You’ve reflected on 2024 through the Evaluation & Design Phase, gaining clarity on your journey and understanding what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons you’ve learned. Then, in the Design Phase, you transformed that clarity into a roadmap for 2025, envisioning your goals and creating actionable plans.

Now comes the most exciting part: Elevate. This is where your vision meets action—where goals are no longer just ideas on paper but become part of your daily life. Elevate is about turning your plans into tangible progress through consistent effort, intentional habits, and a lifestyle that supports your growth.

Dreams and plans, no matter how well-crafted, cannot bring results unless they are executed. The Elevate Phase ensures that your vision for 2025 isn’t just a lofty idea but a lived reality. Success isn’t about taking massive leaps overnight—it’s about showing up daily and making small, consistent efforts that compound over time.

To sustain momentum and achieve meaningful progress, you need more than just determination and focus. You need systems that work for you, habits that align with your identity, and an environment that supports your goals. Elevate is about creating these structures to keep you focused, resilient, and adaptable throughout the year.

A Book That Changes the Way I See Progress

As we dive into the Elevate Phase, I’ll be referencing concepts from one of my favourite books: Atomic Habits by James Clear. I believe everyone should read this book. Clear explains that success doesn’t come from setting ambitious goals alone but from building systems that make progress inevitable.

In Elevate, we’ll focus on:

1. How small, consistent actions create big results.
2. The magic of identity-based habits and aligning them with your vision.
3. Building a supportive environment to make your goals easier to achieve.

What’s Ahead in the Elevate Phase

In this phase, we’ll cover actionable strategies to:

1. Build identity-based habits that align with your goals.
2. Create systems that make consistent progress effortless.
3. Design your environment to eliminate friction and encourage success.
4. Leverage the power of habit stacking to integrate new routines into your life.
5. Celebrate progress and stay adaptable when challenges arise.

The Elevate Phase isn’t just about reaching the finish line. It’s about creating a lifestyle that supports sustainable growth.

Focus on Identity-Based Habits

The transition from planning to progress requires more than just setting goals or making resolutions—it demands a shift in how you see yourself. Goals alone are not enough. Research shows that most people abandon their New Year’s resolutions by February. Why? Because goals focus on outcomes, while real, lasting progress is achieved through systems and habits that are tied to your identity.

Why Goals Alone Aren’t Enough

Research from the University of Scranton reveals that only about 8% of people achieve their New Year’s resolutions. Why do so many fail? Most resolutions focus solely on the outcome without addressing the daily behaviours or systems needed to sustain progress.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, explains, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” In other words, the habits you build determine your success. Not just the aspirations you set.

How to Align Habits with Your Identity

Start by asking yourself:

1. Who do I want to become?
2. What values and traits define this version of me?

This approach shifts the focus from external validation to intrinsic motivation, which is a powerful driver of sustained effort and progress. As you move forward into 2025, ask yourself: What kind of person do I want to become? Then, start building habits that reflect that identity.

Create Systems That Make Consistent Progress Effortless

Turning your plans into progress isn’t about relying on willpower or bursts of motivation—it’s about building systems that make consistency feel effortless and achievable. Systems are the bedrock of sustained success. They reduce mental effort, provide clarity, and empower you to focus on what truly matters without feeling overwhelmed.

By creating effective systems, you transition from depending on fleeting inspiration to cultivating habits that drive continuous progress toward your goals. Getting your desired result and achieving success isn’t built on one-off efforts—it’s the result of consistent, repeated actions. Systems make consistency easier to sustain.

Design Your Environment to Eliminate Friction and Encourage Success

Turning your plans into progress isn’t just about what you do. It’s also about where you do it. Your environment plays a powerful role in shaping your habits and actions. A well-designed environment eliminates unnecessary obstacles (friction) and encourages behaviours that align with your goals, making success feel natural and achievable.

We are creatures of our surroundings. Our environment can either reinforce positive behaviours or make it harder to maintain good habits.

If your goal is to focus on your health and your kitchen is filled with junk food, healthy eating becomes a challenge.

How to Design Your Environment for Success

Remove Friction for Good Habits
Identify obstacles that make it harder to take action and remove them.
If you want to work out in the morning, set your workout clothes and shoes next to your bed the night before.

Add Cues for Positive Behaviours
Place visual or physical reminders in your environment to prompt the actions you want to take. For example, you could place your yoga mat in the living room as a visual cue to exercise.

Make Your Desired Actions Easy
Remove unnecessary obstacles to simplify the process of building your habits. For example, choose a gym close to your home or workplace to make exercising more convenient—or skip the gym entirely and incorporate more walking into your daily routine. The easier the action, the more likely you are to follow through consistently.

Leverage Habit Stacking to Integrate New Routines into Your Life

Building new habits can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when life is already full of responsibilities. One of the most effective ways to seamlessly incorporate new routines is through habit stacking, a concept popularised by James Clear in Atomic Habits. Habit stacking leverages the power of your existing routines by attaching a new habit to something you already do consistently.

This strategy simplifies the process of forming new habits and ensures they naturally integrate into daily life. By pairing your desired action with a routine you already do consistently, you create a natural cue that triggers the new behaviour.

For example:
Existing Habit: Brushing your teeth in the morning.
Stacked Habit 1: Flossing immediately afterwards.
Stacked Habit 2: Reflecting on one thing you’re grateful for while brushing and flossing, kickstarting a gratitude practice.

Existing Habit: Drinking coffee in the morning.
Stacked Habit 1: Keep vitamins next to the coffee maker to remind yourself to take them while preparing your coffee.
Stacked Habit 2: While sipping your coffee, write down your top three non-negotiable tasks for the day to boost focus and productivity.

If a habit stack isn’t working, adjust the timing or action until it feels natural and fits smoothly into your routine. Habit stacking is designed to make integrating new habits effortless, turning them into a seamless part of your day. The key is to transform these actions into a lifestyle rather than a chore, making progress feel natural and sustainable.

The same principle applies to our wardrobe. For many women, dressing up can feel like a chore because their wardrobe isn’t working for them—it’s working against them. This often happens when their closet is filled with pieces that don’t align with their lifestyle, body, or sense of style. Instead of inspiring creativity, their wardrobe creates stress and frustration.

A well-functioning wardrobe should be built on essentials—versatile pieces that form the foundation of your style and can be effortlessly mixed and matched. When your closet lacks these essentials or is overcrowded with items you rarely wear, getting dressed becomes an overwhelming task.

Here’s the truth: anything you don’t wear enough is sending you a message. Maybe it doesn’t fit your body, your personal style, or your daily routine. Or perhaps it’s a sign that the item was an impulsive purchase, rather than a thoughtful addition.

In my Image Masterclass, I teach my clients exactly what I teach them: how to curate a wardrobe that reflects their identity and create dressing strategies that work for them. By understanding their identity and lifestyle needs, they can curate a wardrobe filled with pieces that not only reflect their unique style but also align with who they are. This ensures that they truly love their pieces and wear them often.

With the right approach, dressing up becomes effortless and enjoyable. It’s about creating a system that eliminates frustration and makes it easy to put together outfits that feel authentic and empowering. When your wardrobe aligns with who you are, getting dressed stops being a chore and becomes a seamless, confidence-boosting part of your day.

The same principle applies to our wardrobe. For many women, dressing up can feel like a chore because their wardrobe isn’t working for them—it’s working against them. This often happens when their closet is filled with pieces that don’t align with their lifestyle, body, or sense of style. Instead of inspiring creativity, their wardrobe creates stress and frustration.

A well-functioning wardrobe should be built on essentials—versatile pieces that form the foundation of your style and can be effortlessly mixed and matched. When your closet lacks these essentials or is overcrowded with items you rarely wear, getting dressed becomes an overwhelming task.

Here’s the truth... anything you don’t wear enough is sending you a message. Maybe it doesn’t fit your body, your personal style, or your daily routine. Or perhaps it’s a sign that the item was an impulsive purchase, rather than a thoughtful addition.

In my Image Masterclass, I teach my clients exactly what I teach them: how to curate a wardrobe that reflects their identity and create dressing strategies that work for them. By understanding their identity and lifestyle needs, they can curate a wardrobe filled with pieces that not only reflect their unique style but also align with who they are. This ensures that they truly love their pieces and wear them often.

With the right approach, dressing up becomes effortless and enjoyable. It’s about creating a system that eliminates frustration and makes it easy to put together outfits that feel authentic and empowering. When your wardrobe aligns with who you are, getting dressed stops being a chore and becomes a seamless, confidence-boosting part of your day.

Celebrate to Keep Motivation Up

Let’s be real—working on big goals can feel like a marathon, and if you don’t pause to acknowledge how far you’ve come, it’s easy to burn out. Celebrating your progress doesn’t have to be extravagant. It can be as simple as giving yourself credit for showing up.

Did you complete your first week of workouts? Acknowledge it! Did you finally tackle a task you’d been avoiding? Celebrate that too. These moments are fuel for your motivation. Small wins remind you that your efforts are paying off and keep the excitement alive.

Track Progress and Keep Moving Forward

Tracking your progress is like creating a highlight reel of your journey. It’s a way to visually see how far you’ve come and stay focused on where you’re headed. Whether you use a habit tracker, a journal, or an app, the key is to consistently monitor your growth.

Here’s the thing: progress isn’t linear. Some days, you’ll feel unstoppable; other days, not so much. And that’s okay. The goal is to keep moving forward, even if it’s one tiny step at a time. By tracking your efforts, you stay accountable to yourself and can adjust your approach as needed.

When Is It Okay to Drop It?

Here’s a hard truth... not all goals are worth pursuing forever. Sometimes, life changes, and what seemed important a few months ago may no longer align with your values or priorities. And that’s okay.

But how do you know when it’s time to let something go?

Ask yourself
Does this still align with the person I want to become?

Evaluate the impact
Is this goal adding value to my life, or is it draining my energy without meaningful results?

Consider the cost
Are you holding onto it because you’ve invested so much time, or is it genuinely important?
If the answer to these questions points toward letting it go, give yourself permission to pivot. Dropping a goal doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you’re making space for what truly matters.

Elevate and Start Turning Goals Into Progress

The Elevate Phase is where your vision transforms into reality. By turning your plans into progress through consistent habits, supportive systems, and a clear focus on identity-driven actions, you create a foundation for sustained results.

This isn’t a sprint, or creating a one-time event. It’s the result of habits that reflect who you want to become, systems that make progress feel effortless, and the willingness to adapt when challenges arise. These elements compound over time, leading to exponential progress and meaningful transformation.

Habits & Progress Compound Over Time

Small, consistent actions may seem insignificant at the moment, but they build momentum that leads to extraordinary results. Whether you exercise for 10 minutes a day, save a little extra each month, or read one chapter before bed, these efforts add up.

If you improve by just 1% every day in your intended direction, by the end of the year, you’ll have transformed your habits, your mindset, and your outcomes in remarkable ways.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Start small. Focus on one habit, one system, or one change that aligns with your vision for 2025. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect—it just has to be consistent.

Keep showing up for yourself. With clarity, intention, and a commitment to elevate your actions, this can be the year you create lasting, meaningful change.

What’s the first small step you’ll take today to elevate your progress?

All my best,