THE FINAL 100 🪩🥂 How Do You Want to Feel When the Ball Drops?
Hey hey, friends, and welcome back to The Self Care Sisterhood podcast.
We have officially made it to one of my favorite times of the year. Fall is beginning. The pumpkin drinks are flowing at Crave. Trot training season is here. The holiday conversations are starting. And this week, we are approaching one of those calendar milestones that always gets my wheels turning: the final 100 days of the year.
As of Wednesday, September 23rd, there will be exactly 100 days remaining in 2026.
And listen. I know that 100 is technically just a number. Nothing magical happens when the calendar reaches it. You can begin something on September 23rd, but you can also begin on a random Thursday afternoon in November.
Still, I have always loved a landmark. A new week. A new month. A fresh quarter. A birthday. The beginning of a season. Give me almost any reason to open a fresh page in my notebook and think intentionally about where I am and where I’m going, and I am there.
Landmarks help us lift our heads and look around. They give us a moment to notice where we are, acknowledge the road we’ve already traveled, and decide how we want to move forward.
Years ago, Rachel Hollis created her Last 90 Days challenge. It included her Five to Thrive practices, daily gratitude, and goal setting for 90 days straight. I loved the idea of using the final months of the year instead of waiting for January to care for ourselves again.
I’ve also created Final 100 pushes in my businesses and in my wellness journey. I love choosing something meaningful, creating a plan, and seeing what can happen when I give it my attention consistently.
You know me. I love a good challenge.
But I’m entering this Final 100 a little differently.
We just came out of our Reclaim Your Summer series, where we spent an entire season talking about living with greater awareness and intention. Last week, we talked about the fine line between caring for ourselves and controlling ourselves. So it would feel a little strange to follow those conversations with an intense 100-day challenge that asks you to optimize every waking hour, track twelve different habits, overhaul your life, and arrive on December 31st as an entirely new woman.
That would miss the point.
I want the landmark. I want the motivation. I want something meaningful to move toward. But I also want to remain a person while I do it.
I don’t believe the final 100 days need to redeem the rest of your year. They don’t have to compensate for the goals that stalled, the routines you lost, the things you didn’t finish, or the version of yourself you thought you would be by now.
These final 100 days are still your life. They are mornings and dinners and ordinary Tuesdays. They are work deadlines, school schedules, doctor’s appointments, family responsibilities, cozy evenings, holiday traditions, unexpected expenses, and probably at least one week when somebody in your house gets sick.
These days aren’t simply the runway to January. They are days we get to live.
So the goal of the Final 100 isn’t to squeeze everything we possibly can out of the days that remain. It’s to give those days our focus + attention.
The biggest question guiding all of this today is:
How do I want to feel when the ball drops—and how, then, must I live so that is so?
And before we go any further, I want to give you the entire framework we're going to use today because it is really simple.
First, we're going to decide how we want to feel when the ball drops.
Then we're going to choose one daily focus that helps us practice that feeling now.
We're going to choose one weekly focus that makes our daily focus easier to follow through on.
And then we're going to create monthly check-ins so we can notice what's working, what isn't, and make adjustments along the way.
That's it.
How do I want to feel?
What needs my focus each day?
How can I support my daily focus each week?
And how will I check in with myself along the way?
Let’s dive in.
1. DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO FEEL WHEN THE BALL DROPS
Imagine it’s December 31st. The ball is about to drop. You're looking back at these final months of 2026.
How do you want to feel?
Maybe you want to feel strong.
Maybe you want to feel confident.
Maybe you want to feel calm because this year has felt like one long sprint and you don't want to drag yourself across the finish line completely depleted.
Maybe you want to feel connected because you've realized you've spent a lot of this year getting things done but haven't spent nearly enough time actually being with the people you love.
Maybe you want to feel proud because there is something you've been saying matters to you that you haven't really given your attention to yet.
Maybe you want to feel present because you know how quickly these next few months can disappear into holiday prep and end-of-year work and buying and wrapping and doing.
Maybe you want to feel steady. Clear. Energized. Creative. Peaceful. Capable.
There isn't a correct answer. And you can absolutely choose more than one word if that feels right for you. Mine are:
Strong and confident.
I've spent a lot of this year rebuilding strength and taking really intentional care of my body.
And when I picture myself standing there on December 31st, I don't necessarily have a number I need to see on a scale or a specific physical result I need to achieve. I want to feel strong in my body. And I want to feel confident that I cared for myself consistently. That's my direction.
And I want to make this distinction because when we start with a traditional goal, our brains jump immediately to the outcome we want to receive:
Lose X pounds. Save X dollars. Finish X project. Run X race.
Don’t get me wrong. Those can absolutely be meaningful goals. But starting with the feeling underneath the goal gives us more information. Because after you ask how you want to feel you can ask:
What would help me practice feeling strong and confident during these 100 days instead of hoping I magically feel that way when I arrive at December 31st?
That's what we're really doing here. We're not choosing a feeling we want to earn 100 days from now. We're asking ourselves how we can begin practicing it in the life we're already living. And that takes us to our daily focus.
2. CHOOSE ONE DAILY FOCUS
Your daily focus is the one thing you want to pay intentional attention to because it supports the way you said you want to feel.
And I want to emphasize:
One.
It can be really easy to layer on all the things bc the things seem so small.
Drink 100 ounces of water.
Read ten pages.
Walk 10,000 steps.
Meditate.
Journal.
Take your supplements.
No phone before 8 AM.
Protein at every meal.
Bed by 10.
But I’m telling you…one thing done intentionally over 100 days is better than 100 things done perfectly once.
Choose the thing that would actually make a difference for you right now.
If you want to feel calmer, maybe your daily focus is creating ten minutes without your phone before bed.
If you want to feel connected, maybe it's having one phone-free meal with your family.
If you want to feel energized, maybe it's getting outside every day.
If you want to feel creative, maybe it's giving yourself twenty minutes to write or make something before consuming everyone else's ideas online.
And if you want to feel strong, your daily focus might look a lot like mine.
My daily focus for the Final 100 is protein.
I'm aiming for 120 grams a day. And I like this goal specifically because it isn't inevitable for me. Movement was actually my first thought when I started building this Final 100. I thought: Okay. Movement can be my daily focus, but when I really thought about it, that was too easy of an answer for me. Movement is already part of my life.
Protein? Protein requires my attention. 120 grams is a stretch for me. I have to think about it. I have to make intentional choices throughout the day instead of arriving at dinner and realizing I still need 70 grams of protein. Ya know what I mean?
And it directly supports the way I said I want to feel.
Strong and confident.
I'm strength training. I'm running. I'm asking my body to build and maintain muscle. Protein helps support the work I'm already asking my body to do. So that's where my daily attention is going.
And notice that I said I'm aiming for 120 grams. This isn't 100 days of checking boxes.
I'm going to miss. I know that right now. There will probably be days when I hit 120 easily. There will be days when I don't. There may be a day when I reach three o'clock and realize that I've basically survived on coffee.
When that happens, I notice.
Why was today harder?
Did I skip breakfast?
Did I not have anything easy available?
Did I get busy at the shop?
Did I choose meals that didn't have enough protein built into them?
Cool. That's information. I notice it and I make an adjustment.
So think about the feeling you chose. And then ask yourself:
What is one daily choice that would help me practice the way I said I want to feel?
That's your daily focus.
3. CHOOSE ONE WEEKLY FOCUS THAT SUPPORTS THE DAILY ONE
Now we zoom out one level so we can help make your daily focus a little easier. If that is what needs my attention each day, then:
What needs my attention once a week to help me actually do it?
That's your weekly focus. And ideally, your weekly focus makes your daily focus easier.
Mine became pretty obvious as soon as I chose protein — Meal planning.
If I want to aim for 120 grams of protein each day, I can't open the refrigerator on Tuesday morning and hope 120 grams magically appears in there. I need to think ahead. So once a week, when I'm planning our meals and making the grocery list, part of my job is going to be looking at the week through the lens of my Final 100 focus. Do I have breakfasts that give me a good protein start? What am I eating for lunch? What are our dinners? Do I have easy protein snacks available for the days I'm at Crave? Are there days when our schedule is different and I need to plan around that? Where are my gaps?
Because Daily Britt has a much better chance of hitting 120 grams of protein when Weekly Britt made sure there was actually protein in the house. I'm essentially making a Best Self Choice for Future Britt.
And your weekly focus can work the same way:
If your daily focus is spending ten minutes outside because you want to feel calmer, maybe your weekly focus is looking at your calendar on Sunday and noticing where those breaks realistically fit.
If your daily focus is writing because you want to feel creative, maybe your weekly focus is protecting a longer writing block on your calendar.
If your daily focus is spending intentionally because you want to feel financially confident, maybe your weekly focus is a Friday money check-in.
If your daily focus is connection, maybe your weekly focus is planning one date, family activity, phone call, or meal where you know you're going to have real time together.
If your daily focus is getting to bed earlier because you want to feel rested, maybe your weekly focus is looking ahead at your evenings and noticing where you've overcommitted yourself.
Your daily and weekly focuses should work together. The question becomes:
What can I do once a week that makes the choice I want to make every day easier?
Because so much of consistency has nothing to do with trying harder. Sometimes we simply need to make the thing we said matters easier to follow through on. And I think this is one of the biggest differences between having an intention and actually building your life around that intention.
I could write "120 grams of protein" on a sticky note and slap it on my refrigerator. Great. But if I didn't buy food that supports that goal? If I didn't think about breakfast? If I don't have anything easy to grab when I'm working? Then I've created a goal without creating any support for it.
Your weekly focus is where you create some of that support. One thing you can return to each week that makes your daily focus more possible.
4. CHECK IN MONTHLY
And finally, we're going to check in at the end of each month. I want you to put three check-ins on your calendar:
The end of October.
The end of November.
And the end of December.
And when you get there, come back to the question you started with:
How did I say I wanted to feel when the ball drops?
Then look at your daily and weekly focus and ask:
Is this helping me get there?
What's working?
What's been harder than I expected?
What am I noticing?
And what do I want to adjust for the next month?
Reflect so you can notice what’s going on and decide what you want to do with that information.
Maybe I discover that 120 grams of protein is easier when I eat a higher-protein breakfast.
Great. Keep doing that.
Maybe I notice that the weeks I don't meal plan are the weeks when protein becomes significantly harder.
That's useful information too.
Maybe I realize one of the foods I planned sounded great on Sunday and I am absolutely sick of it by Thursday.
Fine. 😂 Adjust.
Maybe you realize the daily focus you chose isn't actually helping you feel the way you hoped it would.
Adjust.
Maybe October is wildly different from December and the way you support yourself needs to change.
Adjust.
Everything is data. Your energy is data. Your schedule is data. Your responsibilities are data. Your progress is data. The days when things felt easy are data. And the days when everything went sideways are data too.
The purpose of these monthly check-ins is to ask:
What did I learn that can help me live the next month a little more intentionally?
Your monthly check-ins give you a place to notice when you've drifted and decide how you want to move forward.
MAKE YOUR FINAL 100 VISIBLE
Okay. Now you have the whole framework. And I have some homework for you.
I want you to get your Final 100 out of your head and into writing somewhere. I truly do not care what format you use. Open the notes app on your phone. Write it across a page in your journal. Make yourself a cute little mood board or card in Canva. Put it on a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Make it as simple or as creative as you want. It does not have to be pretty, polished, or worthy of posting online. But I do want it to become something you can actually see. Make sure to include:
How you want to feel when the ball drops…
Your daily focus…
Your weekly focus…
And space to check in at the end of Oct, Nov, and Dec…
That's it. Four lines.
I don't want this to remain a lovely thought you had while listening to a podcast and then completely forgot by next Tuesday. Writing it down turns a passing thought into an intention. And then put it somewhere you're actually going to return to it.
And I would also encourage you to share it with someone you love. Tell your partner. Send it to a friend. Talk about it at dinner. Because the people we share our lives with can't support an intention they don't know we have.
If your weekly focus requires an hour to yourself every Sunday, that's probably useful for the people in your house to know.
If you're trying to create more connection, invite somebody you love into that intention.
If you're trying to feel calmer and part of that means saying no to more things during the holidays, maybe that's worth talking about too.
This isn't about asking permission to care for yourself. It's about allowing the people you love to understand what you're trying to do. So:
Write it down.
Make it visible.
Share it with someone you love.
And then live it.
Alright. Let's bring this all the way back to where we started.
We have 100 days left in 2026. So ask yourself:
How do I want to feel when the ball drops?
Then choose one daily focus that helps you practice that feeling now.
Choose one weekly focus that makes the daily choice easier to follow through on.
And at the end of each month, check in.
That's the Final 100. These final 100 days do not need to prove that you used 2026 well. They are an invitation to live the year that remains. And I think that's the part I want us to remember most.
We aren't waiting until the ball drops to become strong or confident or peaceful or present or connected. We're practicing it on September 23rd. And September 24th. And some random Tuesday in October. And during a chaotic week in November. And in the middle of December when there are seventeen things left on the to-do list and somebody still needs a gift. We're practicing it in our actual lives.
And when we miss? We notice. We adjust. And we come back.
So here's your homework this week:
Decide how you want to feel when the ball drops.
Choose your daily focus.
Choose your weekly focus.
Put those monthly check-ins on your calendar.
Write the whole thing down somewhere you can see it. And then begin. We have 100 days, friends.
How do you want to feel when the ball drops—and how, then, must you live so that is so?
I love you so much. I'm forever and always rooting for you. And I will see you right here next week on The Self Care Sisterhood podcast. 🖤
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