As we step into 2026, hosts Kelly Bush and Kelly Metras are throwing out the rulebook on New Year’s resolutions and are inviting you to do the same.

In this episode, we talk about what it really means to live intentionally, without the pressure of outside expectations or performative “new year, new me” energy. Instead of chasing perfection, we explore the power of self-acceptance, authenticity, and choosing goals that actually align with who you are.

Kelly and Kelly break down a refreshing framework for the year ahead:

-one meaningful annual goal

-supportive quarterly intentions

-plenty of mini-adventures that bring joy, balance, and well-being

This conversation is your reminder that real transformation doesn’t come from hustle culture or social pressure, it comes from honoring your values, setting achievable goals, and living as your honest self.

If you’re craving a calmer, more aligned way to approach the new year, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways

You don’t need to change to be worthy. Self-acceptance is the foundation of growth.

Ditch overwhelming resolutions in favor of realistic, incremental goals.

Identifying and releasing unnecessary pressure creates space for clarity and peace.

Intentional living means balancing ambition with self-care and joy.

Regular self-reflection helps align your actions with your true desires.

Supportive relationships and environments are essential for personal and professional growth.

Listener Challenge

Before setting any goals for 2026, ask yourself:

What do I truly want, and what am I ready to release?

Start with one intention, and let the rest unfold from there.

Links & Resources

Website: www.bossyroc.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Lunchador Podcast Network

Check out all of the shows on the Lunchador Network at lunchador.org!

Joe Bean Roasters

Use promo code Lunchador for 15% off your order! https://shop.joebeanroasters.com

Foreign.

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Getting Real with Bossy.

We are your host, Kelly Bush and Kelly Metrus.

And happy new year.

Knew them.

I love it.

Yeah, New Year.

Knew them.

I am done.

Think.

I mean, there's things internally that I want to focus on, but I'm, I don't need to change.

They need to change if they want to stay in my life.

Yeah.

I'm just done.

The world needs to catch up with us.

I agree.

And that's for the listeners too.

You don't have to change yourself.

Yep.

New Year.

New them.

That is my.

Make sure.

I'm flabbergasted.

Yes, please.

2026.

I believe it's the year of the horse.

I don't, I mean, that hasn't started yet, but I don't remember what the horse means, but it's a lot.

You know, it embodies strength and speed and resilience.

And you know, horses don't change themselves.

They don't.

They live, they live unapologetically.

And you and I both have wonderful, of course, we both have wonderful childhood memories of horses.

We do.

So I'm ready.

I'm ready to be in the, in the year of the horse.

It's going to be a year I thrive.

Can you imagine if you walked up to a horse and you were like, you need to be a cat.

No one going to do that.

That horse would say, not happening.

Yeah.

New Year.

Near them men.

I just want to, I just want to share this cuz it's making me laugh.

This is not our puke pot.

This is actually a cooking pot.

But because we're going to burn things today, I literally have a pan like a pot on my lap.

I'm just sitting here with like a pot on my lap.

Which you would do if you had the flu, right?

And I'm like, no, this is so weird.

It's like I know I don't have anywhere to put it though, right?

Okay, let's get this show on the road.

Right.

So I know traditionally people focus on resolutions, but I watched this really wonderful video and if I can figure it out, we'll share it when we share this episode.

And it was instead of doing resolutions, you do one thing that you really want to accomplish this year.

And then four winning habits focus on one thing.

A quarter and what you want your year to look like.

So decide what you want your end of the year to look like and four habits to get there.

And then pepper in six mini adventures because there's really no way to get through a year, because life is difficult without having things to look forward to.

And get those things in the books.

Get them in your calendar so you have things to focus on and look forward to.

So when I was really preparing for this, I went through and what do I want my end of the year to be?

Do I want to.

To, like, who do I want to be?

Because I feel like I spent a lot of this year because this year was such a struggle with the economy and the hospitality industry and just physically with my leg and getting everything pushed back and the shingles and the dog and the.

And the.

And the.

It was just nonsense.

And I took a lot of people's opinions to heart and let them kind of shape who I ended the year with.

Like.

And I was like, I don't like that.

So I'm like, I'm gonna live.

I'm gonna be living unapologetically.

And that just felt very harsh.

So I'm gonna end up having my year of alignment.

So I love it.

I went through.

Figured out how I need to do that, and then it actually aligned.

I'm gonna use a line a lot, so this can be a drinking game for you guys listening at home if you want, but it aligned with how I want to do things with business, too, because it also comes into business especially, I feel like, you know, if you're doing retail or hospitality, something that you're putting so much of yourself in, you know, people have a lot of opinions, and they are really.

They love to share that, and I get caught up in it, and it's very hard not to.

And when you take over places that have been big businesses before, you know, I'll post something about our place.

And, like, I love the reunion.

I'm like, yeah, who didn't?

But that's.

That's amazing.

And they've also sold it and move on.

So I take a lot of that stuff to heart, and I'm like, I'm not going to do that anymore.

And so I really want to focus on that.

So the first thing I did for business is we created these kind of, like, business manifestos, and we posted them yesterday, and the response was incredible.

And it was just really like, this is.

It's a new year.

We just kind of want to re share who we are, to put it out there for us personally, you know, for Don and I to remember who we are and why we started this.

And then for our customers and anybody who maybe hasn't been in for a while or hasn't been in yet.

And then, because our next step is we need to make sure that staff are on board and make sure they're understanding who we are because they're delivering our message too.

So that was kind of step one for, for what we're doing to get myself to this year of alignment.

So that's, that's kind of how I'm.

I'm handling not doing resolutions this year, and I can go through it all if you'd like.

Well, I just hate resolution because it's such a definitive thing and it's so much pressure.

It's just another thing on your to do list.

No, you have goals.

What are the things I want to work towards?

So it's not a resolution.

So you're saying on New Year's Eve, I'm setting forth this resolution, and then January 1st, the pressure to get that done is so overbearing that most of us give up within two weeks because we're like, holy shit, never gonna happen.

Small goals, man.

Small girl goals.

Goals.

So what is reframing stuff?

Like, I'm not gonna prove.

I don't have anybody prove anything.

And like that I'm like, I'm not trying to prove anything.

I'm really just trying to stop arguing with myself.

So if I can stop arguing with myself, then I can feel like I will get to this point of living in alignment.

So, like, my first step, the first habit is this self permission.

And if I can't live in peace, I'm going to constantly be like, policing myself.

So when things come up, if I'm feeling anxious, am I allowed to feel it?

Am I allowed to want it?

Am I allowed to choose myself in this moment?

So, so this is, for me personally, if I can do that and sit in that moment and not have.

It's not.

And you know what?

I read this somewhere a really long time ago.

The voice that you hear most in the world is the one that you listen to most and it's your own.

So whatever you're thinking in your head, that's the voice you hear the most often.

It's not your parents, not your kids, it's not your best friend, it's not your spouse, it's you.

So you need to really think about what you're putting forward to yourself.

Right?

So like those are the thoughts that you're going to live in and that's how we end up in these spirals and you know, laying on our floor supine.

Right, Exactly.

Number two, so once I accomplish that in my quarter one, I'm gonna start like looking at those pressures and removing them.

So is pressure coming from me?

Is it coming from the past?

Is it coming from fear?

Is it somebody else's expectations?

And then like naming that and so kind of some examples of that, like these deadlines that I'm constantly putting out there, I do it all the time, like I gotta get this done by this time and guess what?

It never happens.

And I constantly push it back because they're all self employed, they're all self imposed and then they self implode.

So they're all self imposed and then I just continue to move it.

So these pressures are, they're not real and I need to kind of, when I'm feeling these pressures, like I need to get better about prioritizing and start actually creating habits and how to actually like see these challenges and take them step by step and, and identifying like what that pressure is and where it's coming from.

Because another one of my, my, my goals is to get back into therapy and help my therapist out a little bit with that.

I was going to say your therapist is going to be so proud of you.

I know she's gonna be so proud.

But what that will look like when I can achieve those I'm hoping is kind of slower reactions and better decision making, fewer stress based decisions and being a little bit more grounded.

Number three, when I achieve all that is, that's when I'm going to be able to stop kind of over explaining my choices to other people but more importantly to myself.

And this is kind of where the self acceptance is going to hopefully start.

Quarter three, maybe it'll come earlier.

Who can say, oh, it's going to.

Be next week, Kelly, and we know you're amazing and we're going to all send our energy to you to remind you how amazing.

Thank you, thank you.

But just stop over explaining myself and just fewer justifications, short answers, and just being more calm in my certainty, because I know what I'm doing, and I know pretty much that I'm going in the right direction for my future.

And I don't need to keep explaining to myself.

So after I've achieved those first two goals, I'm going to be able to do that.

I'll have this confidence without defensiveness, less anxiety around feedback, which is.

I'm so looking forward to that and a stronger sense of self.

And then my fourth one is choosing peace on purpose.

Ooh, Peace on purpose.

And what that will look like is letting things go, not responding, just saying no, trusting my team, going home early.

I think we talked about it.

I forget what episode it was.

That just being there isn't leadership.

Just being.

Being present, being at work.

It's not active leadership.

And I need to use my time, utilize my time better.

Why I want this to be my goal, because peace shouldn't be passive.

It should be intentional.

And I want this to kind of be where I.

Everything that I've worked on all comes out in the end to emotional steadiness, self trust, and a calm confidence that doesn't need validation.

Calm confidence.

And we're going to pause really quick.

This is perfect timing because you got to the end.

Yes, baby.

Harper says hi, everyone in the podcast.

And, yeah, we're off of school still, so.

Hi.

Thank you for my.

For.

She was one.

I first.

Might be my second.

Happy New Year.

Oh, really?

I didn't text anybody.

I got a little tipsy that we watched Stranger Things for so long.

Because.

We had to catch up.

We hadn't had time to watch the two previous episodes.

So Aaron and I started early and made snacks and had a drink.

And then, you know, I'm a lightweight these days, so I think I had three cocktails over the course of, like, eight hours.

So.

Right.

My mom's birthday is New Year's Day.

So we did the phone call.

Happy birthday.

And then I was like, done.

I was like, okay, good night.

Come out.

It's okay.

I heard from Harper.

It was wonderful.

I feel so bad now.

No, don't.

No, it was wonderful.

It made my day.

Or night.

So I do love your resolutions because I was reading up on where New Year's comes from because we were going to do this episode, and I was like, I wonder if I can find anything.

And most cultures and religions base it around, you know, things like the lunar cycle or the equinoxes or the Vern crap.

I'm a really Bad witch.

But the current calendar, January, I believe it's Roman, is named after Janice.

And you guys, if I'm wrong, it's okay.

But I do know the Janice part.

I just don't know if it was Roman or Greek.

I'm sorry.

To my kids that are obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology because of Percy Jackson, they're going to tell me I'm right or wrong.

But, Janice, the important part is the two headed God of past and future.

Oh, okay.

So you enter January, you look into your past, you look into your 25, you see all of the things that you did not like, and you fast forward and what am I going to change and do different this year?

What am I going to get rid of and what am I going to keep?

And I think that your goals lined up perfectly.

And I love the quarterly goals.

I did the same thing.

I have four goals for each aspect of my life.

So it's, you know, little things I can look forward to each, each quarter.

And then I have time, you know, to install those new habits and put those new pieces in place.

Mine are a little bit more specific.

So, like, personally move my body.

I just need to.

I've been so busy.

Like, my body's moving, but it's busy moving.

It's not like peaceful moving.

It's not taking a walk.

It's not making time for myself to do a yoga or workout or I'm moving, but it's just I'm running.

I want to move my body in a purposeful and peaceful way.

I want to be present.

And still I'm trying.

You know, last year I spent a lot of time trying to change that busy mindset and slow down and just be in the moment.

And I feel like I'm in a place that I could really start doing that this year.

It's, you know, 46 years of changing habits.

So I think I'm in a place I want to see my family.

I don't want to just be with them.

I mean, we probably talk 15 minutes a day when it's all said and done, you know, everybody is constantly running, and I want to make intentional moments, and I want to date my husband.

We've been so busy running around.

And like everything else, it all kind of connects, right?

So I want to make those moments, events where we set, you know, things to look forward to, just like you were talking about, right?

I want to have things that we look forward to that are just the two of us and not a thousand other things.

Can we have a double date, too?

Though, yes, we could totally double date.

That counts.

We've been trying to work on a double date for, like a year.

I know.

Yeah, we need to do that for work, just to give people ideas, you know, At Selena's, I want to grow our catering 20.

And how am I going to do that?

Right.

So it broke it down into four different things.

I'm going to monitor our catering ads, I'm going to track our socials, I'm going to train up our staff, and I'm going to review all of our processes and procedures for Bossy.

I want to grow our podcast downloads by 50% and how to do that.

I'm going to build our YouTube and TikTok channels, updating the video cuts.

I'm going to get four ad sponsors, and I'd like to try to run our fall seminar program again.

And getting people to even stop and think about what they needed was so difficult that we didn't do anything specific this past year like we have in the past.

Right.

Because people were just all over the place and it was hard to get them.

So hopefully by fall, we can all be in a place where we know what we need and we can bring in speakers and seminars and workshops to work on those things, definitely.

So, yeah, so mine are a little bit more mathy.

I think both are important, though, and both work for each of us because we're different people, you know, and that what you're saying is now triggering things in my mind.

I'm like, yes, because I also, there's a couple things that I want to do.

And I'm guessing what I said has prompted some thought in you, because I think things work differently.

I spent a year of putting metrics into place, and it just frustrated me more.

And some of them just did not work out because it was just a year of chaos.

Well, and what I realized this year, like, with the processes and procedures and manuals and stuff that I want to go through while it's slow in the winter season, is that our business is very different from when we wrote those.

So we've updated them over the years.

Oh, we're using this POS system, or, oh, this process has changed and we update, like that chunk.

But we have a different business.

I need to write a new one.

So you need to.

I need to start over.

I mean, I won't start from scratch.

I'll use the template I have.

But I need to.

I need to acknowledge and appreciate where we are now so that we can move forward.

Right.

I like it.

Do you have any big goals for yourself for the year?

No, like, I just want to stop.

And now that I'm learning how to stop a little bit more now, I want to be intentional in what I'm doing when I stop.

You know, I want to work on my relationships.

Right.

I want to see my friends.

Yeah, I want to do that too.

Not just over.

Over zoom.

Not zoom.

Riverside.

Well, I was kind of thinking, like, I do have.

I did pick a one goal.

I mean, I do want to get something.

At first, I was like, I want a book.

I want a book.

I want a book.

And I was like, I just want something to publish.

And that could just like I wrote out when I was doing this.

This project or this process I went through.

Like, how.

Step by step, and it's more of like an 8, I think it's actually 10 steps for the business.

How I'm going to do all of these, you know, these four goals, but broke it down a lot more.

Like, I could turn that into something that I could then sell and publish.

So I. I don't want big goals anymore.

I want.

I just want ease.

I want.

I just want peace.

Yeah.

I want peace and alignment.

I'm not looking for anything big.

Yep, that's where it's at.

So do you want to burn some stuff we told everybody we were going to burn?

Ready?

La la, la, la, la.

I have my coffee cup.

Yeah, I got this from Amani, so it's world's best mom.

Oh, because you are.

So.

I'm gonna use my coffee cup because I feel like that can maintain some heat water in it.

Yeah, I got.

So we're gonna do a little of both.

We have.

I even have herbs.

You have herbs?

I have herbs.

We're doing an event, a live event.

Maybe we can.

We'll videotape some of it and post it.

Because when I am out for surgery, I am going to be working on that YouTube because I have plenty of time to do nothing.

So maybe we can post some cool videos and attach them to that because we are going to be doing some burning for our January event.

I'm going to Start with sage.

So which one is cleansing?

What are we going to cleanse?

Ooh, that's a good one.

They're all so good.

I'll be honest, Kelly, and I'm not proud of this.

And I learned.

I realized this over the holidays when I had some people talking about some family drama that I was, like, eating it up.

I got caught up in so much drama this year.

There was a lot of drama in family and work, friend group drama, and I was just.

I feel like I got caught up in all of it.

And not, like I was involved in it, but I was, like, invested in it.

And I'm like, this is not who I am, and I don't want to be there.

And it's.

I think, because other things are just so out of control and stressful in my life, I'm like, oh, feed me that drama.

Give me all the tea.

It's a nice escape.

I don't.

Yeah, I'm gonna use reality TV for.

That from now on.

I am not getting involved in the drama.

I love it ugly, and I don't like who I am when it become.

When that happens.

How about you?

So my first one is feeling like I'm not enough and acknowledging that I am enough.

And again, New year, new them.

It's not about me.

It's about y'.

All.

Right?

So I wrapped it.

I have mine on one on each side.

So I did what I want to get rid of and what I want to replace it with, and I wrapped it around a little sage, and we're gonna burn it.

See if you can hear the sizzle.

My kids are gonna be like, what's burning?

I have it over my pot.

Oh, gosh.

So my kids, when we do bond, like fires in the backyard, we take up herbs, and we wrap them together, and there's not a smoke detector in here.

Okay.

I just thinking the same thing.

So I'm also going to be fanning the air, so if you hear some background noise can be better than my fire alarm.

So we wrap things up, and we throw in the fire with a wish.

So we just pick out the smells that make us feel like we're gonna get what we want.

And we make a wish and we throw it into the fire, and it's just manifesting, right?

It's just.

It's putting.

Putting it out there.

And, you know, that's what I want my kids to realize.

All right.

I am saying goodbye to broken bones and hello to physical health.

Physical health.

Just being able to move without pain.

And I just.

I Don't know.

I don't even know what that's gonna look like.

I'm gonna use lavender for that.

Oh, nice.

So mine is that comparison that we do that leads to self hate, which probably leads to feeling like you're not enough.

And I'm attaching that to moving more because if my mental health is better, I'm not gonna listen to all your shit.

So I'm gonna.

That's right.

Burn my lavender.

And my intention.

I think a friend is getting dropped off at my house right now.

They're gonna be like, what is going on upstairs?

Don't worry about it.

That's my crazy.

I really like that.

I did you see, I sent you a link to somebody making a cake that was an actual dumpster and you were putting like stuff in their dumps.

It's like a cake.

And then they made like a little fondant.

It was like a cake like in like a.

Like a rectangle size.

And they made like a fondant dumpster to put around it so they.

They could put all their stuff in on like edible paper that they were able to burn.

I don't know.

I'm gonna find it if I can find it before our event and then make our own little dumpster fires.

You know what?

Can we set the cake on fire?

Kelly from Get Caked.

Can we work on a dumpster fire cake?

Yes, please.

I am saying goodbye to people who consistently take advantage and drain me to embracing the staff who are in my life that support.

I am wrapping time, which is cleansing to being on my phone versus being present.

Love it.

Because it's keeping me from being present.

Oh, that one burnt a lot.

That was an important one, I guess, right?

Can you guys smell it?

Probably not, huh?

Feel like I can.

It's fun.

I hope you guys at home.

We probably should have done a setup and you guys should have taken some time to get your own burning stuff.

So feel free to.

Maybe we'll put that in the show notes.

Yeah.

Pause, pause.

If we need to pause the.

Pause it and go get your own intentions.

And a nice heat safe pot.

I am saying goodbye to broken appliances and things that because so much broke, I had to do two roofs this year, an H vac, a walk in cooler, a new hood.

Like, this stuff is just insane.

But also which cost like we're six figures and well over.

But then when like I get an idea that's going to support our space and I jump to my credit card and we have so much stuff.

I'm going to utilize the stuff that we have and really just build intentional spaces and just really look around at what I have and in my home, too and stop, like, just trying to replace things and like, look around.

What do I have?

How can I set things up and be creative with the space that I have?

Yes.

That kind of goes with my.

So I'm doing be busy getting rid of and I'm going to be still.

I'm going to be accepting of where I'm at right now and be present in that.

And I'm going to wrap it around Rosemary clears negativity.

Protection going to protect my mind, protect my peace.

A horse is a horse.

I'm going to be a horse this year.

Yes.

All right, we need to find somebody who works at like, the equin equicenter or something.

A trip out there, right?

Oh, no, my computer's falling.

Oh, that feels good.

Your house smells better than mine.

It smells like burnt, burnt paper.

Mine smells like herbs.

Yes.

And nobody's yelled what's burning yet.

So nice.

So, yeah, it feels good to set those intentions, to say them out loud, to share them with somebody and then put them out into the world.

Yes.

Please share yours with us.

We would love to hear them.

Tell us your intentions.

Share and tag us at Bossy Rock.

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That would be amazing.

As Kelly has said many times, you know, sponsoring a podcast like this, especially if you're a small business owner, the majority of the people that are listening to this are small business owners or people that support small business.

So your, your message is getting out there.

Very targeted.

Very targeted.

One of the most targeted ads you can do, in my opinion.

So get out there, set your goals, be nice to yourself, give yourself space and time.

And let's take 20, 26.

By the horse, by the horse.

Horse's mane.

Now this image of like grabbing a mane and we're jumping on bareback and running through the field and running through the forest.

All right, well, we're going to take that image and we'll just, we're going to end it there.

So follow us, subscribe, reach out to us with your ideas.

If you want to be on the podcast if you want to sponsor the podcast at bossy rock.

Also bossyrock gmail.com like I said before, we're going to build up the rest of our socials, but right now we're mostly on Facebook and Instagram.

So be bold, be brave, be the boss.

Be the boss.

Yay.

Sam.