Start 2026 with Intention.

There’s a certain tradition that shows up in late December and early January, the New Year’s Resolutions.

Set goals. Be better. Plan more. Fix everything. Reinvent yourself by Monday.

Here’s a different take: what if the new year wasn’t an overhaul, but a recalibration?

Not “Who am I going to become?”

But “What do I actually want to feel more of next year and what needs to change to make space for that?”

Let’s slow it down and get intentional.

1. Where did you feel most like yourself this year?

Not “Where did you impress people?”

Not “Where did you win?”

Where did you feel aligned?

Think about the moments where you weren’t performing, pleasing, or pushing you were just you. Maybe it was a conversation where you said what you really thought. Maybe it was work that felt meaningful. Maybe it was being around people who don’t ask you to shrink.

Those moments are data. They’re not random. They’re pointing at what matters.

Keep them.

2. Where did you feel constantly on edge?

This one is uncomfortable, but necessary.

When did you feel consistently drained, anxious, braced, or “on”? Who were you with? What environment were you in?

What pattern always led you there?

We normalize tension because we call it “busy,” “fast-paced,” “part of the job,” “that’s just how it is right now.”

But if your body is constantly in alert mode, that’s not a schedule problem. That’s an alignment problem.

In the new year, something in that pattern needs to shift the boundary, the pace, the expectation, or your participation in it.

3. What are you no longer available for?

We talk a lot about what we want. We don’t talk enough about what we’re done with.

“I’m no longer available for guilt every time I rest.”

“I’m no longer available for apologizing when I say no.”

“I’m no longer available for relationships that only work when I’m the one doing the work.”

This is not dramatic. It’s clarity.

You’re allowed to decide what doesn’t get to follow you forward.

4. What do you want more of that costs nothing?

Not money. Not status. Not a title.

More quiet mornings.

More laughter you don’t have to force.

More space to think instead of respond.

More conversations where you feel heard, not managed.

More time with people who are good for your nervous system.

Call those things priorities. Because they are.

If you don’t name them, they’ll get pushed to “when things calm down.” (Things rarely calm down on their own. We choose it or we don’t get it.)

5. Who are you becoming, quietly?

Not the version you post.

Not the version that gets compliments.

The version you’re growing into when no one’s looking.

Are you becoming softer or sharper?

More grounded or more reactive?

More honest or more performative?

More generous with yourself or harder on yourself?

Your direction matters more than your performance.

The new year doesn’t need a slogan. It needs truth.

Not “hustle harder.”

Not “do everything.”

Not “push through.”

More alignment. More intention. More humanity.

You don’t have to start over.

You just have to start choosing.

✨ May this year meet you where you really are, not where you think you’re supposed to be.