Why December Is the Perfect Month for Fitness Reflection and Goal-Setting
By Kelan Ern Last updated: 12/16/2025
Here’s a seasonal quote from fitness writer, Beth Skwarecki:
“Even if you think of January as when you get your fresh start on fitness and life, you can think of December as your sandbox, the place where you test out ideas and mull over what it is you really want.”
This ‘playing in the sandbox’ is an opportunity for two things:
Reflect on 2025
Set goals for 2026
Most people are quick to jump to #2 but few take a breath and reflect on the silver nuggets from the last 12 months. But this can be a game-changer because:
Success builds on success
I’ve found people forget small wins as fast as they forget what they ate for lunch last Thursday. Especially if they are an achiever who is always looking for how to improve things… what’s missing… and what’s next. But when you pause and reflect on past wins, it reminds you of your progress and restores a sense of momentum. Plus, it digs up winning strategies that you can deploy this year.
Also reflecting allows you to…
Quit repeating the same mistakes.
There’s a concept in functional movement called:
“Remove the negative”
Remove dysfunctional movements, postures, and daily activities as a top priority. Because 5-10 minutes of corrective exercise won’t override hours of poor posture and poor movement patterns.
Same applies to fitness goals.
Removing a source problem – a recurring ‘log jam’ – often has a higher-magnitude impact than adding yet another habit. In fact, often we jump to solutions prematurely without clarity on the real problems.
This is something author Keith Cunningham hits home in his book, The Road Less Stupid:
“Suppose I ask the question “How can I get in shape and lose some weight?” The observable symptom is poor health or clothes that don’t fit. We erroneously label this symptom as the root problem. It’s not. Then we compound the mistake by asking what we should do about it, which immediately throws our thinking into a tactical mode…our thinking lurches to whether we should buy a jump rope, Oprah’s new diet book, or a treadmill? Should we join a gym or buy those new Nike CrossFit trainers? The reality is the reason we weigh too much has zero to do with the jump rope or the gym. Bad questions beget wrong answers.”
When you reflect on “what didn’t go well” or “what to do differently” you give yourself a fighting chance to get real with what’s holding you back.
The trick:
Doing it without beating yourself up.
(Which is why you acknowledge your wins first)
If you can sit in the discomfort of looking at the hard truth, the real numbers, you’ll find enormous clarity and insight on which BIG rocks to focus on that getting in your way instead of the small pebbles.
What’s the best way to do it?
I’ve gone through dozens of iterations of reflection processes over the last 10+ years and it’s something that I use religiously for coaching sessions, negotiations, presentations and personal goals. It’s one of the best personal development tools that I know of. Because awareness is your secret weapon.
That’s why I put together a special guide, “Breakthrough Reflections” to walk you through how I might do this. It’s designed to spark greater clarity… boost your motivation… and remove barriers blocking you from the next level of your fitness journey. If I were sitting across the table coaching you on it, these are some of the questions I’d ask you.
If you’re interested join the Mind-Body Newsletter, reply “BREAKTHROUGH” and I’ll send you a copy.
No cost.
No strings attached.
Call it an early holiday present and my way of saying:
Thank you for being part of this mind-body community