Five with Fry
Five with Fry is your go-to podcast for understanding conflict—where it comes from, why it shows up, and how to handle it with clarity and intention. On each episode, Dr. Jen Fry breaks down the moments we avoid, the reactions we default to, and the skills it takes to move through conflict without blowing things up or shutting down.
Five with Fry
51: We Don’t Need A New Me To Have A Breakthrough Year
We’re not doing “new year, new me.”
We’re doing new year, same person—just less exhausted and more honest.
2025 was a lot. And pretending it wasn’t doesn’t set you up for a breakthrough—it sets you up to quit by February. So in this episode, I’m talking about how to claim 2026 as a breakthrough year without tearing your life down to the studs.
This is a remodel, not a demolition.
We get specific about the small things that actually change how your days feel: booking the therapy appointment instead of thinking about it, looking at your receipts so money stress doesn’t live in the background, doing the dishes before bed so tomorrow isn’t already behind, and putting clean sheets on before you travel so you come home to something that feels like care.
We talk about why all-or-nothing resolutions fail, how micro-clarity keeps you steady when motivation drops, and what it looks like to start the year with guardrails—safer choices, smarter spending, and a bedtime that respects the version of you who has to wake up tomorrow.
This isn’t about becoming someone else.
It’s about practicing self-respect in small, repeatable ways that add up.
If you’re done with performative resets and ready for something that actually holds, this one’s for you.
And when you’re done listening, tell me: what’s the one small habit you’re committing to for your 2026 breakthrough?
Friends, welcome to Five with Friday, where five is the magic number. Whether it's five minutes, five questions, or anything that fits in five. I dive into the big topics that matter, sometimes alone and other times with a friend. From navigating sports, conflict, to family dynamics, travel tech, hard-hitting issues, and even politics. Nothing, and I mean nothing's off the table. This is where curiosity meets conversation, and we always sit at an intersection. I'm your host, Dr. Jen Fry of Gen Fry Talks. Let's get into it. Hey friends, welcome to the news episode of Five with Fry. I am the hostess with the Moses, Dr. Gen Fry. And y'all, holy crap. 2025 is about to be done. We only have a few more days. I literally cannot believe that. We have a few more days until 2026. And as I record this, I have to sit and realize that 2025 was a damn year. I feel like I hit every single motion, every single emotion possible, and even invented some new ones. 2025 was a fascinating, hard, messy, uncomfortable, demanding, frustrated, exciting, happy, sad. And whatever emotions there is year. And you know, many times we see people have the idea of new year, new me, and they want to start off January 1st with doing everything new. And then sometimes it means that they do nothing new because everything that they want to try to do is really, really difficult. And so I say all that to say that this I think has been a hard year for a lot of us. It's been emotional. It's been everything. And so to be okay, maybe with saying it's not necessarily a new year, new me. It's a new year and I'm gonna tiptoe into finding the ways that I need to to be better for myself. So it might mean that you're starting therapy. It might mean that every month you're gonna look at your credit card receipts. Yikes like me and not put it off. It might mean that you're gonna go to bed, but make sure the dishes are done first. Or it might mean that before you travel, you put new sheets on so you can come home to gloriously clean sheets. It can mean all these little small things are gonna help with the quality of your life. It doesn't need to be new year, new me, and you you're trying to do a complete overhaul of who you are. Because sometimes I then wonder, did you not like yourself in the first place? And to sit with maybe you didn't, which is why you want to make this whole new you, and what ways can you fall back in love with yourself? Because 2025 was a beast in all aspects. Who knows what 2026 is gonna look like? I don't even know if people are gonna have any happy new year parties. I'm gonna be sitting in my butt at the house, like looking around the corner, be like, okay, 2026, what you got for us, what you got. But like my friend Asha and I said, 2026 is gonna be the best badass year there is. Even though 2025 was hard and scary, 2026, I'm looking for you. I'm looking you dead in the eye and saying that 2026 is gonna be that breakthrough year. For me and my friend Asha, I hope it's gonna be that breakthrough year for you. And not a complete overhaul. You're not stripping it down to the studs, but what you're doing is maybe painting a few walls and putting some new fixtures up. So I ask you to be kind to yourself, fall back in love with yourself and say 2026 is gonna be the year of the breakout superstar, and that is gonna be you, my friend. So take care of yourself, make good decisions coming up because baby, I don't want 2026 starting out with you with a DUI. Don't do that to yourself. Make good decisions this week and be ready to be the breakout star for 2026. Well, friends, that's it for this episode of Five with Fry. You're dose of five insights, ideas, and inspiration. If you love what you heard, don't forget to head over to where podcasts are played to subscribe, share, and leave a review. Got a topic you want us to tackle? Drop us a message. We love to hear from you. You can come follow me on IG, Twitter, the TikTok at Gen Fry Talks, or join me on LinkedIn. Look for me at Dr. Gen Fry. Until next time, stay curious, stay bold, and keep the conversation going. See you on the next Five with Fry.