E87: Reflecting on 2025 & Setting Intentions for a Sustainable 2026

As we close out 2025, this episode of Dream Business Dream Life is an invitation to pause, not to judge, rush, or criticise the year that’s passed, but to honour it.

In this reflective, grounding conversation, I walk you through how to review your year honestly, why reflection matters more than another strategy, and how to set intentions for 2026 that actually feel doable and aligned.

I also share my own journey...from building a seven-figure business that looked successful on the outside but cost me deeply on the inside and why I now believe that success without alignment isn’t success at all.

This episode isn’t about chasing bigger goals. It’s about creating a business that supports the life you actually want to live.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why reviewing your year matters more than setting new goals
• How to reflect on what actually worked in your business (not what “should” have worked)
• Identifying what drained you, what you’ve outgrown, and what no longer fits
• Growth beyond money: leadership, boundaries, trust, and energy
• How your business felt to live inside...not just how it looked
• Why intention is the missing link between growth and fulfilment
• How to choose a single, powerful intention for 2026
• Letting your intentions lead your goals (not the other way around)
• Creating sustainable growth without burnout, pressure, or proving

A powerful reminder as you move into 2026:

• 2025 doesn’t need fixing...it needs honouring
• 2026 doesn’t need forcing...it needs intention
• Your business should support your life, not consume it

Take this episode slowly. Journal with it. Let it meet you where you are.

And remember you don’t need to have all the answers yet. Clarity comes when you give yourself permission to pause.

Want to connect? Find me here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamemmahine

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-hine

Website: https://www.emmahine.co.uk

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaHineStrategy

Transcript

Hello & Welcome to today’s episode of Dream Business Dream Life.

Today we’re wrapping up 2025 together. Not rushing past it. Not criticising it. But really seeing it and feeling what it was all about, what it taught us, what it gave us and what we want to leave behind.

And then we’re going to gently step into 2026 with clarity, intention, and a lot more trust in ourselves. Because often the reason we don’t hit the goals is because we don’t have clarity and without that clarity, we don’t trust ourselves to be doing the right thing.

If you’ve grown your business but feel tired, if you’re earning good money but still feel behind or if you know you’re capable of more, but you don’t want to burn everything down to get there this episode is especially for you.

I’m going to walk you through How to review your year, I’m going to tell you Why this matters more than another strategy and I’m going to show you how to set intentions for 2026 that actually feel doable.

I’ll share my own reflections too, because honestly, this year stretched me in ways I didn’t expect.

First I want to share a little more of my own story here, because it’s the reason I care so deeply about this work.

I built a seven-figure business and from the outside, it looked totally successful…the money was rolling in, we had all the things and all the stuff…you know houses, cars, clothes, holidays…all the material things people expect successful people to own.

But that business took over my life completely. I was so focused on money.
 
 

If the money was coming in, I assumed everything was fine. I didn’t question how tired I was. I didn’t question how disconnected I felt. I didn’t question the fact that my life was slowly being totally consumes by my business.

I told myself this was just the price of success.

But inside, I really wasn’t okay.

There were lots of twists and turns in that chapter…periods of deep unhappiness, depression, using alcohol to cope, and a constant feeling of pushing through instead of actually living.

And eventually, I walked away.

Not because I failed but because I realised success that costs you your life isn’t success at all.

And that experience changed everything for me.

It’s why I believe reviewing matters so much. Because when you only measure money, you miss the quiet signals telling you something isn’t working. The quiet signals that often aren’t as quiet as you pretend they are.

Reviewing isn’t about judging yourself. It’s about being honest with what you’ve got and what you’re doing because you can only change it if you are honest about what it is you want to change.

Then…and only then do you get to choose differently.

So lets start with your business.

I want you to imagine we’re sitting together right now, no laptop open, no spreadsheets. Just an open and honest conversation.

What actually worked this year?

Not what you think should have worked or what you would expect me to think worked but what actually did work

·       What brought in money?

·       What felt aligned?

·       Where did clients respond and get the best from you?

For me, this year, I simplified and slowed down which gave me the space to see exactly where I was in my zone of genius and where I could support my clients best. I slowed down enough to get clarity and structure in place ready to pick up the pace in 2026…and that definitely worked for me.

What didn’t work? And remember its okay that things didn’t work…this is not a kick yourself exercise…it’s about honesty and learning from the things that went well as well as the things that didn’t.

·       What drained you?

·       What felt forced?

·       What did you keep doing out of habit alone?

I had to admit this year that some things I once loved… I realised I’d outgrown and that was uncomfortable. But equally it was also freeing.

Nothing has gone wrong if something stops fitting. It just means you’re evolving.

Where did you grow beyond money?

Now this one is huge and so important.

·       Did you become a better leader?

·       Did you set stronger boundaries?

·       Did you trust yourself more?

Some of the biggest growth doesn’t show up on a profit and loss sheet but it changes everything.

This year I chose to curate the people who were in my world, this included who I work with, who I follow and connect with in the business space, friends and even family and at times it was hard but I am an empath and I knew that I had to protect my energy in 2025…and right now I am so grateful for the people in my world…I didn’t have to announce my departure or tell people I don’t like them…it’s not about that at all…it’s about protecting my energy because I can only do my best work when I am feeling at my strongest.

Now let’s talk about the part we often ignore. Your life.

Because you don’t just run a business…you live inside it too!

How did your business feel to live inside this year?

Not how it looked but how it felt. Remember my story…my business looked great but living inside it felt shit.

·       Were you rushing?

·       Were you present?

·       Were you always thinking about work?

These questions changed everything for me.

I realised there were moments where I was “winning” on paper but missing my own life completely. I wasn’t enjoying life…I was just surviving and for years it felt hard to say that out loud as people judged me for it as they could not see how can someone earning a fortune could be unhappy but I was.

What did this year ask of you?

Every year has a theme.

This year asked me for patience. For rest. For deeper trust.

What did your year ask of you?

What are you proud of in your personal world?

Maybe you took better care of your health. Maybe you said no more. Maybe you stuck at something even when it was hard.

All of these questions help you to become more intentional which is where everything changed for me.

For a long time, my only intention was financial growth…the next purchase…the next financial milestone!

And because money was coming in, I told myself it must be working.

But intention isn’t about what you build…it’s about why you’re building it.

After I walked away from that seven-figure business, I had to get really honest.

I didn’t want a business that ran my life.
 I wanted a business that supported my life.

That’s why I now support other business owners differently.
 Not just to grow.
 But to grow in a way that actually fits the life they want to live.

Because success is so much more than money.
 It’s how you feel on a Tuesday afternoon.
 It’s whether you can switch off.
 It’s whether your business leaves room for you to be a human….a wife, a mum, a sister, an aunt…

Goals without intention become pressure and they lose satisfaction when and if you hit them.

Intention is the energy behind the goal.

When you choose intention first, growth becomes sustainable and it becomes more joyful too and lets be honest we all want joyful lives…right?
 
 If 2026 could feel one way, what would you choose?

Calm
 Spacious
 Abundant
 Fun

Many people choose a word of the year…for me in 2026 that word is DISCOMFORT which may sound a little strange as why would anyone choose to be uncomfortable but for me 2026 is a year of growth and with growth comes discomfort so I go into the year with that intention in mind. 

So next this is where we bring everything together.

You’ve looked back at your business. You’ve looked at your life. You’ve told the truth about how 2025 actually felt.

Now the question becomes: “How do I move forward without repeating the same patterns?”

Change nothing and nothing changes!

This is why intention matters so much. Because if you don’t choose consciously, you’ll default to what you already know.

And for many of us, what we know is pushing, striving, and just holding it all together.

So let’s break this right down.

Choose the kind of year you want to live

Before goals. Before numbers. Before plans.

Ask yourself: “What kind of year do I actually want to experience?”

Not what looks good. Not what sounds impressive.

What do you want your days to feel like?

For me, this question was a gamechanger. After building a business that took over my life, I knew I couldn’t start with money again. Because when I did that before, my life slowly disappeared.

So instead, I started asking:

·       How do I want to feel most days?

·       How much space do I want?

·       What do I want more of outside my business?

Then I identify the patterns I don’t want to carry forward

·       What did I tolerate this year that I don’t want to normalise?

·       Where did I ignore my own needs?

·       What did I keep telling myself I’d change “next year”?

This part matters because intention isn’t just about adding new things. It’s also about letting go of things that no longer serve you.

At the start of 2025 I had to admit that I was starting to equate busyness with safety all over again. I was afraid that if I slowed down, everything might fall apart.

Recognising that pattern changed how I set goals in 2025. It’s how I decided to slow down in 2025 ready to seed up in 2026.

That’s the benefit of letting your intentions lead your goals…they are far more sustainable long term.

So instead of asking: “What do I want to achieve? ask: “What would support the kind of year I want to live?”

This might mean:

·       Choosing fewer offers, not more

·       Simplifying how you work

·       Raising prices instead of working with more clients

·       Building systems that protect your energy

This is where business starts serving life. 

I don’t believe in setting twenty intentions as overwhelm is just going to stop you achieving any.

So choose one.

Something that feels slightly uncomfortable but supportive of the life you want

Not something you need to prove but something you need to honour.

For me, in 2026 my intention is growth but not just any old growth, growth that is driven by efficiency and true alignment with me and my dream life. 

What’s your intention for 2026? You don’t need to know exactly how you’ll achieve it right now as intention always comes first. You can work the rest out afterwards cos there is always a way!

So as we wrap up today’s episode

I want to remind you that you are a business owner who has carried a lot this year. A business owner who has grown and who has learned.

2025 doesn’t need fixing. It needs honouring and celebrating.

2026 doesn’t need forcing. It needs intention.

And I’ll be right here with you as we step into this next chapter together.

Thank you for listening, I’ll see you next time.