Visioning for 2026
Three Ways to Listen to What’s Next
We’ve paused. We’ve looked back. We’ve named the terrain of 2025—the peaks, the valleys, the surprising shifts. If you took the time to slow down with the reflection questions from my previous post, End-of-Year Reflection for 2025, your soul is likely already whispering clues about the path ahead. You can read the post here:
Now, as we stand on the threshold of a new year, it’s time to lean in and listen closely to that whisper.
Visioning for a new year isn’t about setting rigid, exhausting goals. It isn’t about magically turning into your fantasy self. It’s about discerning the tender invitations that life is extending to you. It’s about creating space for grace, hope, and possibility, knowing that true growth often arises from a place of open-handedness rather than striving.
The deepest work of New Year visioning is simply to notice what your spirit is leaning toward. What is stirring in your mind, body, and soul as you allow yourself to dream and create?
Three Ways to Listen to What’s Next
Instead of a daunting to-do list, consider these three simple, soul-centered practices for setting your intention for 2026.
1. Discern Your “Guiding Word”
If you could choose a single word to be your companion, compass, and anchor for the year ahead, what would it be? In other words, ask yourself, “What feeling, quality, or value do I hope defines this upcoming year?”
This word isn’t a taskmaster; it’s a quiet guide. It could be “Spacious,” prompting you to create boundaries and margin. It could be “Courage,” inviting you to finally attempt that big idea. It could be “Presence,” reminding you to stay grounded in the now.
Write down a handful of words that feel like a gentle pull. Sit with them. Which one feels the most resonant with the needs and longings your 2025 reflections revealed?
2. Name Your Essential Priorities
The secret to a fruitful year is not doing more, but choosing better. Think about the three or four areas where you truly want to focus your precious energy. What are the non-negotiables?
Example Focus Areas: Rest & Renewal, Creative Expression, Deepening Community, Quiet Study, Intentional Work.
Everything else in your life should gently orbit these central themes. When you feel scattered, return to this short list. It’s your map back home, to your foundational areas of focus.
3. Identify One Small “Brave Step”
We often stop ourselves before we even begin because the vision feels too big. Instead of committing to an overwhelming change, identify just one small, specific step you can take in January to honor your vision.
If your word is “Nourish,” the brave step might be blocking out one hour every Saturday for uninterrupted quiet time.
If your priority is “Creative Expression,” the step might be setting up your easel or writing desk in a space where you can see it and touch it every day.
The smaller the step, the more likely you are to take it, and the momentum will follow. I think of this small step as a simple daily or weekly ritual or rhythm that I can integrate into my life.
Holding Hope for 2026
The new year is a fresh page, yes, but it’s also a continuation. You don’t leave the wisdom of 2025 behind; you carry it with you like a well-earned map. You allow this past season the shape and guide you into the next season.
May your vision for 2026 be one of genuine hope—the kind of hope that isn’t naive, but is rooted in the compassionate acknowledgment of where you’ve been and a deep belief in the gentle possibilities that are still emerging in you.
I am wishing you clarity, courage, and grace as you step across the threshold.
I’d love to hear your guiding word! What single intention are you planting for 2026? Share it in the comments below.
Speaking of new things in 2026, I’ve been working on something new with a dear friend! You’ll find out soon over at The Serene-ish Podcast with Brenda and Larissa