Lock In Before 2025: Stop Negotiating With Your Weakest Self for Lasting Health Transformation

Stop Negotiating With Your Weakest Self

Lock in before the year ends by answering this uncomfortable question—which version of yourself are you negotiating with?

Not "what are your goals" or "what do you want to change." But who are you compromising with when you say "I'll start Monday" or "just this once" or "I'm too tired today"? Because here's the truth most wellness advice won't tell you: You can't transform your health while negotiating with your weakest self. And as a physician who's spent 15 years watching people compromise their way into chronic disease and broaden the gap of decreased motivation to make sustainable changes, I'm here to tell you—it's time to lock in your wellness identity with a year-end audit that actually sticks.

The Three Versions of Yourself (And Why Only One Creates Lasting Health Transformation)

Before the year ends, you need clarity on 3 distinct versions of yourself that show up in your wellness journey:

1. The Version You're Compromising With 

This is the you that says "I've had a hard day, I deserve this." The you that skips the workout because you're "too busy." The you that knows better but chooses comfort over commitment. There's no judgment here—we all have this version.

But here's the problem: every compromise with this version of yourself is a vote for staying exactly where you are.

2. The Version You're Negotiating With 

This is the trickiest one. This is the you that bargains: "I'll eat well Monday through Friday and indulge on weekends." "I'll start after the holidays." "I'll do 20 minutes instead of 30." Negotiation feels like progress because you're doing something. But lifestyle transformation and mindset mastery don't happen in the gap between your intention and your excuses.

Stop negotiating with your weakest self—it will always win the argument.

3. The Version You're Committed To 

This is the you that shows up even when it's inconvenient. The you that chooses presence over perfection. The you that understands wellness identity isn't built in motivation—it's built in moments when motivation is absent and you show up anyway.

This version doesn't compromise or negotiate. It decides and acts from alignment, not convenience.

Why Most Year-End Health Goals Fail (And How to Lock In Your Wellness Identity Instead)

Here's what I see in my lifestyle medicine practice every January: people set goals based on who they want to be, but they're still operating from the identity of who they currently are. You can't create health transformation from an identity that's still compromising and negotiating.

Research in behavioral psychology shows that identity-based habits—"I am someone who prioritizes my health"—outperform goal-based habits—"I want to lose 20 pounds"—by over 60% in long-term adherence. Why? Because goals are external targets. Identity is who you become in the pursuit.

The Year-End Identity Audit: 3 Questions to Lock In Your Health Transformation Before 2025

Before you write another goal list, answer these three questions with brutal honesty:

Question 1: Which version of myself am I compromising with most often?

Name the specific behaviors. "I compromise with the version of me that prioritizes everyone else's needs before my own health."

"I compromise with the version that uses stress as an excuse for poor lifestyle choices."

Start with settling in the awareness as the first step in your wellness identity transformation.

Question 2: What am I negotiating that I need to stop negotiating?

Where are you bargaining with yourself? "I'll start Monday."

"Just this one time."

"I'm too busy right now."

Stop negotiating with your weakest self. These negotiations are permission slips to stay stuck.

Identify them. Name them. End them.

Not next week. Not January 1st. Today. The version of you committed to health transformation doesn't wait for perfect conditions. They create conditions through taking committed action. What's one decision this version of you makes today that the compromising version wouldn't?

Lock In Before the Year Ends: Your Strategic Action Plan

Here's your year-end health transformation strategy:

Step 1: Complete the Identity Audit 

Answer the three questions above. Write them down. Be ruthlessly honest about which version of yourself you've been operating from.

Step 2: Declare Your Non-Negotiables 

What are the wellness practices you will no longer compromise on? Not "I should" or "I'll try"—what are you committed to?

Example: "I am someone who moves my body 4x/week, no negotiation."

Step 3: Create Identity-Based Rituals 

Instead of goals ("lose 20 pounds"), create identity rituals ("I am someone who nourishes my body with intention"). The behavior follows the identity, not the other way around.

Step 4: Build Accountability Structures 

Join our community. Work with our consulting firm. Find the support that makes showing up easier than giving up. Wellness identity transformation doesn't happen in isolation—it happens in a committed community.

Speaking of community, I’d like to take a moment to mention my services as a medical consultant. At my multidisciplinary medical consulting and collaborations firm, my network and I are able to partner with organizations to transform wellness through evidence-based lifestyle medicine programs, strategic health initiatives, and program-based solutions. While I primarily work with organizations, I also participate in speaking engagements and event-based wellness outreach. Details can be found in the show notes. 

You can't negotiate your way to transformation. But you can commit your way there. Let's lock in before the year ends.

Which version of yourself have you been negotiating with that you're ready to stop compromising with?

Tell me in the comments or hit reply—your answer matters because it's the first step in your year-end health transformation.

Join the Before the Medicine Community Before 2025

Ready to stop negotiating with your weakest self and lock in the wellness identity that creates lasting transformation?

Join the Before the Medicine community and look out for the multidisciplinary medical consulting work we are doing within our network where we're transforming health through lifestyle medicine, mindset mastery, and strategic wellness planning. When you sign up, you'll be the first to receive:

• ✨ Exclusive lifestyle transformation frameworks from our consulting practice

• ✨ Early access to collaborative wellness programs designed for sustainable health identity shifts

• ✨ Year-end wellness planning tools to lock in your 2025 health transformation

[Join the Community Here] — Because your wellness identity deserves expert guidance that meets you where you are and elevates where you're going.

Remember: You can't negotiate your way to transformation. But you can commit your way there. Let's lock in before the year ends.

About the Author & Consulting Firm:

Dr. Akeira Johnson is a physician, lifestyle medicine and women’s health expert and founder of Beyond the Stethoscopes—a multidisciplinary medical consulting and collaborations firm specializing in preventive health strategies, wellness identity transformation, and evidence-based lifestyle medicine.

Dr. Johnson transforms wellness at three levels: guiding individuals through transformational content, partnering with organizations to reframe health equity access, and creating social impact through generational health literacy—empowering communities to master mindset and lifestyle shifts before medication becomes the only option.

If you're ready to stop negotiating with your weakest self, share this with someone who needs to lock in their wellness identity before 2025.

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Who is Dr. Johnson? 👩🏿‍⚕️ I am physician by day & personal growth implementation junkie who’s unsubscribed from rigid rules, cheering you on with wellness lifestyle tips, social storytelling, & practical ways to start exactly where you are on your journey outside of my office hours.

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