This was one of those years where I had an idea for what my word would be for 2026 and it stuck with me for the last few months. I didn’t realize that the last few years have been a progression of each other until I sat down to think about the word.

Two years ago, I was turning 50 so I picked “explore” as a way to do major inner-exploration. I wanted to spend time deeply getting to know myself, my tastes, my preferences, my choices. I wanted to shed a lot of the “outside in” stuff I had been exposed to all my life and see what I noticed when I went inwards to do the work of “inside out” stuff. It was a life-changing year with lots of revelations and lots of affirmation. Even though the word didn’t stick with me all that much, the work I did that year was exceptional. One of the best, ever.

In 2025, I picked the year “Home” as a way to practice coming home to myself again and again. Now that I was learning to understand what it meant to be me and what my essence was, how could I practice coming back to myself again and again? How could I find ways to check in with myself? I practiced this all year long. It was another excellent year for learning to truly get comfortable in my own skin and build a deep well of contentment.

So when 2026 was coming, it made sense that the word that spoke to me was “onward.” Now that I knew what I liked, who I was and how to listen to myself, it makes sense that I’d want to make some changes in my life. It’s been five tumultuous years for me and I have done some significant work and also some solid cocooning. This is my attempt at taking some action to align my new life with my self. Make some of the major changes I’ve been thinking about but not taking action on. Unlike the last two years, this is an action word, but I am also aware of two things: I took a lot of action in the last two years so reflection words can be active (for me) and I am not ready to feel “pressure” to take action so I am willing to have this year be small a and not capital A action. Every step counts. It’s ok. I trust myself to take just as much (or as little) action as I need to take.

Also it’s not just about doing but it’s also about not doing. Saying no to things that I don’t want to do or don’t serve me anymore is just as much about moving onward as doing things is. So is changing my thoughts. So is sitting with things so I can move through them. They are all part of moving on.

Some of the themes I want to honor:

• Rebuild: Things that I had built a certain way that now I want differently but there’s a lot of work involved in changing them. REquires an upfront investment of time, money, and/or effort.
• Release: Things that no longer serve me and that I have to let go if I want to be able to move onward. They weigh me down and keep me anchored in place.
• Research: Things I want to understand better before I can figure out what moving forward means in those spaces.   
• Build: Areas where I don’t currently have a way of being or doing but I want to establish one. So this is further along than research but I have not done the work of incorporating it into my life. 
• Brave: This is for things that I either know I have to do or I really want to do but they will require a lot of bravery.
• Help: These are areas where I am committed to help others in my life move onward in their dreams and goals.  
• Seek: These are areas that will force me outside my comfort zone and require me to actively seek others to help realize my goals. 
• Grow: These are areas where onward is purely to learn more about an areas where I already commit to going deeper.  
• Tend: These are areas that require establishing a routine and some regular upkeep. So it’s about requiring investment. 
• Finish/Settle: These are areas where I strongly desire to do what needs to be done this year. Finish in 2026.
• Plant: These are areas of growth where I want to plant some roots and see what grows. Almost the opposite of finish. Maybe new things I start but I know will take time to grow. 
• Reclaim: Ideas that were others’ that I’ve been holding on to that I want to take back.

So here’s to forward motion in 2026. Onward we go.