A new year often prompts people to reset their routines and think about living more healthily. Just over one month into 2026, we asked some of our partners and friends to reflect on what that reset looks like in practice – and to share the health priorities they’re focusing on for the year ahead.
The best health plans all start in the same place: habits you can sustain.
So we asked a simple question: What will you prioritise for your health in 2026?
In brief:
- Protect the foundations: sleep, movement, nutrition, downtime
- Mental fitness through connection: belonging, laughter, relationships
- Boundaries with tech: less noise, more presence
- Nature + equilibrium: time outdoors, less screen time, more balance
- Consistency over extremes: routines that survive real life
What they told us
Dr Karan Rajan: surgeon, educator and storyteller
This year, my health focus is simple: protect the foundations. My wife is pregnant, my new business is growing fast, and the mix of new-parent life and start-up chaos is a perfect recipe for forgetting the basics. Wellbeing isn’t the ambitious stuff, but the boring scaffolding that keeps everything else standing. If I can get these things right, everything else becomes easier.
- Protecting the foundations: recognising that new-parent life and a fast-growing business make it easy to neglect the basics
- Non-negotiable sleep: prioritising rest wherever possible, even within the constraints of life with a newborn
- Movement + fresh air: keeping activity simple, regular and outdoors where possible
- A non-heroic approach to nutrition: focusing on getting the foundations right (fruit and veg, fibre, protein) instead of restricting
- Defending downtime: stronger boundaries to protect recovery and mental space
Kaja Larsen: Global Media Sales & Brand Partnerships, Disney+ and National Geographic
For me, 2026 is about choosing steadiness over strain. I want to make small, sustainable changes that quietly compound over time, rather than chasing intensity or perfection. That means moving my body consistently, slowing my pace, and being more attentive to rest and everyday moments of ease.
- Movement without pressure: walking the dog, taking conscious breaks from my desk, getting outside at lunchtime – movement doesn’t need to be intense to be meaningful
- Slowing the pace: loosening my grip on perfection and spreading my to-do list across a week instead of forcing everything into a single day
- Noticing the good: being intentional about recognising small, positive moments, even when life feels routine
- Gentler endings to the day: getting into bed an hour earlier to read, unwind, rest my eyes from screens, and give my mind space to settle
Sir John Kirwan: All Blacks legend and mental health advocate
I base my mental and physical wellbeing on six daily pillars:
- Chill: reading, cooking, playing guitar
- Move: strength work for surfing + walking with my wife
- Connect: strict phone boundaries (no notifications; avoid screens before bed/after waking)
- Celebrate: something to look forward to every day
- Do: learning new things (especially music)
- Enjoy: slowing down, noticing small things, being present
Merlin Hanbury-Tenison: Founder, the Thousand Year Trust
My health focus for 2026 is more equilibrium. In rainforest restoration, equilibrium is never static – it’s constant adjustment. I want to apply the same principle personally:
- Touching grass: I’m focused on increasing my physical exercise to a challenging but manageable level, and on staying outdoors as much as possible. My children make it come to life – I absorb the awe they bring to rivers, trees and ancient oaks.
- Carving out more me time: supporting my psychological wellbeing by staying away from screens, writing and journaling, and spending more days in the rainforests of Bodmin Moor.
- Fuelling my body well: eating and drinking more intentionally, reducing alcohol.
Richard Whitehead MBE: Paralympic gold medallist, founder of the Richard Whitehead Foundation
After completing 20 marathons around the world in 2025, my focus for 2026 is consistent training and preparing for new challenges – supported by good nutrition, solid sleep and sustainable routines.
- Consistent training: preparing for new challenges after completing 20 marathons around the world in 2025
- Strong foundations: good nutrition, solid sleep and sustainable routines that support long-term performance
- Mental wellbeing, every day: prioritising mental health not just around big goals, but in the everyday moments that make up life
Dr Pamela Walker Geddes: Founding General Partner, THENA Capital
This year, my health focus is about balance rather than extremes – keeping things simple, staying connected, and remembering that wellbeing exists to support life, not compete with it.
- Health as a practice, not a project: injury rehab has reinforced that repeatable behaviours beat perfection
- Mental fitness through connection: family, friends, colleagues – community matters
- Movement for me, not metrics: sustainable cardio + strength, centred on enjoyment
- Happiness as a health outcome: noticing small daily moments of joy
The takeaway for 2026
These answers don’t point to dramatic change. They point to something more achievable – steady habits that survive real life: sleep, movement, connection, boundaries, time outdoors.
When those foundations are in place, balance becomes easier – even when the year gets busy.
