A few years ago, I found a journal from 2017. The goals I'd written? I was still writing them. Different year. Same list.

That moment changed everything — because I finally realized this isn't a discipline problem. It's a foundation problem.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the three questions you need to ask BEFORE "what's my plan?" — and why skipping them is the reason your goals keep dying.

In this episode:

• Why the same goals keep showing up year after year (and it's not what you think)
• The difference between relief goals and resonance goals — and why one drains you while the other fuels you
• The three questions that have to come before strategy
• A client story that might sound uncomfortably familiar
• What's actually possible when you build on a solid foundation

Memorable Moments:

"Relief goals run FROM pain. Resonance goals run TOWARD purpose."

"Her soul hadn't been blocking execution because she was undisciplined. It was protecting her from building something she didn't actually want."

Resources mentioned:

• Breakthrough Blueprint Quiz: https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint
• You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Connect with Anik:

• Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Next Episode: When Everything's in Place But Nothing's Moving (January 12)

For six years, Mattanja Lennings tried to fit into a box that was never hers.

She shaved off parts of herself. Followed every rule. Did everything "right" — Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, classical opera training.

And she lost her joy. Her spark. Her reason for singing in the first place.

Until her spirit whispered: "Go paint."

She went to the dollar store. Bought some supplies. And started creating again — this time, with zero rules.

Now she sells paintings for five figures. Not because of strategy. Because she followed her intuition instead of the industry.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How six years of "doing everything right" led to complete emptiness

• The moment her spirit whispered something that changed her path

• Why not knowing the rules became her biggest business advantage

• The Hathor story: when a painting told her to charge €3,333 (and she'd never sold above €200)

• How to expand your nervous system to hold what your intuition already knows

• The question to ask yourself: What's YOUR opera?

About Mattanja Lennings:

Mattanja Lennings is an artist, former opera singer, and mentor from the Netherlands. After six years of classical training left her empty, she followed her spirit to painting — and built a business selling work for five figures without ever learning the "rules" of the art world.

Connect with Mattanja:

• Website: https://www.mycosmicdreams.com

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattanjalennings/

Connect with Anik:

• Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Resources:

• Your Breakthrough Blueprint (Free Quiz): https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint

• You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Memorable Moments:

• "For six years, I made myself smaller and smaller to try to fit in the box. In the end, I did not fit and I had completely lost myself." — Mattanja Lennings
• "Every year you stay in a box that isn't yours, it gets harder to remember who you were before you started performing." — Anik Malenfant
• "The goals aren't the problem. The foundation is." — Anik Malenfant

If this resonates: Leave a review and tell us — what rules are YOU following that you never actually agreed to?

The Pattern to Leave Behind in 2026

I snapped at my husband over something small. And what came out of my mouth showed me a pattern I'd been running for years.

"I know we joke that you guys can all just access my brain — the family cloud — but I'm exhausted. I'm out of bandwidth."

He didn't see me juggling four calendars. The meal plans. The bedtime routines. The constant "Mom, where's my..." Managing my team while holding the vision for my business. I was the cloud for my family AND my business.

Before you set a single goal for 2026, you need to see what patterns you're dragging with you.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The moment I realized I'd made myself "the family cloud" — and what it cost me

• Pattern #1: Hyper-Independence — why "if you want it done right, do it yourself" is keeping you stuck

• Pattern #2: Conditional Permission — the "once/then" trap that sounds like wisdom but keeps moving the goalpost

• Pattern #3: Time Scarcity — why it's not ambition, it's self-abandonment

• The questions that help you work with patterns (without adding them to your to-do list)

• My challenge for you before the new year

Featured Moment:

"I gave myself maybe sixty seconds of satisfaction before my brain kicked in: 'Okay but what's next? You're behind on this other thing.' Sixty seconds. That's all I allowed myself. And I remember thinking: If I can't celebrate this — if I can't let this land — what's any of it for?"

Connect with Anik:

• Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Resources:

• Your Breakthrough Blueprint (Free Quiz): https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint

• You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Memorable Moments:

• "I know we joke that you guys can all just access my brain — the family cloud — but I'm exhausted. I'm out of bandwidth."

• "He didn't know it, but he'd just thrown a match into a pool of gasoline."

• "Hyper-Independence is dangerous because it works."

• "That 'once/then' language? That's the tell."

• "It's not ambition. It's self-abandonment."

• "You cannot change what you refuse to look at."

• "2026 will give you exactly what you allow."

If this resonates: Leave a review and tell us — which pattern hit you in the chest? We read every one.