Later in this post, I’m going to share something personal — a real moment from this past weekend where I had to pause, step away, and make a decision that would’ve been very easy to avoid.
Not because it’s dramatic.
But because it perfectly illustrates what so many people struggle with (especially this time of year.)
And it ties directly into what we’ve been talking about all month.
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about awareness, honesty, and protecting your energy — especially as the year starts to wind down.
NOT about resolutions.
NOT about fixing everything.
But about noticing what’s been calling your attention… and choosing not to ignore it just because January is around the corner.
This week matters because it’s often where people lose that thread.
December gets loud.
Schedules fill up.
Pressure creeps in.
And instead of slowing down to listen, most people speed back up.
They tell themselves they’ll figure things out next year.
They’ll get clarity later.
They’ll make changes once things “settle.”
But clarity doesn’t come from waiting.
It comes from decisions — especially the ones you make before you feel fully ready.
Here’s what I want to ground this week in:
You don’t need to know exactly what your word or purpose is yet for 2026.
But you do need to start paying attention to where you’re being pulled.
Weeks 1 and 2 were about noticing the nudge and protecting your energy so you can actually hear yourself.
Week 3 is about this next step:
Use this time to get clearer on where you want to go next year —
Because next year doesn’t just magically start fresh.
It’s built on the decisions you’re making right now.
The most powerful questions aren’t just:
“What do I want in 2026?”
They’re:
- Why do I want that?
- What kind of person do I want to become more of next year?
- And how does that connect to where I want my life to be five or ten years from now?
This kind of intention is the difference between reacting to the calendar and living with intention.
This is where your pace matters.
When you stay in overdrive, you make short-term decisions for short-term relief.
When you slow down, you can make decisions that actually support the bigger picture.
That’s something I’ve been practicing intentionally this year.
My word for 2025 was Grounded — and what I learned quickly is that being grounded isn’t just a mindset.
First, it’s a pace.
That meant slowing my work way down, and taking on only a few clients. (I was basically on a sabbatical all year).
It meant saying no to opportunities — even good ones — that would’ve pulled me away from what this season of my life was asking for.
Those choices weren’t about having everything figured out (far from it!)
They were about creating space so clarity could form.
And that same principle applies in much smaller moments too.
This past weekend, I was at a 50th birthday celebration.
And here’s the part that matters for context:
I made the decision to stop drinking on December 2nd — not January 1st. Not “after the holidays.” Not another Dry January like I’ve done before.
I realized I didn’t want to keep postponing something that, if I’m honest, hasn’t really been contributing anything positive in my life for a while now.
What’s interesting is this:
you don’t always realize where your cravings are until you decide you’re not going to give in to them.
Especially in social settings.
So there I was — a toast, a celebration, everyone having a drink — and it would’ve been incredibly easy to have just one. To blend in. To not make it a thing.
No one would’ve questioned it.
Some even encouraged it.
Instead, I stepped away.
I took a breath.
I went to the ladies’ room.
I texted a friend.
Not because I was depriving myself.
Not because I was white-knuckling anything.
But because I remembered the bigger picture I’m holding for myself — not just this moment, but where I want to be next year… and who I want to be beyond that.
That decision wasn’t really about alcohol.
It was about alignment — practicing it in real time, when it would’ve been easier not to.
And this is where it applies to you:
Whether the decision is about your health, your work, your relationships, or something that seems small, the practice is the same.
The moment you decide, the moment you pause, the moment you choose not to default — that’s where real change actually starts.
This is why waiting for January doesn’t work, for any of us!
If you don’t practice alignment now, you don’t magically wake up clear on January 1st.
But if you start asking better questions now — even one week before the new year — you enter next year already rooted.
Not pressured.
Not reactive.
But intentional.
And no, I don’t have my word for 2026 yet. It hasn’t come to me. I’m praying on it.
But I do know this: I want to enter the new year grounded enough to hear what’s next — not so busy that I miss it.
If you’re in a similar place — sensing that something is shifting but not quite naming it yet — my best selling book, The North Star Method was created to help you connect the dots between where you are now, where you want to go next year, and the bigger picture you’re building over time.
