Dear Younger Fred…the new year was never meant to pressure you...
For a long time, you'll think the new year is about becoming someone new.
New goals.
New habits.
New standards.
A sharper, more disciplined version of yourself.
You'll feel the quiet pressure to reset everything overnight —
to close the door on last year
and sprint toward what's next.
But by January 2026, you'll finally understand something deeper...
The moments you felt most unbalanced in life
weren't because you were lost...
they were because you were incongruent.
There were gaps between what you thought,
what you said,
and what you actually did.
And those gaps were exhausting.
You'll spend years reading great books.
Listening to powerful podcasts.
Collecting ideas that genuinely inspire you.
You'll talk about them with friends.
Share them with clients.
Pass them along to anyone who will listen.
And they will be good ideas.
But somehow…
you'll still feel off.
Tired...
Anxious...
Like something doesn't quite line up.
And here's the hard truth you'll eventually face:
You weren't out of balance because you lacked knowledge.
You were out of balance because you weren't living it.
You believed one thing (such as be present for your family, eat healthy and exercise...)
You spoke about it.
But you never practiced it.
And deep down…
you knew it.
That's the part that hurt the most.
Because when actions don't match words,
you don't just lose credibility with others —
you lose trust with yourself.
And no planner, habit tracker, or new-year goal can fix that.
This is when January 1st starts to mean something different.
You stop asking, "What more should I learn?"
And start asking, "What am I actually willing to live?"
You realize that alignment isn't loud.
It doesn't need announcing.
It shows up quietly —
in small, consistent actions repeated daily.
And slowly, the noise fades.
Because balance doesn't come from knowing more.
It comes from doing what you already know.
So as a new year begins, here's the real question, Fred:
Where do your actions need to catch up to your intentions & thoughts?
Where have your words been ahead of your behavior?
And what's one small promise you can finally keep — to yourself?
Because they're right:
Actions do speak louder than words.
And the loudest conversations
are the ones you have with yourself.
You don't need a new year to become someone new.
You just need one small action repeated daily for a long period of time. Thats it.
Baaaam. That's it for today.
See you next Thursday.
Stay curious,
Fred
