Why Strategy Alone Isn’t Enough to Achieve Your 2026 Coaching Business Goals | Ep.73
How to use Systems and Mindset to Follow Through on your 2026 Business Plan (Without Hustle or Burnout)
If you’ve made a plan for this year…
Set some goals…
Mapped out your strategy and action steps…
You might also have that quiet little voice in the back of your head asking:
“Okay… but will I actually follow through this time?”
You’re not alone.
I see this with clients all the time — and honestly, I’ve lived it myself too.
Because here’s the truth most people don’t talk about:
👉 Strategy on its own is not enough to create real results.
You can have a solid plan.
You can know exactly what you should be doing.
You can feel motivated and inspired…
And still find yourself overthinking, procrastinating, losing momentum, or feeling inconsistent once real life kicks in and the New Year energy wears off.
If you want 2026 to feel different — calmer, more grounded, and more sustainable — you need three things working together:
Strategy (your direction)
Systems (your support)
Mindset (your inner stability)
Let’s walk through how these actually work together in real life.
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Why Your Strategy Should Calm Your Nervous System (Not Stress You Out)
Before we even talk about productivity or execution, here’s an important question:
How does your body feel when you think about your plan for the year?
Not how you think you should feel — but what your nervous system is actually doing.
Do you feel:
Calm and grounded
Clear on what matters
Slightly stretched, but steady
Or do you feel:
Overwhelmed
Tight in your chest
Already behind before you start
Scattered or pressured
If your plan activates your nervous system, that’s important information.
A good strategy should create a sense of clarity, safety, and direction — not constant stress.
Yes, growth stretches us.
But your plan should feel anchoring, not punishing.
If your strategy feels heavy, unrealistic, or overwhelming, that’s usually a sign something needs simplifying — not that you need to push harder.
✨ Want Support Putting This Into Practice?
If you’re reading this and thinking:
“This makes so much sense… but I’d really love support actually building this in my business.”
That’s exactly why I created the Life-First Launch Kit.
The Launch Kit is a step-by-step program for new and early-stage coaches who want to:
✔ Clarify their niche and message so it’s easy for people to understand what you do
✔ Create a clear, simple first offer you feel confident selling
✔ Set up your socials and visibility in a way that feels calm and aligned
✔ Learn an authentic sales process (without scripts or pushy tactics)
✔ Build simple systems so your business actually feels easy to run
✔ Create momentum — without burning yourself out or hustling
It’s designed to help you move from overthinking and scattered effort into clear, grounded, consistent action.
Not by doing more — but by building the right foundations.
If you’re ready to stop spinning and start building your coaching business with calm, clarity, and confidence, you can explore the Launch Kit here:
And if you’re not quite ready yet, that’s okay too — this blog will continue to support you wherever you are in your journey.
How Simple Systems Help You Follow Through Consistently
Once you have your strategy, the next question becomes:
How are you actually supporting yourself to take action consistently?
This is where systems come in.
Systems are anything that remove friction and make follow-through easier. For example:
Habits and routines
Time blocking
Themed work days
Simple tools or automations
Calendar reminders
Accountability structures
In my own business, one of the most supportive systems I use is having themed days:
Mondays: Podcasting, deep thinking, planning
Tuesdays: Content creation
Mid-week: Coaching calls
Fridays: Light admin and weekly reset
This structure keeps my nervous system calm because I’m not constantly deciding what to work on. The plan is already holding me.
Your systems should match your energy and your real life — not someone else’s productivity formula.
Helpful reflection questions:
Do I work better with structure or flexibility?
When do I naturally have the most focus and energy?
Where am I relying on willpower instead of systems?
What would make this feel lighter and easier?
Small, simple systems done consistently always beat big complicated plans that never quite stick.
Why Mindset Quietly Drives Your Results
ou can have a great strategy and supportive systems…
But if your inner world is full of doubt, fear, and second-guessing, execution becomes heavy and exhausting.
Mindset shapes:
how you interpret setbacks
how safe growth feels in your body
how consistent you’re able to be
how quickly you recover when things wobble
And this is where a powerful concept helps explain what many new coaches experience.
The Dunning–Kruger Effect (Why Confidence Often Drops Before It Rises)
The Dunning–Kruger effect describes a very normal learning curve.
When you first start something new:
Confidence is often high
Excitement and optimism are strong
You don’t yet know how much there is to learn
Then, as you gain more experience:
You become aware of the complexity
You see your skill gaps more clearly
Confidence often drops
Self-doubt increases
This is where many coaches start thinking:
“Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
“Everyone else seems more experienced than me.”
“Maybe I’m behind.”
But nothing has gone wrong.
You’re simply becoming more aware and more skilled.
This phase often feels intense because:
You don’t yet have much proof of results
You’re putting yourself out there publicly
Your nervous system is learning something new
Your brain is trying to keep you safe
Understanding this helps you stop making normal growth discomfort mean something is wrong with you.
How to Step Into Your Future Coach Identity
One of the most powerful mindset shifts is learning to lead from your future self.
Imagine it’s the end of 2026:
You followed through on your plan
You built momentum
You grew in confidence and capability
You created meaningful results
Ask yourself:
How does that version of you think?
How does she respond when things wobble?
How does she make decisions?
How does she treat herself when progress feels slow?
How does she celebrate wins?
Then start gently practising being her now.
Not perfectly.
Not all the time.
Just intentionally.
This might look like:
Morning grounding rituals
Supportive self-talk
Visualisation
Music or movement anchors
How you structure your workday
How you regulate your nervous system
This isn’t fluffy — it’s nervous system training.
You’re teaching your brain that growth is safe.
A Simple Belief Exercise That Drives Results
Here’s a powerful check-in exercise:
On a scale of 1–10, how strongly do you believe you’ll achieve your goals this year?
Be honest.
If it’s not a 9 or 10, ask:
What would increase my belief?
Do I need clearer systems?
More support?
Smaller goals?
More mindset reinforcement?
Belief drives behaviour.
Behaviour drives results.
Revisit this regularly to recalibrate your support systems and mindset.
Hey There, I’m Leonie
I’m the girl who can’t sit still and loves a good life pivot. Ex-architect turned business owner turned business coach, and a UK expat living in New Zealand. I’m also a travel lover, recovering perfectionist, and life-first advocate. Here, I share simple, spacious strategies to help purpose-led coaches and experts launch, grow, and scale businesses that actually feel fun to run.
THE SPACIOUS BUSINESS BLUEPRINT
Discover the simple 1-page, 7-step roadmap to attract consistent coaching clients, create a spacious strategy, and build a business that works for your life — without the hustle or overwhelm.
