The first full week of the year feels… strange.

You’re back at work, but the rhythm hasn’t quite returned.You’re meant to be “motivated,” but your brain still doesn’t know what day it is.You had good intentions to reflect, reset, and plan - but maybe life just kept moving.

You’re not behind.

Just before Christmas, I ran a free webinar called Beyond 2026: Nine Steps to Your Best Year Yet. And while the full framework includes nine catalysts, I want to share just three questions here- because sometimes the most powerful shifts don’t come from doing more, but from asking better questions.

At the heart of my work is what I call the Performance Advancement Pathway. It’s built around three outcomes I’m quietly obsessed with:

* Unstoppable Momentum

* Unshakable Focus

* Unleashed Potential

I see these as the legs of a three-legged stool.Take one away, and things wobble.Remove two, and you lose direction entirely.

Here are the three questions I encourage people to start with.

1. How boldly do you imagine the legacy and fulfilment of your dreams?

Not the to-do list.Not the obligations.The legacy.

This is about vision- about allowing yourself to imagine what fully lived might look like, without immediately shrinking it down to what feels “realistic.”

2. How reliably do your days support focus?

Focus isn’t about willpower.It’s about rhythm.

Your calendar, your energy patterns, your boundaries, either support focus or quietly erode it. This question isn’t meant to judge you. It’s meant to bring awareness to whether your days are designed intentionally or reactively.

Small changes in rhythm create massive changes in output.

3. How well do you guard the things that bring you back to life?

This one matters more than most people realise.

The things that restore you- movement, quiet, nature, creativity, space- are often the first things sacrificed in the name of productivity. Yet they are the very things that fuel endurance.

If you don’t protect what brings you back to life, burnout will eventually make that decision for you.

If this first week of the year hasn’t felt refreshing…If you’re dragging yourself back into work…If you didn’t get the chance to breathe, reflect, or plan —

Please don’t beat yourself up.

You can start here.With three questions.With curiosity instead of criticism.

And if you’d like the full Beyond 2026 webinar or a copy of the model, you can subscribe to my newsletter - I share intentionally, not incessantly.

Be kind to yourself this weekend.That, too, is part of endurance leadership.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suzannerathcoach.substack.com