After adequately recapping and reviewing 2025 and talking a bit about the why behind goal setting, it’s time to talk about 2026.

I really debated on taking on the Gretchen Rubin approach for 2026 because 26 is a lot of intentions to measure and manage, but once I got started sketching out some personal aspirations and ideas, I realized that I had more than enough inspiration for the coming year to fill a list of 26 things.

Unlike last year, when I made graphics and posted here in detail about each of my 25 goals, I have decided to keep some of the specifics private for now. Instead, I want the focus here to be on a theme or vibe I want my year to embody.

My 2026 One Little Word:

Slow [sloh]

1. moving or proceeding with little or less than usual speed or velocity.
2. characterized by a lack of speed.
3. taking or requiring a comparatively long time for completion.
4. requiring or taking a long time for growing, changing, or occurring; gradual.
5. made, created, or done in a careful, thorough, or traditional way to ensure such benefits as quality, environmental sustainability, or time for mental reflection.
6. sluggish in nature, disposition, or function.
7. dull of perception or understanding; mentally dull.
8. not prompt, readily disposed, or in haste (usually followed by to or an infinitive).
9. burning or heating with little speed or intensity, as a fire or an oven.
10. slack; not busy.
11. having some quality that retards speed or causes movement, progress, work, etc., to be accomplished at less than the usual or expected rate of speed.
12. running at less than the proper rate of speed or registering less than the proper time, as a clock.
13. passing heavily or dragging over time.
14. not progressive; behind the times.
15. dull, humdrum, uninteresting, or tedious.

When I am considering the word that will shape my year, I have several that I will workshop. I think about how the word will work on many levels, within many categories, and in its definition. I try to find a spiritual connection, something to do with my body and movement, something intellectual, and then many practical implications of the word.

I try to focus on what I find to be the biggest pain points or hindrances in my life. I ask myself where I find I’m getting hung up or stuck. What isn’t working for me? How might my life season or current moment be informing areas where I need to adapt or change? For the upcoming year, I kept coming back to the word slow.

In general, I want to slow down my approach to life. I don’t mean that I want life to slow down, that’s an impossibility. But my response to it? I need to slow down. I already prioritize single-tasking, but I also need to prioritize doing fewer things, but doing them with more intention, slowness, and patience.

For a while now, I have felt my body in a constant state of fight or flight. Even when I’m still, I’m moving. Even when I’m asleep, I startle awake. My brain rarely shuts down or stops thinking of 100 things at once. My body is tense. My jaw is clenched. My breathing is shallow. My shoulders, hips, and back are tight. A sense of vigilance is never far from the surface.

I find myself bracing for the other shoe to drop and always mentally preparing for the next big hurdle. For a while now, I feel like I’ve been running a marathon at a sprinter’s speed. That. Is. No. Way. To. Live.

I blame lots of things like grief, constant relocation, menopause, a strong Type-A personality, and more. But the truth of it all is that I have to learn some mindset and behavior shifts. I have to regulate myself. And lately, instead of putting in the effort to do that, I just keep pushing. Work harder, walk faster, squeeze more into the day, be available to everyone always, and keep moving.

So, the word that best encapsulates a solution to this way of living that has not been serving me? Slow down. Move slowly. Live and breathe slowly.

I can still have hopes, dreams, and aspirations to enjoy my life and make the most of it, but I can do it from a place of intentionality and slowness. I can breathe. I can rest. I can take all the time in the world. Nothing is on fire.

With that in mind, all of my 26 for 2026 had to be put through the lens of slowness. This was actually an incredible test of creativity and fun. I’ve spent weeks thinking about, processing, and adapting those things I hope will be true of the next year of life with all of its adventures, unknowns, and surprises.

I’m sure as the days and weeks wear on, I’ll have much more to say about my theme of slow living for 2026.