Melissa Nicholson INTRO

MELISSA NICHOLSON: In Part 1 of Be Your Best Self: A New Year Reset, we talked about what you will leave behind, choosing your Word of the Year, and setting achievable goals. Today, we’re going to make sure those goals stick. We’re diving into the science of habits, the power of manifestation, and how to align your career with your purpose. This is where the magic happens.

Introduction

INTRO: Welcome to Job Share Revolution. The show about job sharing—a partnership between two people to bring two minds and skill sets to one full-time position. I’m Melissa Nicholson, former job sharer turned founder of the first U.S. job share company. But it wasn’t long ago that I felt like an utter failure at work and as a new parent. Job sharing was my game-changer. I reclaimed four days a week to fully engage in my life while my capable partner handled everything. Together, we achieved more than I ever could solo. Fast forward to many lessons learned to bring you the training and support I wish I’d had to change lives and the modern-day workplace. Let’s live life and slay work.

Melissa Nicholson

MELISSA NICHOLSON: Hey friend, it’s Mel. And I am so glad you’re here, and I am so glad you’re here for Part 2 of the Be Your Best Self: A New Year Reset.

Honestly, going through this reset each year has been super transformative in my life. And I am in my fourth year now of doing it, and sharing it with you makes it even more meaningful.  So, if you found Part 1 valuable and you know someone who’s looking for a thoughtful way to approach the new year, would you share this episode with them?  In Part 1, you have let go of what no longer serves you, chosen your Word of the Year, and set 1-3 meaningful goals that align with your values. That’s huge.

But here’s the thing about goals—they’re only as good as the systems you create to support them. And that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today.

First, we’re going to James Clear your year to build habits that actually stick. We’ll explore the science of manifestation, a bonus on Ikigai, and how job sharing might fit into your vision for a fulfilling career.

Go to workmuse.com/bestself. You’ll get the full workbook with all 5 reset exercises plus a bonus. And, you’ll receive emails to gently guide you through each exercise, on your timeline.

My Pro Tip is that you save Part 1 and Part 2, Episodes 59 and 60, to do the exercises at your own pace. And trust me, writing this stuff down makes all the difference.

So before we jump in, I just want to say, I get it, 2025 was exhausting. And so when everything external feels chaotic, the most personally empowering thing you can do is to build that inner foundation on who you are and who you want to become. I want to celebrate you for taking the time to do it. It’s a really big deal.

Okay, I’m so excited to jump into Day 4 of our Reset: Friend, we are about to James Clear Your Year with habits that stick.

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Day 4: James Clear Your Year – Habits That Stick

MELISSA NICHOLSON: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

You have probably heard that quote from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. As an entrepreneur, I live this every single day. It’s not magic—it’s systems. The same is true in your personal life.

 I am just not an all-or-nothing person. I do what I enjoy, and I do it moderately, but I try to do it consistently. For me, that’s yoga, that’s swimming, that’s hiking.

There is one habit I wanted to build that didn’t come naturally to me, that I’m still working on, to be honest: lifting weights. Using James’ framework was super important to helping me build this habit.

James identifies four key stages of habit formation, and for a habit to stick, it needs to progress through all four:

Stage 1: The Cue – This is the trigger that tells your brain to initiate a habit. You need to make it obvious.

Stage 2: The Craving – This is the motivation. And you need to make it attractive.

Stage 3: The Response – Or the actual behavior. Make it easy.

Stage 4: The Reward – This is what satisfies the craving. You need to make it satisfying.

So let me show you how I applied this to weight lifting.

The Cue: Tuesdays and Fridays at 6:30 AM. I set my workout clothes out the night before. We prep the coffee, and we’re ready to go. Everything is obvious.

The Craving: At level 51, I just want to be strong, and so that’s a very attractive motivation to me.

The Response: This is where I made it ridiculously easy. Mike drives—I just get in the car groggy with my coffee, I barely talk, we drive around the corner to the gym. It’s five minutes door to door. Easy peasy.

The Reward: is having my workout buddy. And Mike is my workout buddy. Twice a week, we’re together on a date. On a one-on-one date—for connection and accountability. And that, for me, is a very satisfying, wonderful reward.

I will say this habit was a harder one for me to build because I’m  just not a weights person, but it’s really important, so it’s one I want to stick with. So, doing it with Mike, doing it as part of a routine, I know it will, and I’m excited to get back to it. The way that I know that I can make this consistent is by having a system that supports the habit.

I’m gonna give you James Clear’s best tips for habits that stick.

Tip #1: Don’t be all or nothing. A habit must be established before it can be improved. Start small.

Tip #2: Small improvements over time lead to excellence. The 1% improvement made consistently—that’s what makes the difference. You’re not trying to change 100% overnight; you’re just trying to get 1% better every day.

Tip #3: Scale down your habits to make them achievable. Instead of “I’m going to run for an hour,” start with “I’m going to run for 20 minutes.” That’s achievable. That’s manageable and doable.

Tip #4: Know the difference between “being” versus “doing.” The goal isn’t to exercise more. The goal is to be someone who prioritizes their health. It’s all about identity, right? Like, it’s all about shifting that identity.

Tip #5: Your physical environment is a driver of your habits. I have seen this, for sure. 100%. You have to set yourself up for success, you know? If you want to drink more water, put a water bottle on your desk. If you want to work out in the morning, lay out your clothes the night before right next to you.

Tip #6: There is a moment each day that determines the rest of your day. Identify that moment and anchor your habits around it. For me, it’s those first few minutes after I wake up. What I do then sets the tone for everything else.

Tip #7: Your social environment matters. Join groups where your desired behavior is the normal behavior. Positive habits don’t work in negative environments. This is huge. If you want to be a runner, join a running club. If you want to eat healthier, connect with people who cook and share recipes.

James has two mantras that he personally uses, and they are such game-changers. I literally have these written up and right next to my workspace:

Mantra #1: “Don’t break the chain.” Try to do your habit every day. Build momentum. See how many days in a row you can do it.

Mantra #2: “Never miss twice.” We are all human. You’re going to miss sometimes, and you can’t totally beat yourself up over these things. It’s fine. Just don’t miss twice. Get back on track. It’s your get out of jail free card. I love it.

For James, he applied these to his newsletter. He committed to writing daily. Don’t break the chain. And when he did miss a day, he made sure he didn’t miss twice. That consistency built a massive, loyal audience that was ready when he launched Atomic Habits.

So, let me give you two real-life examples of habits that stuck—one from my husband Mike, and one from me.

Mike becoming a runner:

Five or six years ago, Mike didn’t exercise. I’d gently nudge him, and I’d just be like, “Hey, what if…” It was like, door-wall-door-wall…He was not going to even take one step out the door. Then we had this really wonderful weekend celebrating his parents’ 50th anniversary. His dad had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. And, I just remember there was a moment where his dad was sitting down, and he got up, and he was just, like, not stable on his feet. And he was fine, but I think that weekend was Mike’s wake-up call.

Forty pounds just kind of dropped off of him. Everything improved. And then, he ran a half-marathon. And it was the running club— that community became his tribe. And you need a tribe! A couple of years back, he ran the Austin Marathon for the very first time. And then last year, he ran a 50K trail race. Can you even imagine? Nine hours. On trails. With rocks.

But he didn’t start there; he started with one mile. One mile that he couldn’t even finish.

Think about how he checked all of James Clear’s boxes:

• He ran every single day. Consistency. If he missed a day, I don’t remember. But, if he did, don’t break the chain.
• He’d shrug it off, get back to it, and never miss twice.
• He started small—one mile.
• He tracked everything on his watch and his Strava app. That’s his system.
• He has his running club community—people who share his habit.
• He sets out his clothes, his socks, his shoes, and his coffee the night before.
• He identifies as a runner, not someone who runs. It’s that identity shift.

I think what we’re looking for is lifestyle changes, right? Like, with habits, you’re looking at lifestyle changes. So here is one that, if I look back at it, I did apply all of James’s atomic habits.

Me becoming a vegetarian:

Fifteen years ago, I actually bumped up into an infomercial late one night on PBS with Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He was doing case study after case study of all of these    patients who had transformed their health through his diet. People who went from like eight or nine medications to zero, reversed heart disease, reversed diabetes.

I was like, “What is going on?” Once he started identifying them, he would be like, “Oh, this person has been my patient for eighteen years, they went from here to there.” And then you would find out, oh, this person became his patient when they were like, you know, seventy-five, and they were in their nineties. And they were on no medications. They’d reversed their diseases.

And it was basically a vegan diet. I was so mesmerized that I ran out and bought his book “Eat to Live.” It was how to eat a plant-based, nutritionally dense diet. And once I knew this information, I just couldn’t unknow it.

I got vegan cookbooks because I didn’t know what to eat. I had four days off a week from my job share, thank God.

It actually created this entirely new life change for me. For the first time, I really started learning how to compost.

And then I started going to Boggy Creek Farm, a five-acre urban farm, every week. It became my happy place. I took my kids there on the days that I wasn’t job sharing. I got to know my farmer, Carol Ann, and she would teach me what to do with vegetables, even if I had never heard of some of these vegetables. She’d have recipes for everything. And I would walk the farm with my kiddos and the farm dog Buddy. And that became my weekly meditation.

If I look at how becoming a vegetarian slash pescatarian, maybe once a month, here’s how it checks off all the boxes for me:

• It was obvious—the farm was minutes from my home, and I went there every Friday.
• It was attractive—I learned to cook. I loved being at the farm. I loved learning about all of those vegetables.
• It was easy—it was a weekly routine.
• It was very satisfying—because I had all of this special one-on-one time with my son Sam who was just a little thing then. We loved going to the farm, petting the farm dog, visiting the chickens, picking out the vegetables, and connecting to the food.
• And I had community—I knew my checker, I knew my farmers, they knew me. They would teach me things. They would ask about my life. I would ask them about their lives. We knew each other. It was building a community around this healthy eating.
• And it wasn’t rigid—You know, I’m mostly vegetarian. Like I said, I’m occasionally pescatarian. And I give myself that flexibility.
• And most importantly, I became a vegetarian. I wasn’t someone who was trying to eat less meat. If someone asks me, “Yes!” I strongly identify with being a vegetarian.

So now it’s your turn. Here’s your Day 4 Reset Action:

Identify 1-3 habits you want to build this year. Write them in your workbook. Make them specific, attractive, easy, and satisfying.

For each habit, answer these questions:

How can you start small to make this habit achievable? What’s the teeniest tiniest version of this habit?

For each habit, complete this sentence: “I am a   _______.” Not “I want to be” or “I’m trying to be.” I am. I am (blank). Present-tense identity.

How can you set up your environment to support this habit? What changes do you need to make so that it’s easy for you?

And what tribes can you join? What communities exist where your desired behavior is the norm? Is their desired behavior?

Write it all down. Because this thing—writing it down, visualizing it, coming back to it—that’s part of the system that makes it stick.

And remember: This isn’t about doing everything perfectly from day one. It’s about taking small, consistent steps that lead to lasting change.

Okay, friend. We’ve covered how to build ha bits that stick. Now let’s talk about something that might sound a little bit woo-woo, but I promise, it’s backed by science—manifestation.

Let’s jump into Day 5 of our Reset.

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Day 5: How to Manifest in the brand new year & Decide Who You Want to BE

MELISSA NICHOLSON: I’m going to be straight with you—I am not a woo-woo person by nature. I’m just not.

But after what I created, the Be Your Best Self Reset, and experienced all of those things happening in my life. All of those incredible little miracles—I’m a convert.

Let me share something with you. After hearing an interview with neuroscientist Dr. James Doty, there is actually a science to manifestation. When you use all of your sensory organs—when you write something down, when you visualize it, when you think about it, when you speak it out loud, when you come back to it repeatedly—you embed it into your subconscious. That’s literal neuroscience.

And when something is embedded in your subconscious, your brain starts working on it even when you’re not consciously thinking about it. So you start noticing opportunities you would have completely missed. You start making choices that align with that vision. You start becoming the person who would naturally achieve that goal.

Does that make sense?

This is why this reset works. It’s not magic—it’s how your brain works.

But before I get into the how-to, let me tell you a story.

Several years ago, when I created the reset, I was navigating an unbearably difficult season of  life. I’d become my mom’s legal guardian. I was on edge, exhausted, emotionally depleted. There were budget constraints, time constraints, and caregiving responsibilities. There was no way that a normal person would look at that and go, “Okay, now we’re going to go and make all our dreams come true.” It would have been so easy to just say, “We can’t do anything fun or special right now. We just need to survive.”

But I just wanted more for us. We’d all been through the pandemic. We’d been through so much. I just wanted more for my kids, and they were getting bigger and older, and I wanted time and experiences.

So I did these exercises. I got clear on what I wanted. I wrote it down. I visualized it. And I took the little actions, just to make the first step happen for the things that I was dreaming about.  And you know what happened?

My family spent the first week of the new year in Oaxaca, Mexico, slow-living and reconnecting. Lifelong friends of my mom offered to have her stay with them so we could have respite. A friend gifted us herAirbnb in the Ozarks for spring break. And an angel offered us a beach oasis during high season. She said, “Melissa, you’ve been on my mind. I’ve been thinking about you and your mom.” It was like an angel. I don’t know how to explain that any other way.

Every single time, a way was made. Was it all manifestation? I don’t know. But I do know this: getting clear about what I wanted, putting it out there, and staying open to how it might show up—that made the difference. Like, that showed up in my life.

Recently, Oprah shared something that stopped me in my tracks. She said, “You don’t become what you want or even your greatest desires. You become what you believe.”

You become what you believe.

This is why manifestation works. When you believe something deeply, when you embody that belief, you become the person who creates that reality.

So how do you actually do this? How do you actually manifest? Let me break it down for you into six simple steps.

Step 1: Get clear on what you’re a “Hell yeah!” for.

What lights you up? What makes your whole body say YES? That’s your focus.

Step 2: Ask for what you want.

So you can use anything to do this.  You can use prayer, meditation, visualization, vision boarding, or just saying it out loud. Tell a friend. Put your intention into the world in whatever way feels the most authentic to you.

Step 3: Be flexible and relinquish control of the outcome.

You’ve got to let go of exactly how you think things should show up in your life. Trust that what you need will show up, even if it looks different from what you imagined.

Step 4: Do the work with love, service, and faith.

This whole manifestation thing, it isn’t passive. You can’t just sit on your couch visualizing and expect everything to fall in your lap. You have got to take aligned action. You have to show up with an open heart and do the work.

Step 5: Let go of limiting beliefs.

What stories are you telling yourself? “I’m too old.” “I don’t have enough money.” “People like me don’t get to do that.” Those are all limiting beliefs. Identify them and release them.

And Step 6: Lean into joy and trust the process.

When you’re not having fun, you’re off track. Manifestation thrives on positive energy. Celebrate small wins. Stay in gratitude. Trust that the pieces are falling into place.

Now, here’s the most important part of this entire reset. I will never forget James Clear looking straight into the camera and saying this, “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to be.

When you choose to work out even though you’re exhausted, you’re voting to be someone who values their health.

When you choose to be kind even when someone’s being a straight-up A-hole, you’re voting to be someone who leads with compassion.

When you choose to set a boundary, even when it is really outside of your comfort zone, you’re voting to be someone who respects themselves.

So here’s your aligned action for Day 5 of the Reset:

Who is the type of person you want to BE in this new year?

Not what do you want to do. Not what do you want to achieve. Who do you want to BE?

Write it down in your workbook. Be specific. Describe this person. How do they act? How do they respond to challenges? What habits do they have? What values do they live by?

And then ask yourself this: What kinds of actions will you take to be that type of person?

This is where manifestation becomes real. You’re deciding who you are, and then you are voting to be that person with every action you take.

Let me tell you who I’m becoming this year. I’m someone who is embracing expansion and seeking elevation. I’m someone who trusts the process even when I can’t see the full picture. I’m someone who chooses joy and curiosity over fear and rigidity.

It’s your turn, friend. Who are you becoming?

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Day 6 (BONUS): Ikigai Your Career & Explore Job Sharing

MELISSA NICHOLSON: We have completed all five of the Be Your Best Self: A New Year Reset; all of these exercises. You have decided what you are going to leave behind in the new year, what your Word of the Year is, you have set 1-3 achievable goals, built habits that actually stick, and have learned how to manifest in the new year, and decided who you are going to be in the year ahead.

And today is Day 6: Ikigai your career and explore job sharing.

Congratulations!  I couldn’t end this reset without talking about how all of this applies to your career—because come on, work is a huge part of our lives. We spend way more waking hours working than doing almost anything else. So if your work doesn’t align with who you want to be, that’s a problem.

I want to introduce you to two powerful concepts that could fully change your life: Ikigai and job sharing.

Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy for finding meaning and purpose in life. And at its core, it’s about discovering the intersection of four things:

1. What you love – Your passions, what makes your heart sing
2. What you’re good at – Your skills and talents
3. What the world needs – How you can contribute and make things better
4. What you can be paid for – Your profession, how you support yourself financially

When these four areas align, you’ve found your Ikigai. Your reason for being. And friend, when you’re living in your Ikigai, work doesn’t feel like work. It feels like purpose.

I first learned about this practice from Dan Buettner, the researcher who studied the Blue Zones—places where people live the longest, healthiest lives. And one of the key factors in longevity is having purpose. Having Ik igai.

So let me share how Ikigai has shown up in my life, because I think it’ll help you see how this works.

When I was job sharing in my marketing and sales career, I was at this intersection of:

• I loved helping people and solving problems
• I was good at communication and strategy
• My company needed someone who could build relationships with clients
• I was compensated well for it

But then I discovered job sharing itself, and my Ikigai shifted. Now:

• I love empowering people to find true work-life balance with job sharing
• I’m good at teaching, I love connecting, and I love empowering people to make this bold shift in their lives, and supporting people
• The world desperately needs better models for work, especially for caregivers and parents

And in the age of AI, collaboration over competition is something I just cannot stress will be so important.

• And I built a company around it—Work Muse

See how that works? Your Ikigai can evolve. What mattered to you in your twenties might be different in your forties. And that’s okay. The key is to keep checking in and making sure you’re aligned.

In your workbook, there’s an Ikigai exercise. I want you to take some time—like, real time, not just five minutes—and fill it out. For each section, do a brain dump:

What do you love? Write down everything. Doesn’t matter if it seems career-related or not. What lights you up?

What are you good at? Be honest. What comes easily to you? What do people ask for your help with?

What does the world need? What problems do you see that need solving? What would make the world better?

What can you be paid for? What skills have market value? What could become a profession?

And then—this is the magic—look at where those four circles intersect. What careers or opportunities exist there?

Maybe you won’t find your exact current job. That’s okay. Maybe you’ll discover something adjacent. Maybe you’ll realize you’re already in the right place but need to adjust how you’re showing up. Maybe you’ll get clarity on a pivot you’ve been considering.

The point is to get honest about what actually aligns for you. Because life is too short to spend the majority of your waking hours doing work that doesn’t feed your soul.

Now, here’s where I want to talk about something that might or might not have been on your radar: job sharing.

A partnership between two individuals who share the responsibilities of one full-time position. And before you think, “Nope, nope, nope, not for me,” hear me out.

If you’ve been here for a while, you know that I job shared for nearly a decade in the 24/7 media industry, starting when my daughter was six months old. And it was completely life-changing for my entire family.

Here’s what job sharing gave me that I didn’t even know I needed:

I could leave work at work. There was no more logging on (at night). No more checking email on vacation. When it was my partner’s days, she had the baton 100%. I could fully unplug and disconnect.

I said goodbye to guilt. That constant pull of feeling like you’re failing at work or failing at home? Gone. Job sharing lets you separate and fully prioritize each.

I achieved better results than I ever could solo. Two minds, two skill sets, two perspectives—my partners and I became SuperTeams.

My boundaries were respected organically. It just fell into place. The structure of the job share made my boundaries clear. And nobody questioned them.

I found equality at home. This was unexpected, but it was amazing when it started happening because you just start naturally job sharing in every part of your life. When you learn to work with a partner at work and give up control and trust that partner and lean into your strengths, it’s only natural that you start doing the same thing at home. And plus, when you’re working three days a week in a job share, which is most typical, it’s like condensing five into three. So, you are really hyper-focused on   those three days and all of the unpaid labor, the mental load, all of those things; they go to your parenting partner. And they just naturally pick up the torch there. And then you hand it over. A lot like how you do with your job share partner.

I had my work BFF, my work bestie. National Geographic found the #1 factor for happiness at work is having a work best friend. Not your relationship with your boss—it’s your work best friend. And your job share partner becomes that person. They’ve got your back. They celebrate your wins. They cover when life throws you a curveball.

I know you might be thinking. “Sounds amazing, but how do I even start? How do I find that partner? How would I ever get my boss or my company to go for this?”

Those are all valid questions, and I can’t answer them all in this episode. But here’s what I do want you to know: job sharing is more accessible than you think. It works in most roles and industries. And the benefits—not just for you, but for your employer—are massive.

If you want to check it out and explore job sharing, and you’re curious—you’re job share curious— go to workmuse.com/guide. Grab my free guide to job sharing. It’ll walk you through step-by-step exactly what it is, who it’s for, and how to get started to find out if it might be right for you

And here’s something I also want you to consider: Maybe job sharing is part of your Ikigai. Maybe what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for—maybe all of that can happen in a job share.

Or maybe job sharing is just the tool that lets you live your Ikigai more fully. Because when you have time, when you have energy, when you’re not depleted by the 24/7 grind—you can pursue those other things that matter to you.

I know for me, job sharing was how I got to be a present parent, how I had time to research and start Work Muse, how I had the time to serve on a nonprofit board I was so passionate about. And, had I been job sharing now, it would have been amazing for how I could care for my mom. It was the tool that made my full life possible.

So, for your bonus action for Day 6 of the Reset:

Complete the Ikigai exercise in your workbook. Really sit with it. What careers are at the intersection of your four areas?

Reflect on how job sharing might support your vision. Even if you’re not ready to pursue it, just think about it. What would become possible if you worked part-time with a partner in a high-impact role?

Share your reflections. Jump into our Facebook community or DM me on LinkedIn. What did the Ikigai exercise reveal? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Melissa Nicholson OUTRO

MELISSA NICHOLSON: Okay friend, we did it. We made it through the entire Be Your Best Self: A New Year Reset. And I just want to take a moment to acknowledge you.

Do you realize what you’ve done? You’ve reflected deeply on the past year. You’ve consciously chosen what to leave behind, decided your word of the year, set achievable goals, one to three of them. You’ve learned how to build habits that stick. And you have learned how to manifest it and decide who you want to be in the new year. And on top of all of that, you’ve reflected on how to build a purpose-filled, meaningful career through Ikigai. And you’ve explored job sharing.

Most people will never do this work. They’ll just keep repeating the same patterns, you know? Not you. You showed up. You did the work. You made conscious choices about your life.

Thank you. Thanks for doing it with me. Thanks for trusting me in this process. And if someone in your life could benefit from this, send them this episode.

Life moves really fast, friend. And if you don’t decide how you want to live it, it’ll decide for you.

You’re going to thank yourself for spending the time that you needed to show up in the way you want this year and to be your best self.

I believe in you. I see you. I’m so grateful you took the time to invest in yourself and do this with me. Thank you for trusting me.

Until next time, keep showing up for yourself. Keep dreaming big. And remember—it’s all in you.

Bye for now, friend.