyond Moments, your weekly dose of insight, wisdom, and mindset shifts, all in 10 minutes or less. Whether it's a powerful truth, a fresh perspective, or a spark of inspiration, this is your space to pause, reflect, and reset. Let's dive in. Before you write a single resolution for 2026, I want you to pause and ask yourself two questions. Not about what you'll do, but about who you're willing to stop being and who you're brave enough to become next. There is nothing like the end of the year to give you pause, that forced reflection time. Today I'm going to share a practice that I've done for seven years. And it's the reason my life looks completely different. And it's something every woman in my world ends up doing too. Now, before I share the questions, I want to caution the lens that you do this with. You can do this reflection with self-judgment, turning it into an audit of everything you didn't achieve and finding fault with yourself in the entire year. Or you can do it with curiosity and compassion and walk out with a sense of power you didn't know you were missing. Now you do you, but all I ask is that you give yourself grace. So the first question is what are you leaving behind in 2025? That's right. At any point in time, you can choose to let go parts of yourself, habits, beliefs, emotions, unhelpful stories that you tell yourself, behaviors. And there is no better time to do this than at the clicking over of a magical date when we decide that everything gets to start fresh. Maybe you're leaving behind the word busy. Maybe you're leaving behind clothes that don't align with who you've become, or the constant guilt of not doing more. Maybe you're gonna leave behind the version of you who rescues everyone from their feelings of disappointment. Maybe you want to leave behind scrolling after 10 p.m. These are identity-level questions. And it's a really beautiful opportunity to revisit all the elements of you. Believe it or not, you're more malleable than you think. So many behaviors, habits, even your beliefs have been put in there by others. And spoiler alert, you don't have to believe every thought you have. So if you have unhelpful thoughts, if you get stuck in loops, if you are critical about yourself or others, well then you have the opportunity to make a decision more like a declaration and leave it behind. Your second question is what are you taking away into 2026? You don't stumble into the next version of yourself. You choose her. That's right. Who you become is a choice. If you aren't conscious about the parts of you, the parts of your identity, the emotions that you want to embody, the new beliefs you want to have, then you're at the mercy of your environment and what other people think, say, and do to stick in your head. That's right. You don't have to believe everything that's in your head. I say it again. Maybe you want to take away a new passion that you've uncovered, a spark that's been ignited about a new part of your personality or a hobby. Maybe you want to take more self-trust, more courage, more compassion for yourself. Again, it's not just about things that you want to take into 2026, you know, what you want to achieve, what you want to chase, but there are parts of you that evolved this year. There are new parts of you that you are cultivating. Maybe you've started a new fitness regime and you're going to take the identity of someone who takes care of herself or who prioritizes her health into 2026. And you can see how these really important identity-level questions then allow you to say, all right, well, if I'm going to take into 2026 my belief that my health matters, what behaviors then align with that belief? Huh. Maybe I am going to book in Pilates for every Wednesday evening because you know what? That's what me as a healthy person wants to do for myself. Or maybe I'm going to take away the decision to eat lunch every day before 3 p.m. Because my health matters. So when your behaviors are built from a new identity and a consciously chosen identity, everything shifts. You don't become like the 86% of people who have ditched their New Year's resolutions by the end of January because you are deciding who you want to become. Now you don't need a journal, a ritual, or a perfect moment to do this exercise. You just need some truth and a bit of stillness. I know you're probably thinking, right, I've got to make everything perfect, I've got to find a quiet space, but who knows? Maybe you're in a big house with lots of people, and all you need to do is just lock yourself in the toilet, disappear into the bush, whatever it is you need to do to create this space. Because I promise you, it won't magically find you. You have to create it. And as you are thinking about your answers, I encourage you to do more than just think them. As you write each one down, really feel where they land. Your body will tell you what the mind tries to negotiate. You might say, I'm going to take away that I'm going to be a healthy person. Your body goes, No, you're not. No, you're not. You don't have time for that. And oh, wow, okay. There's a lot of noise. So maybe instead of taking away the belief you're a healthy person, maybe you need to reduce some of the noise first. And that's going to help you step into that next version of self. Really lean into the why. Why do you want to take this thing into 2026 that will tell you if it's something that really matters to you or something that you're taking into next year that you think you should or that you feel like you ought to. The more you can make this a beautiful embodied experience, the more impactful it will be. I promise you, those two questions will give you so much gold. It will show you how you've evolved, where you have had some wins, the version of you that you have become. So there you have it. Your two really powerful questions. Now, no excuses. Done is better than perfect. Go grab whatever it is you need, make that space, and see what you're leaving behind and what you're taking away. Now, over the break, I have lined up some amazing conversations with women who have walked through fire and rebuilt their lives. This is an opportunity to stir something in you. Maybe you will hear something in these conversations that you go, I want to take that into 2026. How can I make that happen? We'll be back on Wednesday, the 14th of January, with all new episodes, a new look, a new sound, and a whole lot of exciting things in store for you. I'll see you then.