The Career Reset: How to finish 2026 strong (no matter where you are now)

STEP #1 — REFLECT

How often do you pause and reflect? It wasn’t until I hit burnout several years ago that I realised: I never reflected on my career.

I’m a natural doer who dives into action, works hard and follows through. And if you’re reading this, I know you’re the same.

Yet, this focus on ‘doing’: planning, strategising and ticking off to-do’s — often comes at the expense of reflecting on successes, learnings or celebrating progress toward your goals.

And at this point in the year when you’re exhausted or disappointed with your results, it’s easy to overlook what you have achieved. Our brains fixate on the gaps, which is why reflection is essential!

One of my favourite quotes by Maya Angelou is: ‘You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.’

Let’s start reflecting on your career by looking back at the first half of 2026. This is the exact process I used earlier this week:

1. What are you celebrating so far this year?

Every January, you set big goals and work hard to achieve them. But how often do you pause to celebrate the milestones along the way? Acknowledging your success is essential for finding fulfillment at work.

Think back to your January goals. What were your greatest career wins and what obstacles did you overcome?

List everything you’re celebrating. Did you deliver a project on time and budget — or land an important client? Have you received a promotion or started a new job? Are you working flexibly, prioritising your health or building your network?

Did you overcome health issues or family challenges? Were you dealing with burnout or a challenging work environment?

Finally, highlight your top achievement so far in 2026 and why it’s important to you.

I’ll share some of mine to get you started. One win I almost dismissed was achieving my biggest year in this business. But my main accomplishment was going all in on my podcast as the main platform and seeing it convert to paid clients.

Why this matters is that I’ve invested significant time building trust with my audience, backed myself to make a decision when the outcome wasn’t guaranteed — and now have the evidence it’s working!

2. What are your biggest lessons from the past 6 months?

Reflect on what you’ve learnt in 2026 and how you’ve grown. Consider the mistakes you made or anything which didn’t go as planned.

Remember: Failure isn’t about the outcome — it’s about having the courage to step outside your comfort zone, try something new and grow. Take a couple of minutes to list your biggest career lessons so far this year.

Is it setting better boundaries, letting go of perfectionism or comparison? Did you delegate more effectively to free up space for strategic thinking? Have you put yourself out there, applied for a new role or pitched for a new client — even if it wasn’t successful?

Once you have this list, identify your most significant lesson. What will you do differently in the second half of 2026 to course-correct or avoid similar mistakes? Write down the ONE change you’ll make and why it matters.

My biggest lesson (and the source of my recent resistance) is letting urgent tasks and client delivery take over the important projects that will have the greatest long-term impact on my business. The one change I’m making is prioritising those projects first because they’ll allow me to scale my work.

One high-performing leader described being “caught up in the hamster wheel of daily tasks and work responsibilities”. Despite his ambition, he admitted to ‘coasting’ in his career — focusing on getting the job done without pausing to consider his goals. This lack of reflection limited his ability to dream bigger and risked derailing his long-term career aspirations.

Through our work together, he did the reflection he’d been avoiding for years, which gave him clarity on his direction. As a result, he transitioned into his desired career through an internal job move. Now, he’s taking ownership of his career and no longer treats career management as an afterthought to his day job.

When you pause to reflect on where you’ve been, you will clarify what you want next in your career.

STEP #2 — REVIEW

Now you’ve reflected on the first half of 2026, let’s review your current situation to clarify what is and isn’t working in your career.

I’ve created a tool called the Career Sweet Spot which is built around four important pillars: your strengths, passions, ideal lifestyle and income. At the centre is the IMPACT you want to make. This includes your purpose — or the ‘why’ behind your work and career goals — and your values, which are your top priorities in life.

By understanding your career sweet spot, you can set the right goals, make the correct career choices, and build a fulfilling, sustainable career!

Let’s use the Career Sweet Spot tool to assess your current level of satisfaction in each area. Then, you’ll pinpoint the ONE area to focus on in the next 6 months to find fulfillment at work.

1. Rate each area on a scale of 1-5 (1 = not at all, 5 = completely) based on how much it’s honoured in your career

Jot down your scores, move quickly and trust your first instinct!

• How aligned is my career with my purpose and the impact I want to make?
• To what extent is it in alignment with my values and what’s important to me?
• How well does it match my unique strengths and expertise?
• Is it a fit for my passions and the work I enjoy?
• Does it suit my current life stage and desired lifestyle?
• How well does it meet my financial goals?

Next, identify the lowest ranked area and highlight it. This is your ONE focus for the second half of 2026.

If you have more than one, consider: Which would have the biggest impact on your career if it improved?

2. What’s one step you can take to move closer to a 5 in that area?

For example, to increase your income, you could negotiate a pay rise, promotion or start a side hustle. If you want to improve your lifestyle, you could create better boundaries around your work hours.

One client chose passions as their focus area, which meant more variety and doing work which lights them up. The actions identified to support this included requesting different projects or clients, moving roles internally or leaving their organisation altogether.

By the time we finished working together, this person had left a 20+ year IT career to launch their own property business, work they’re truly passionate about.

When you assess your current career situation, you’ll uncover the one focus area to set your career up for success in the second half of 2026.

STEP #3 — RESET

Now you know your top focus area, let’s reset your career goals for the next 6 months.

Did you know over 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February?

If you’re anything like me, you look forward to a fresh start in January and set big goals for the year ahead. But then your daily to-do list takes over, leaving you overwhelmed — and unsure where to start…

This isn’t due to a lack of ambition or hard work. What happens is life gets in the way and without a clear plan, it’s easy to lose focus.

It’s why I think it’s unrealistic to rely on ONE moment in the year to reset everything. Instead, I believe in having a clear vision, setting meaningful goals and creating a step-by-step plan to reach them ANY time.

1. Clarify your vision for the next 6 months

Because think of it this way: You wouldn’t jump in your car and start driving without knowing where you were going. Your vision is the destination and your goals the roadmap that gets you there.

Imagine it’s December 2026, you’re exactly where you want to be in your career and looking back on the past year. Answer these questions as if it’s already happened:

• What goals did you reach in 2026? Think about the successes you highlighted in Step 1 and what you wanted more of in the second half of the year.
  
• What did you let go of? Consider the lessons from Step 1, such as: the fears or limiting beliefs holding you back, commitments or relationships which no longer serve you, or anything you’re no longer willing to say YES to for the rest of 2026.
• What’s different NOW? Reflect on the focus area from Step 2 and shifts you wanted to make in the second half of the year

2. Define your priority goal for the next 90 days

From what you’ve written, highlight the ONE thing you want to change or achieve in the next quarter. Then ask yourself: Why does it matter? Knowing the purpose behind your goal keeps you motivated and on track — especially when challenges come up!

Now, declare your goal. Write it down as if you’ve already achieved it, by finishing this sentence:

On 31 December 2026, I will have (write your goallist the goal). This is important to me because (insert why).

Studies show that writing your goals down (as if they’ve already happened) increases the likelihood you’ll achieve them. This is because your brain seeks out the information it needs to reach your goals — and discards the rest!

My goal for the next 90 days is to build out a new semi-private coaching program, so it’s ready to launch by the end of September.

Here’s my example: On 31 December 2026, I will have launched the first cohort of this program. This is important because I want to create another way for people to work with me, generate a new income stream and scale without draining my energy.

3. Create some action steps to reach your 90 day goal

How will you achieve it? Write down 3 actions to implement this quarter, breaking them down into micro-steps.

What’s the next best step you can take right now? Highlight or circle your first step and commit to it. Your challenge is to take action on it within the next 2 weeks!

The actions I identified for my goal are to schedule two blocks each week to build out the program, start recording the modules and market the first cohort. My next best step was to schedule the first 2 hour block to work on it on Tuesday morning.

One client set the goal to work smarter, not harder by putting systems in place to become more organised and feel less chaotic. We started with email, the biggest distraction and time suck because they’re reacting to it multiple times a day. Their first step was to turn off notifications and schedule set times throughout the day to check and respond to emails.

When you identify your next best step, you will build momentum and start the second half of 2026 with intention.

So there you have it. 3 simple steps that have helped my clients and I reset our career goals and finish the year strong. I hope this process supports you too!

Ready to to figure out what you want next in your career, back yourself with confidence and create a strategy to reach your goals by the end of 2026? Explore Ignite Your Career.

Apply for a complimentary 30 minute call with me to get started HERE.

Stacey Back is an executive career coach, strategist and speaker. She guides high-achieving senior leaders to design careers on their own terms and helps organisations to develop and retain them.