The Q1 Reality Check

This episode is an invitation to tell yourself the truth about how you showed up in Q1 but not from a place of judgment.

Where you are right now is a reflection of what you tolerated, prioritised and avoided. And if Q2 is going to be different, something within you has to shift.

We’re diving into honest reflection, intentional redirection and what it really takes to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be

@samanthagreen.tgh

@alignedandunfilteredpod

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to Aligned and Unfiltered. This is the podcast where we speak honestly about what it really takes to build a life and a business that aligns with a future version of you, the one that you keep saying that you're going to be. Expect self-help hacks and tools to be able to help you bridge the gap from where you are now to where you want to be. Let's get started. Hello and welcome back to Lines and Unfiltered. Thank you so much for being here. Whether or not you are watching or listening, I'm very grateful to have you here. So I thought with today's episode it was the perfect opportunity to look at what you have achieved, what you have done in Q1, and what you want to achieve, and what your goals and ambitions really are for Q2. So obviously, we are about to go into April, which is just crazy to me, and it will probably be to you as well. I feel like the last three months has just flown by, and a lot has happened in that time, and I'm sure a lot has for you as well. And I think it's a really good time to really look at reflect on what you've done and you know what we're going to do now going forward. So Q1, the first, the beginning of any year, is really difficult because you start the year, I think, a lot of the time with a lot of momentum and a lot of like desire and hopes and dreams of exactly how you want the year to be. And it's kind of that old saying, isn't it? That you know, the first two weeks of January, the gyms are always full because everyone's got the motivation to go, and then by the end of the month, it kind of like starts to die off. And I think that that can very much be the same when we set goals for business, when we set goals for ourselves personally. That first couple of weeks into January, we're all like amped up, we're ready to go, we're doing dry January, we're like a hundred percent in, and then as it gets towards the end of January, or as we get into February, for example, um, we can start to tailor off and forget actually what we're even trying to achieve. So taking this time to just reflect on it and make a plan going forward is so important to make sure that you are on track and going to achieve exactly what it is that you want to achieve. So, first things first is reflection. So, have a look at the last three months. What was it that you said you were going to do and have you done it? And be honest with yourself with that. Don't be too hard on yourself, but just be very honest with yourself. What is it that you set yourself a goal for in Q1 and have you actually done it? What did you say you were going to follow through on? Did you lose consistency somewhere? And what did you avoid that you know would have moved you forward? I think that that question specifically is really powerful because I know that for myself, one of my big things in Q1 was starting this podcast, and it very nearly didn't happen within that time frame because I just got so stuck on being able to do the video content, being able to find the right time to do it, um, finding my flow with the episodes and things like that. And I really had to put a lot of effort into actually making this happen, and I almost lost the window of when I said I was going to do that, and just have a look back. What did you really want to achieve in that time? And maybe haven't, or maybe you have, and that's really great. And like I say, not being too hard on yourself, but just reflecting on that, and maybe you need to carry it over onto the next quarter of the year, or maybe you can just check it off and say, Right, I've done that, I'm now on to the next thing. The other thing, which is something that when we are looking back and we are looking at what we have achieved or um not achieved, would be take away the emotion from it. So try and detach the emotion and just look at it as like data instead, you know. So rather than looking at it as like it's bad or it's failed, look at it as like what worked and do more of it. So for me, it worked in the end, just recording the podcast, and then eventually I then got the video content to come with it, and I ended up just having to just start, keep just going with it, and then look at what didn't work and just adjust it. You don't have to quit, you don't have to give up on it, but just try and adjust it to make it so that then it can work. And a lot of things for a lot of people will have not gone 100% right in January, February, March. Um, there's been a lot going on in the world. We all went into obviously the year of the horse, and we were all ready to go and amped up and excited, and you know, we probably all felt like we were starting something amazing at that point, but then a lot has happened since then and has probably made you take a few steps back and maybe not feel as productive, but that is just so normal, and I think that it's just giving yourself a little bit of grace, but also at the same time being responsible for what you have been able to achieve and what you haven't, and really why that has been the case. If you have been inconsistent, if you have been overthinking, if you have been waiting till you felt ready or had a lack of structure, for example, then really look at that and think why has that been the case? And again, try not to be too hard on yourself. Look at what it is that's maybe blocking you or stopping you, and really try and work on that so that then you don't carry that on now to the next part of the year. Because if you can continue with that same blocks, with that same mindset, you're not then going to achieve the next thing that it is that you want to do. So, really working on exactly what it is that's stopping you, and then getting through that, working on it, and then you can continue with actually hitting the goals that you really want to do. So, then when we are moving into Q2, I want you to reset it with a bit of intention. So, don't necessarily look for motivation because that's not always going to be there, as we know. Set some intentions, set some habits to be able to get your goals to happen. Make them small, make them precise, and make it so that then you have to stick to it. So if your goal is to create some content, make it that then you have an alarm on your phone every morning when you wake up, create content. Have a post-it note if you need to on your coffee machine, create content. Do small little things throughout your whole day and just take videos of them, take content of it, and start to build up to what it is that you're trying to do. So if your goal was to become a content creator, you need content to do that. So start by just taking the little videos and make it so that then it's almost impossible not to do the thing that you want. Even for me, right? Something that I am trying to do at the moment is eat a little bit healthier. So I'm really good at sticking to my meals. I have a meal plan service that I use and I stick to that. But then recently I have been having the odd little snack or having a little wine on an evening, and what I have had to do to make that impossible for me to do that is just remove it out of the house. So if that is one of your goals, then make it impossible for you not to stick to it and remove the temptation. Delete the delivery app on your phone if you need to. Delete Instagram if you're trying not to be on social media as much. There are very small things that you can do to really create habits that will make you stick to them and in future in long term create the goals that it is that you're trying to do. After you've simplified it, you have been really clear on exactly what your goals are now going forward for the next Q2. Write down a few of them, don't make it overcomplicated, like I just said, be really clear with them and tie in your actions to the goals that are going to get you there. Make it as simple as possible. If your goal is to grow your business, for example, maybe be a bit more specific in how you want to grow your business, but then the action behind that could just be posting three times a week or reaching out to three different people a day, for example, on social media or whatever, to be able to help grow that business. And it's a very small thing that you're gonna do, but it's gonna amount to something a lot bigger. And then start to plan out the rest of your year. So you've probably already done this anyway at the beginning of the year, but now that you've had the first three months of the year have started to set the tone maybe a little bit more as to what's going to be happening in the next quarter, you can maybe have a different outlook on the rest of your year. And also, I mean, for me specifically, I obviously started 2026 with certain goals in place, but a lot of them have changed now because my year is already looking dramatically different to how it started. So that's okay to change the path, it's okay to change the goalpost, it's okay to change whatever goals it is that you had in mind at the beginning of the year and now, and just start afresh. You're going into a new quarter, see it as a new year. If you look at it from an astrological point of view, this is now the time to get things moving. From the 21st, I believe it is, of March, that's when like the I might be wrong saying this, but like the lunar eclipse happens, and that's when the actual astrological new year begins, and that's when the momentum really does start to build. And actually, in the January, February, March before that is when you are planting the seeds of intention, and now is when you should actually be starting to take action on the goals. So if you look at it that way and you haven't actually achieved as much you want as much as you wanted to in January, February, and March, then that's a really nice way to look at it. That actually from March, you're starting afresh, you're starting a new year, put the actions in place, and you have the ability to change your life, your routine, the way that your days look, you have the ability to do that any day of the week, but especially with this energy of an astrological new year behind you. And I think that that's something really comforting for a lot of people. And I think a lot of us need a reason sometimes to do something, and if we hear something like that, we're like, oh, okay, yeah, that's why. Now I can do it because of that. And it's kind of the same with the whole the year of the horse and the year of the snake previously. A lot of people were like, Oh, that's why I had such a bad year. Next year is going to be such a good year because it's the year of the horse. And it's like, well, actually, some people's 2025 could have been amazing, but they didn't let that affect them, you know. And obviously, there are going to be certain things that come into play that'll be out of your control. Make sure that you are aware of what you can control, take harness of that and make the best out of that situation. Look at the next three months, plan it well, don't be too hard on yourself and enjoy it. Enjoy the next three months and that new energy, that spring energy. If you are in somewhere that's a little bit colder at the moment, like the UK, you're going into spring, it's going to be brighter. There's a lot of good that can come from this period of the year, and I think it's a really, really beautiful time of year to really start seeing the ball moving with whatever goals it is that you have in place. So start off, reflect on what you did in Q1, start making some changes for how you're going to develop maybe the goals that you didn't get in the Q1 into Q2. Create some really simple, easy habits, stick to them, make them impossible not to stick to, and just be really clear on exactly where you want to go this year, and especially just in the next quarter. And then in three months' time, we'll be reflecting back on this. And I know that in three months' time, you don't want to be thinking, I wish I did that, I wish I listened to that, I wish I gave that a go. Instead, you're going to want to be in the position of someone who is saying, I am so glad that I did that three months ago because look at where I am now. So much can change in three months. If you're consistent and you really work hard at something, you can make a lot happen in three months. So my business can look very different in three months, from one month to the other. If I really focus on something for three months, I know that I can make a big change, so I know that you can too. I hope that you really enjoyed that episode. I know it was a little bit of a shorter one, but honestly, I think that that message was quite powerful and something that a lot of people probably needed to hear. So I hope you really enjoyed it. And if you want to get me on Instagram, I am at SamanthaGreen.tgh and the podcast Instagram is at aligned and unfiltered pod. And any other links that you need will be down below. Please do all the lovely things like like, rate, and subscribe and tell someone else about this episode. Thank you so much. I'll see you soon. Bye.