For me, 2026 is not about setting long-term goals.
It’s about making choices in the moment. This builds self-confidence.
It isn’t about always choosing the ‘right’ thing though, it’s about trusting yourself to choose again. (Read that sentence again and remember it if you can! It will keep you strong when you've given in to temptation, as we all do).
I’ve also shared a short video over on my Mumatherapy YouTube channel where I talk through this idea visually, using everyday food choices, for anyone who prefers to watch or listen rather than read. You can watch or listen to that here Why I choose again instead of starting over
That means instead of declaring that I will eat healthily, or that I won’t eat chocolate, I’m simply making a choice each time. Sometimes that choice will be nourishing food. Sometimes it will be the chocolate. There’s no beating myself up either way, and no congratulating myself for being “good”.
In the words of that famous Nike slogan… you just do it.
Or you don’t. And then you choose again.
New Year’s resolutions have quietly lost their appeal for me. No one really enjoys them, very few people stick to them, and the clock striking one minute past midnight on the 1st of January doesn’t suddenly bestow superhuman willpower, discipline, or the mental and physical strength of Wim Hof.
That doesn’t mean we drift through the year without direction, though.
There’s a difference between a resolution, a goal and an intention.
A resolution tends to be all or nothing.
A goal is structured, measurable and outcome-focused.
But an intention is something else entirely.
An intention is like a compass. It doesn’t demand perfection or performance. It simply points you in the direction of who you want to be and how you want to live. You don’t fail an intention, you return to it. The rest is shaped by the choices you make along the way.
Anyone who knows me knows that January is my favourite time of year.
It feels like a fresh start. A new beginning. A quiet invitation to create the year ahead.
I love nothing more than grabbing a diary or journal, lighting a candle, and creating a new vision board that ends up proudly hanging on the wall at the end of my bed, so every morning and evening I see my hopes, dreams and intentions.
They do say, “be careful what you wish for, because it might come true”, and 2025 was the year I truly learned that.
Every year, I also choose three words that I want to embody or live by in my everyday life. Without fail, when I look back at the end of the year, those words have quietly become the themes that played out.
One year I chose Courage.
That was the year I lost my mum and my beloved dog of many years. It took more courage than I ever imagined to move through that grief.
Another year I chose Confidence.
That was the year I published two books that went on to become bestsellers.
Last year my words were Ease, Alignment and Presence.
By February, my usually busy, distracted life came to a sudden standstill. I was pulled firmly back into alignment with the people and things that mattered most. I was forced to slow down, to take things easy, and when I was with someone, I was truly present, listening in a way I hadn’t for years.
It took a breast and lymph node cancer diagnosis to bring me to that place, but I got there.
Below is an actual photo of that intention sitting at the top of my vision board.
This year, despite everything, I’m still excited that it’s January.
I know I’m probably one of the few people who enjoys what’s often seen as the gloomiest, anti-climax month of the year, but I love the rain beating against the window. I’m a winter baby after all!
And I’ve chosen Fun, Peace and Health as my three words for 2026.
Every choice I make doesn’t have to tick all three. But if it honours one of them, I’m probably moving in the right direction.
While my coaching background taught me to set SMART goals, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, this year I’m taking a different approach. Instead of chasing outcomes, I’m focusing on making better day-to-day choices and setting intentions that feel authentic and supportive of the season of life I’m in right now.
I want to be more intentional with my precious time.
With what I give my energy to.
And with who I share it with.
I don’t want drama. I don’t want fear. My intentions for this year are clear: Fun, Health and Peace.
If, like me, you’re finding yourself craving a bit more calm amid the chaos, I’ve created a gentle mini hypnosis and EFT course, chaos-to-calm-mini-course for anyone who needs support navigating fear, anxiety or worry, at their own pace.
I know this stuff works as I've used these tools myself to get through the hardest and darkest times of my life. The thing we fear most is fear, when we face those fears they go away, then we are free to deal with the real issues in our lives, not just the imagined ones we play over and over in our head.
https://www.emmagrantauthor.com/chaos-to-calm-mini-course
Wishing you a wonderful, intentional 2026, with many great choices ahead.
Much Love Em x
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