Stepping Into 2026: Gratitude, Intentions, and Becoming

In this New Year’s episode of In Deep with Olivia Smoliga, we slow down before we speed up.

Olivia invites you into her own end-of-year ritual—breathwork, reflection, and honest gratitude—as she closes out 2025 and steps into 2026 with intention. Instead of rushing into new goals, she explores why we can’t truly move forward until we’ve honored where we are and who we’ve become along the way.

Through personal stories from the first year of In-Depth Swim Academy, international clinics, and her own intuitive training phase, Olivia unpacks:

• Why gratitude is the foundation for any “next level”

• How ignoring your inner voice slowly erodes self-trust

• What it means to live a life of purpose through service as an athlete

• How your performance can inspire, uplift, and serve others—not just prove your worth

• The difference between forcing goals and setting aligned intentions

Then she shares a tangible New Year practice you can use every season: writing 10 intentions for the year (from time goals to creativity, courage, community, and self-expression), placing each on its own piece of paper, and drawing one to carry as your anchor for the rest of the year. Instead of chasing everything at once, you let one intention “choose you” and allow it to shape how you train, compete, and live.

This episode is an invitation to see your athletic journey differently—not as a constant race to the next cut, but as a deeper relationship with your own gifts and the person you’re becoming.

Before you write your 2026 goals, this conversation helps you ask a better question:
How can I step into the new year with gratitude for the version of me that got this far, and intention for who I’m ready to grow into next?

Listen to the episode below!