Insanity Check: If You're Doing This Again, Don't Expect a Different Year

In this episode of Hell Yes Habits, Elyse Bushard discusses the importance of making intentional changes to break free from unproductive patterns as we enter the new year. She emphasizes that resolutions often fail because they focus on outcomes rather than the necessary changes in behavior. Elyse encourages listeners to identify their habits, ask critical questions to break the cycle of stagnation, and commit to small, consistent changes that can lead to significant shifts in their lives. The episode serves as a motivational guide for those looking to make meaningful changes in 2026.

Episode Takeaways

• Every January, we swear this year will be different.
• Most resolutions fail because they're focused on outcomes, not patterns.
• Patterns don't break with motivation; they break with new choices and action.
• Confidence is built through repetition, not inherent traits.
• Ask yourself what you need to do differently to achieve your goals.
• Small changes can create significant shifts in your life.
• Momentum comes from evidence and proof of change.
• Nothing changes unless you change something.
• Choose habits that make you say hell yes to your life.
• Focus on one habit at a time to interrupt negative patterns.

Transcript

Elyse Bushard (00:02.274)
Hello, hello, welcome back to Hell Yes Habits. I think I'm gonna re-record my intro, so stay tuned for that. Just new year, fresh take on this podcast, which has now almost, we're almost at 500 downloads in a year, and that's just crazy to me, so thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for just...

being a part of this Hell Yes Habits movement and community. I am ready to ramp this up in 2026. I know that I've gone back and forth, but like, I just love this. I love chatting with you all. And I really wanna make this community something that you guys can rely on to inspire you, that you can take little nuggets from into your life, but also that you can get to know me better.

This can be an avenue for me to explain more about where I'm coming from and hopefully it helps you and relates to you in all aspects of your life. From mothers who are listening to me to career focused women to all of the above, because you can be all of those things, to women in their 60 plus era that are

trying to get better habits. Like this is all for you and I'm so excited because 2026, like I said, is I'm gonna record a new intro. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. But we are in the last day of 2025 and I was thinking for a long time I wanted to do an episode about this and what I do guys, just a behind the scenes thing, is I make a list whenever a podcast

topic comes into my mind in the notes app on my phone and I will cross it off if I have talked about it. But any quote that inspires me, anything I hear, anything that I'm going through and this in particular has been just like a common theme in my life that I've heard over and over again. And I was like, this would make a great podcast episode because I feel like it applies to multiple areas.

Elyse Bushard (02:30.791)
Let me just start out by saying, let's just say it, every January we swear this year will be different, right? Different habits, different energy, different results. But if we're being honest, most of us are waking, or walking, not waking, are walking straight into January doing the exact same things we did in December, just with a new planner or

just slightly higher expectations, if you will. If you're like me, I have like a thousand planners and I religiously do not use any of them. I will be on a kick for maybe a week and then I... it just falls off, right? So I love planners though. Like if anyone gifts me a planner, it's like...

I feel amazing like this is gonna change my life. And it never does. But I think it's going to. So the excitement is there and the motivation is there, but motivation is fleeting. so the theme of this episode, and like I said, this is something that has just come up in my life recently that I've repeated. I'm like, this applies to career, this applies.

to personal life, this applies to friendships, and really it is basically that the definition of insanity, if you think about, now stick with me here, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And while I don't love the word insanity,

I don't love calling people insane. I mean, we are insane if you keep repeating the same things over and over again. just the although I don't love the word, I do love the mere it holds up because this episode isn't about shaming you for past habits that you have. It's about waking up to patterns that are quietly running your life and choose a hell yeah.

Elyse Bushard (04:52.075)
hell yes way forward instead. And first, to break this apart, the real reason why resolutions fail is not because you're lazy. And here's the truth that no one puts on their vision board, is that most resolutions fail because they're focused on outcomes, not patterns. We say things like,

I wanna feel more confident. I wanna be healthier. I want to make more money. I want a better job, relationship, body, mindset, blah, blah, blah, blah. But then we keep avoiding uncomfortable conversations, saying yes when we mean no, hitting snooze instead of moving our body in the morning or whenever, overworking and under recovering, waiting to feel ready, quote unquote,

before taking action. So of course nothing changes, right? I just read you off like you want to do all of these things, but you're not willing to back it up with the actions that it takes. So of course nothing changes. You don't get a new result by wanting something harder. You get a new result by doing something different, even when it's inconvenient.

And where this shows up, let's make this personal, okay? So like, let's say you keep dating the same type of emotionally unavailable person, or you stay in the same job you complain about every Sunday. You ignore your intuition because it feels safer to stay small. You treat your body like an afterthought and expect energy.

And then you say, why does this keep happening to me? That's not bad luck, which we usually think. It's a pattern asking for your attention. And patterns don't break, you guys, with motivation. They break with new choices and action. I'm gonna say that again. Patterns don't break with motivation.

Elyse Bushard (07:18.27)
They break with new choices and action. So here's a scenario of how this could play out at work. This one might hit hard, it hit hard for me, but if you don't speak up in meetings, for instance, or you over deliver, but you under advocate.

and you say, I'll wait until I'm more confident to do that. And you hope someone notices instead of asking for what you want. Is you can't expect a different career outcome by doing all of those things. Your talent is not the issue. You're all very talented. It's your habits around visibility, boundaries, and courage that need to change. And...

Confidence, for instance, isn't a personality trait. It's a repetition habit. I think I made an entire episode, if I remember right, on how confidence actually isn't something that you are born with. It just literally is built from putting the reps in. And that's what that means. So taking all of that into account.

Here is the hell yes shift that I want you guys to make heading into the new year. Is stop asking what do I want this year? And start asking what do I need to do differently, consistently to become him or her? Because hell yes habits aren't about doing everything.

They're about doing one brave different thing on repeat. so different could look like going for a walk instead of scrolling, speaking up even when your voice shakes and you're scared, leaving earlier instead of burning out, choosing progress over perfection, because perfection doesn't necessarily exist.

Elyse Bushard (09:40.954)
or making a decision without overthinking it for six weeks. When you could have just made the decision, found out if it worked, made another decision, because it's all about putting in those reps, right? And different, this isn't easy. It's gonna feel uncomfortable at first. But that uncomfortability is how you know it's working, guys. And that,

doing the brave thing, the different thing on repeat, it's gonna feel awkward and uncomfortable. But that's how you know that it's working and that you're actually moving the needle forward. So diving into this a little bit deeper, if you think about it, here are three questions to break the loop that we often get stuck in. And if you take nothing else from this episode,

jot these down and reflect on them, like either on your walk, on your drive, or like pause me and think about these things. Number one, what result do I keep wanting but not changing my behavior for? So whether that be in my instance, I keep wanting better health.

and I'm getting closer because I'm being more consistent, but I know that there's things that I can improve upon that I want to do more consistently because they make me feel better. And I know that. And so that is a result I want is I want to be healthier, but sometimes, and this isn't gonna be perfect, I don't make the right choices. But why am I making those right choices? See, these are all the questions.

and it's almost like five whining, but what result do you keep wanting but not changing your behavior for? That's number one. Number two, what am I doing on autopilot that's keeping me stuck?

Elyse Bushard (11:58.896)
Number two, what am I doing on autopilot that's keeping me stuck? This can be things like if you want to work out in the morning but you keep pushing the snooze button so then you don't have time because then you go, you have to go to work or if you work from home you have to open your computer at a certain time and if you don't get your workout in you can't shower and be ready for the day and all the things because you keep hitting your snooze button.

So what are you doing on autopilot that's keeping you stuck? Number three, what is one hell yes habit you can commit to for the next 30 to 90 days? I say 30 because it takes about 28ish to build a habit, but 30 is great, 90 is even better because by 90 you will start looking different. I always say,

like looking and feeling different. You start feeling, like you start forming the habit at 30 days, you start feeling the results at 60 days, and you start seeing and feeling the results at like 90 days. But what is one hell yes habit you can commit to for the next 30 days related to that? Not forever, I'm not saying forever.

I'm also definitely not saying perfectly, just long enough to interrupt that pattern. And if you do that with multiple goals you have in your life for 2026, like this is a great like fast exercise you can think about related to your goals. And usually I like prioritize it based on like what my

top four priorities are in my life. And for me, that's my family, friends, work, and my health and wellness and all of that entails. Also my finances. So I think friends and family could be like one square for me. Again, this is me. So this might be completely different. I don't have kids.

Elyse Bushard (14:17.7)
I'm sure your kids are probably in that quadrant and family and, like, I think my finances are also a big focus for me in 2026. I need to get that under control, pay off some debt, like to actually feel like I can breathe there. But like, that's an example. And then I would go through these questions, like what are my number one part? And don't like, cause you could,

You could also overdo this. like, just stick with one thing. What is your number one priority that you wanna focus on? Go through those questions. Then if that feels like doable and okay, maybe add one more. But like, try to focus on one or two shifts in the first 30 days. And then we stack on more because you've already got those two, so you stack on more. Again, not forever.

not perfectly and just long enough to interrupt the pattern that you've created. To go off of that is why I want to talk about why small changes create big shifts and I've touched on this in other episodes but you don't need a full identity overhaul.

And now that we're getting into the new year, people talk about resolutions and like they want to change 50 million things in their life. And that will only last even for a very disciplined person for only maybe a couple weeks. That's why you see, you know, the rush of people in the gym January 1st, and then it just like declines. Like,

even days after that. But you don't need a full identity overhaul in the new year. All you need is one better morning habit, one clearer boundary, one honest conversation, and one decision you've been avoiding. And momentum doesn't come from motivation. It comes from evidence and proof.

Elyse Bushard (16:36.41)
that you're doing it and that confidence that you're building when you keep promises to yourself. So every time you do something different, your brain goes, maybe I am capable of change. And it keeps going because you keep those promises to yourself. And that, my friends, if not sounding redundant, is a hell yes habit because it makes us feel good.

And yeah, so if this year feels important, if you know you're meant for more in this coming year, hear this, nothing changes unless you change something. I'm gonna repeat that. Nothing changes unless you change something.

And that goes back to that definition of insanity that we started the episode with. And no, it doesn't have to be loud or dramatic. It just has to be intentional. Pick one habit, do it differently, and watch how quickly your life responds.

And I wish you all like, amazing new year. If this episode hit in the right way, send it to the friend who keeps saying like, this is my year and makes a bunch of resolutions as a reminder that it doesn't need to be this big overhaul. And to help them actually make it true. And as always,

Choose the habits that make you say hell yes to your life. Cause that's what's important friends. I love you all. Thank you for listening and subscribe in Apple. If you like this podcast, like the only way it gets spread to other people is through you guys sharing it through your reviews. Review it on Apple, on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Elyse Bushard (18:52.581)
And thank you. Thank you again. This will be my last episode of 2025. Look out for a new intro coming soon. I don't know, I might release another episode this week too. Don't quote me on that because you know how that works with me, but I promise to be there for you a little bit more in 2026. And let's make this the best hell yes life year ever.

together and also fall forward, fall back, fall forward together and I'll be here for ya. DM me if this resonated and let's make it the best year ever.