My 2026 Plan: Rebuilding After the Year That Almost Killed Me

Last February, I published my 2025 plan. Ten focus areas. Ambitious goals. Detailed strategies for the year ahead.

Two weeks later, I went in for a routine stress test that ended with triple bypass surgery.

2025 was supposed to be my year of growth—building my blog, growing my content, finally escaping retail work, finishing my house floors, improving my health. Instead, it became a year of survival. Seven months off work recovering from surgery. Watching my finances collapse. Returning to the same overnight Walmart job in September just to pay bills.

But I’m still here. One year post-surgery. Still working on those same floors in my house. Still trying to build something better.

This isn’t a victory lap. It’s an honest look at what went wrong, what went right, and what I’m actually focusing on for 2026—a year I’m grateful to see.

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### The Real 2025 Timeline

Let me tell you what actually happened.

#### Early 2025 (Before Everything Changed)

I published my 2025 plan in mid-February. I was working overnight shifts at Walmart (Wed-Sun, 5am-2pm), slowly building my blog and social media, still working on replacing floors in my house that I’d started back in 2023. Things weren’t great, but they were stable.

I had plans. Goals. Hope.

#### February 2025 (The Turning Point)

**February 13:** Went in for a routine stress test. Just a checkup. No big deal.

It didn’t go well. They told me not to go back to work.

**February 17 (Monday):** Heart catheterization. That went bad too. They called in another doctor.

**February 19 (Wednesday):** Triple bypass open heart surgery. Three vessels bypassed. Chest cracked open.

Everything stopped.

#### The Recovery Period (February-September 2025)

Seven months off work. No income except whatever disability I qualified for. Medical bills piling up on top of existing IRS debt, Missouri Department of Revenue debt, credit card debt.

Physical therapy. Cardiac rehab three times a week. Learning to walk again without getting winded. Watching my weight drop from 200+ lbs to 178 lbs. Adjusting to new medications. New routines. New limitations.

I tried to keep the blog going during recovery. Posted when I could. Wrote when I had energy. My Instagram and Threads kept growing slowly. But most of my ambitious 2025 goals? Dead in the water.

#### Post-Surgery (September 2025-Now)

September 2025: Returned to work at Walmart. Same overnight shifts. Same low pay. But I needed income.

The house floors? Still incomplete. Got the bedrooms done. Living room floor is down but needs finishing and staining. Kitchen mostly done but needs work. Still have bathroom and laundry room to go.

My blog? Growing but not making money. Instagram hit 6,900 followers. Threads hit 3,400. Blog posts published weekly (mostly). But AdSense earnings for the entire year? $0.84. Amazon affiliate sales? Zero.

Financial situation? Worse than before surgery. Considering bankruptcy just to breathe again.

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### 2025 in Review: What Actually Happened

Let me be honest about the wins and losses.

#### What Went Right (Small Victories)

✅ **Survived surgery.** Still here. Still breathing. That’s not nothing.

✅ **Completed cardiac rehab.** Showed up three times a week for months. Did the work.

✅ **Lost weight.** 178 lbs (down from 200+). Not how I wanted to lose it, but I’ll take it.

✅ **Maintained content during recovery.** Posted when I could. Blog kept going.

✅ **Grew my audience.** Instagram 6.9K (+growth). Threads 3.4K (+growth). Slow but steady.

✅ **Returned to work.** September 2025. Not ideal, but necessary.

✅ **House floors progressing.** Bedrooms done. Living room floor down. Kitchen mostly done.

Not a lot. But more than I thought I’d accomplish while recovering from open heart surgery.

#### What Went Wrong (The Honest List)

❌ **Blog income: $0.84.** Total AdSense earnings for the year. Brutal.

❌ **Amazon affiliate: $0.** Haven’t made a single sale.

❌ **Email list: 0 subscribers.** Still don’t have signup form working.

❌ **YouTube: Nothing.** Wanted to launch my channel. Didn’t happen.

❌ **TikTok stalled.** 746 followers, no momentum.

❌ **Website issues unresolved.** Shop page broken. AdSense messy. Start Here page has broken links.

❌ **House floors incomplete.** Living room needs staining. Kitchen needs more work. Bathroom and laundry room untouched. Can’t afford cabinets yet.

❌ **Finances worse than ever.** Seven months no income + medical bills + existing debt = disaster.

❌ **Still working retail.** Same Walmart job. Same overnight hours. Same frustration.

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### What I Learned From 2025

**You can’t plan for health crises.**
I had goals. Timelines. Strategies. None of it mattered when my heart said “nope.”

**Survival is an accomplishment.**
Some years aren’t about thriving. They’re about making it through. 2025 was a survival year. And I survived.

**Showing up matters more than results.**
I didn’t make money from my blog. But I kept posting. Kept writing. Kept showing up. That built an audience even when nothing else was working.

**Health is the foundation for everything.**
When your body breaks, everything else stops. Career, content, finances, hobbies—none of it matters if you can’t physically function.

**Slow progress is still progress.**
House floors aren’t done. But bedrooms are finished. Living room floor is down. Kitchen is mostly there. It’s taking years instead of months, but it’s happening.

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### My 2026 Plan: Three Priorities Only

I’m not making ten focus areas this year. I’m keeping it brutally simple.

**Three priorities. That’s it.**

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## PRIORITY 1: HEALTH (FOUNDATION FOR EVERYTHING)

**Current Status:**
– 1 year post-surgery
– Weight: 178 lbs
– Cardiac rehab: completed
– Energy: improving but inconsistent
– Level 10 rating: 6/10

**2026 Goals:**

✅ Reach 170 lbs by May
✅ Exercise 3x per week minimum (walking, light weights, consistency over intensity)
✅ Doctor checkups every 3 months (stay on top of heart health)
✅ Take supplements daily (fish oil, CoQ10, magnesium)
✅ Sleep 6+ hours per night (challenging with work schedule but necessary)
✅ Limit caffeine after 12pm (better sleep = better recovery)

**Why This Matters:**
If my heart fails, everything else fails. Health is non-negotiable.

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## PRIORITY 2: CONTENT & MONETIZATION (ESCAPE PLAN FROM RETAIL)

**Current Status:**
– Instagram: 6,900 followers
– Threads: 3,400 followers
– Blog: Published weekly (mostly)
– Income: $0.84 AdSense, $0 Amazon
– Email list: 0 subscribers
– Level 10 rating (Career): 4/10

**2026 Goals (90-Day Focus: Feb-May):**

**Content Consistency:**
✅ Daily Instagram/Threads posts (15-minute workflow at 12:30am)
✅ 1 blog post per week (Tuesdays write, Fridays publish at 8am)

**Monetization:**
✅ First Amazon affiliate sale by March
✅ $100/month blog income by May (AdSense + affiliates combined)
✅ 100 email subscribers by May

**Platform Growth:**
✅ Instagram: 8,000 followers by May (+1,100)
✅ Threads: 4,000 followers by May (+600)
✅ Blog traffic: 10,000 pageviews/month by May

**Website Fixes (This Week):**
✅ Fix shop page (broken menu link)
✅ Set up email signup form (Mailchimp)
✅ Adjust AdSense ads (better placement)
✅ Update Start Here page (fix broken links)

**Why This Matters:**
I can’t work overnight retail forever. My body won’t allow it. Content is my only escape plan. It’s not working yet, but it’s the only path I see to becoming my own boss.

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## PRIORITY 3: FINANCIAL STABILITY (STOP THE BLEEDING)

**Current Status:**
– IRS debt: significant
– Missouri Dept of Revenue debt: significant
– Credit card debt: growing
– Medical bills: overwhelming
– Income: Walmart paycheck (barely covers bills)
– Considering bankruptcy
– Level 10 rating (Finances): 2/10

**2026 Goals:**

**Immediate (Next 3 Months):**
✅ Consult bankruptcy attorney (yes/no decision by March)
✅ Track every dollar (budget app or notebook)
✅ Pay IRS/Missouri minimum payments on time
✅ Stop using credit cards (cash/debit only)

**Long-Term (2026):**
✅ Clear path to debt freedom (bankruptcy or payment plan)
✅ Build $500 emergency fund by May
✅ Bring in first $100 from blog/content by May

**Why This Matters:**
Financial stress contributed to my health crisis. I can’t fix this overnight, but I can stop making it worse.

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### What I’m NOT Focusing On (2026)

I’m cutting these from my plan:

❌ **House remodel** – Can’t afford it. Living room needs staining, kitchen needs cabinets, bathroom and laundry need floors. All on hold indefinitely.

❌ **YouTube launch** – Paused until Instagram/blog are profitable.

❌ **TikTok growth** – Paused. May delete or let it sit.

❌ **60 Before 60 bucket list** – Survival first. Bucket list later.

❌ **New hobbies** – No time, no energy, not a priority.

These aren’t bad goals. They’re just not 2026 goals. I’m learning to focus on what actually matters.

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### How I’ll Track Progress

**Daily:**
– 15-minute content creation (12:30am before work)
– Gratitude practice (3 things while making coffee)
– Supplements taken (yes/no)

**Weekly:**
– Sunday: Weigh-in, review follower counts
– Tuesday: Write blog post (800-1000 words, don’t edit)
– Friday: Edit + publish blog post at 8am

**Monthly:**
– Last Sunday: Update Level 10 Life ratings
– Review 90-day goals progress
– Adjust if needed

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### What Success Looks Like (May 2026)

If I hit my 90-day goals by May, here’s what my life looks like:

✅ **Health:** 170 lbs, exercising 3x/week, energy stable, heart healthy
✅ **Content:** Instagram 8K, Threads 4K, blog 10K monthly visits
✅ **Money:** First $100/month from content, 100 email subscribers, bankruptcy decision made
✅ **Mental:** Less stressed, more hopeful, clear path forward

Not perfect. Not rich. Not living the dream.

But stable. Improving. Building toward something better.

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### Final Thoughts

2025 almost killed me. Not from a heart attack—I didn’t have one. But from the reality of discovering I was walking around with blockages that could’ve ended me at any moment.

2026 is about rebuilding what 2025 broke—my health, my income, my hope.

I don’t know if I’ll hit these goals. I don’t know if my blog will ever make enough to quit Walmart. I don’t know if bankruptcy is the right call or if I’ll ever finish those damn floors in my house.

But I know I’m still here. One year post-surgery. Still showing up. Still trying.

If any of this resonates with you—starting over after 50, rebuilding after a health crisis, working toward freedom while stuck in a job you hate—drop a comment. I’d love to hear your story.

Here’s to 2026. The year of rebuilding.

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**Related Posts:**
– [My Unexpected Journey to Triple Bypass Surgery](#)
– [Level 10 Life: Physical Health](#)
– [Cardiac Rehab: What It’s Really Like](#)
– [My 2025 Plan](#) (for comparison)

**Follow My Journey:**
– [Instagram: @chriswhalen72](https://www.instagram.com/chriswhalen72/)
– [Threads: @chriswhalen72](#)
– [Blog: thisoldmanslife.com](https://thisoldmanslife.com)