It’s been a little while since I last checked in, but here we are… New Year’s Day 2026. The past month has been full in the best and hardest ways: rehab, building out the Atypical Community, and preparing to become a father.

➡️ Shameless plug of the Atypical Community because I think it can have a huge impact on your journey as an highly-motivated athlete and person:

As we step into a new year, it’s the season when motivation runs high and people start setting big goals for themselves. I used to follow that same pattern: writing down resolutions and hoping they would magically lead to change. But over time, I realized that while resolutions are a starting point, they aren’t a strategy.

What I focus on now is something much more powerful: systems. Systems are the small, repeatable processes that actually create lasting change. This video explains the idea far better than I ever could:

For this week, I want to breakdown this idea of systems and how we can implement them into our lives as athletes.

Check Out the Recent YouTube Videos 🔥

Full Day of Training as a Pro Basketball Player:

Update on my Pro Basketball Career:

Start with Goals, but Think in Systems

Goals are a great place to start. They represent our intentions, hopes, and dreams. But once you’ve set a goal, the next real step is building a plan. Maybe your goal is to make varsity or earn a D1 scholarship; that’s awesome. Now the question becomes: what are the daily actions that will actually move you toward that outcome?

So you make a plan.

You outline your action steps.

You feel good.

You’re on track.

And then… life happens.

Motivation drops. Energy is low. You miss a workout. You skip a day. Guilt creeps in. Discouragement follows. Self-sabotage takes over. And three months later, you’re not only no closer to your goal, but you’re mentally worse off than when you started.

So how do we fight that cycle?

The answer is systems.

A system is the framework and environment you build to support your action steps. The purpose of a system is to reduce friction, especially on the days when your motivation is at its lowest. Good systems anticipate obstacles and make it easier to do the right thing and harder to do the wrong thing.

Here are two real examples from my own rehab and athletic journey.

Example #1
Goal: Get healthy and back on the court as soon as possible.
Action step: Take my daily vitamins to support joint healing and recovery.
Obstacle: I forget them… a lot.
System change: I put my vitamins in a weekly organizer and placed it right next to my morning coffee, which I never forget ☕️

That simple, one-time change dramatically improved my consistency.

Example #2
Goal: Get healthy and back on the court as soon as possible.
Action step: Do my daily knee rehab workouts.
Obstacle: Low motivation for workouts that don’t have immediate payoff.
System change: I write out my workouts the night before.

By separating the planning from the doing, I remove a huge mental barrier. When it’s time to train, I don’t have to think. I just execute. Less friction means less motivation required.

Hopefully these examples help you see what systems really are: small, intentional changes that make consistency easier.

As we step into this new year, I encourage you to reflect on your own systems:

• What obstacles are currently getting in your way?

• Where is friction making it harder to follow through?

• How can you reduce friction for the habits that move you forward and increase it for the ones that don’t?

This shift changed everything for me. New Year’s is no longer about raw motivation; it’s about creativity, design, and honest reflection.

If you try this, feel free to reply to this newsletter with a few system changes you’re planning to make. I’d love to give you feedback and help you refine them.

Upcoming Atypical

Atypical Athletics Collection

We do need to push the drop back a bit. I completely underestimated the shipping time for the bulk orders coming to both the U.S. and the EU.

The good news is that everything is officially on the way, and as soon as it arrives, you all will be the first to see it. You can expect the drop sometime in early February or March, depending on when my son decides to make his entrance 😎

Even better news: the pieces turned out really, really, really cool.

And one more bonus: everyone on this newsletter will get an exclusive discount code just for being here.

I hope you’re as excited about this drop as I am.

Atypical Intentions Podcast

We’re three episodes into the podcast, and it’s clear that podcasting is a real skill—and one I’m actively learning. I still have a lot to improve, but I can already see growth with each episode, and the value we’re creating is undeniable.

We’re planning to start bringing on some really exciting guests toward the end of January, and as part of this newsletter, you’ll get first looks at who’s coming on before anyone else.

Atypical Community

So far, the community is still small, and honestly, I’m really happy about that. It’s allowed me to connect with each member on a personal level, and in just three weeks I’ve already seen some incredible growth across the group.

This is the ground floor of something that’s going to change a lot of young athletes’ lives. If you’re serious about leveling up as both a person and an athlete, I highly encourage you to check it out here:

➡️ https://atypical-community.circle.so/untitled-page

Final Thoughts

New Year’s resolutions are a great starting point, but what we really want is lasting change, not a one-time burst of motivation.

That change comes from intentionally designing your life with systems that make progress inevitable.

Make that your focus this year, and watch how the journey becomes just a little easier.

Let’s make 2026 our best year yet.

Same intention as always: get uncomfortable and live atypical.

Cheers,
Trey