One Word for 2026

Preparing for the new year and the next chapter

Plans never go as planned.

A wise older woman said this to me once: you plan and you plan, and then nothing goes as planned. The thing that pulls you forward is having a direction or goal, and the adaptability and resilience to change when life changes plans for you.

That’s the premise behind “one word” too. One focus. One direction. One simple tool to help you progress through the next stage of the journey you’re actually in.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

My 50th lap around the sun...

2025: I turned 50 this year. 

I feel quite grateful I made it to this age. And it nothing else, my 50th was a wonderful validation that I’ve lived a life worth living, by knowing good people who are worth knowing.

50th Gathering, May, 2025

There’s a belief we’ll only have 3 to 5 really close friends, and beyond that is unsustainable. But having lived in several cities around the world, you end up with 3 to 5 close friends in every city. Inevitably, you build this wonderful amalgamation of communities around the world.

That's why I’d always said I would bring my friends together for my 50th, so they could finally meet each other.

And that’s what I did. 

Since I was 30, I’ve hosted parties that bring together people from all through my life. People often ask why I do it. What if people don’t get along? What if your university friends don’t like your work friends?

My response has always been: I believe I know good people. They’re adults. They can figure it out.

It always worked out.

The 50th was no different. Friends kept coming up to me saying: “How do you know so many good people? They’re all so wonderful and kind.” and we danced until 3am together.

It is a validation that good energy attracts good energy and those people will bolster you and support you, and most critically show up when it matters. Lucky me. 

...and the setting of another

And then…off the back of that, there was sorrow and loss.

Ashley and I at her wedding

My friend, Ashley, who planned to come to my 50th had booked flights and made plans to attend. We’d said she would come to my 50th, and I would come to hers later that year. But two weeks before the event, she was told her cancer was back.

She didn’t make it to my 50th and she didn’t make it to her 50th.

I’d known her and her family for over 30 years, and it was the first loss that truly impacted me. It led to months of depression and antisocial behaviour, which I am emerging from, albeit slowly and sometimes reluctantly.

Though it feels a little cliche it was a stark reminder that not only is life short and unexpected, but also that if you do not live true to yourself and what matters to you, if you don’t stop doing things you don’t want to, and doing things that make an impact, then what the heck are you doing?

I’ve been very lucky in the past decade to do things that matter to me, and now I find myself entering the next stage of that journey, even less willing to put up with bullshit, more willing to upset people by setting and holding boundaries, and far less willing to get pulled into anything that does not progress my mission.

It is a confirmation that we must stay diligent in clearing life of anything but what matters and embody the resilience it requires to stay true to what does. 

End-of-year reflection

As I complete my end-of-year reflection, these are the two lessons I am taking into 2026.

1. Keep being you and you will attract your tribe; they will show up when it matters.

2. Be diligently and unapologetically you;  protect your values and never feel regret. 

   
   

Step by step, these are the steps I’ve taken for my end-of-year reflection:

• Revisit my manifesto, to make sure the mission I stated still resonates. It does.

• Reflect on the year in four quadrants: work, growth, relationships, and me and ask:

  • What did I achieve that I hoped I would?

  • Where did I stumble?

  • What were the special moments?

  • How can I make next year even better?

• Create a visual representation/board of what I hope to achieve in 2026.

• Create a 1-2-5 year plan for each quadrant.  

New Year’s resolutions have never worked for me. If I want to change something, I don’t want to wait until the new year, I just want to make the change.

Which is why, back in 2017, I decided I wouldn’t do New Year’s resolutions anymore. Instead, I chose one word for the year.

One word.

One word that resonates personally.

One word that guides my actions and my thoughts.

One word that helps when I’m at a crossroads and need to make a decision.

This is my 10th year with the one word and it has been the simplest way to stay focused on my intention and goals.

If you want to try it, here are three rules:

1. Make it personal. The word must resonate for you. It doesn’t have to be complex or over the top, but it has to mean something to you.

2. Set parameters. Where do you want this word to show up? What situations do you want to change? Where will it make a difference?

3. Share it. Tell friends and family. It’s a surefire way to be held accountable, not slip back into old habits, and actually live your one word.

That’s it. Simple, yet powerful.

My shift into 2026

My word last year was “Intention”. To remind myself that intentions are only as good as the actions I take to fulfil them. And with that word, I hit one major goal I’d always wanted to achieve: I wrote a book. (Not the cheat way using ChatGPT. I mean actually writing a book based on what was in my head!)

50th photo shoot in Florence

Ashley, my friend who passed, had always believed that I would write a book, said as much 25 years ago and so it felt like a beautiful way to commemorate her in some ways. “Every Voice Matters” is being (tentatively) released next year, April 15, 2026, and I can’t wait to share it with you…as well as start the next one already!

Having said that, this end of year I took a significant amount of time to pause and reflect on the fact I’ve spent a decade creating, acting, focusing, rebuilding, attracting, transcending, actualising, and setting intention. 

Now I am asking, very honestly:

What am I doing?

What actually matters?

And it’s not about continual improvement, learning more, doing more, taking more action, or chasing bigger goals.

It’s about living what I’ve already learned.

It’s letting my values show up in my calendar, my body, my money, my work, and my relationships.

In other words I told myself: Don’t just design the next chapter. Be it.

2026 is about embodying.

Embody.

Don’t do it. Be it.

Happy New Year to you all. 

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If you decide to select one word and you need an extra dose of accountability, share your one word in our community, we would love to hear what you landed on.