Authentic Stillness
How I’m Choosing to Move Through 2026
There’s something quietly sacred about the first day of a new year. Not loud, not performative, not full of fireworks and bold declarations — just a gentle pause where you sit with yourself and listen. That’s exactly how today unfolded for me.
I spent the morning journalling, opening fresh diaries, and letting that familiar mix of hope, curiosity, and calm anticipation settle in. There’s always a moment when I crack open a new notebook that feels like possibility made physical. Blank pages. No mistakes yet. No crossed-out plans. Just space. And I love that.
One of my favourite little rituals at this time of year is choosing a “word of the year” and a guiding value. I’ve done it for long enough now to know that these words don’t shout — they whisper. They’re not about forcing change or demanding transformation. They’re about intention. About orientation. About how I want to move through the year rather than what I want to achieve.
This year, I didn’t overthink it. I didn’t sit analysing lists or trying to be clever. I pulled cards randomly from sets I trust and let whatever wanted to come through… come through. And of course, Spirit did what Spirit does best — delivered something quietly profound.
My word of the year is Authentic Stillness.
My value for the year is Mindfulness.
Even as I write those words now, I can feel them land in my body.
The process itself matters more than people realise. Taking time to consciously choose (or receive) a word and a value is an act of self-respect. It says: I am paying attention to my inner world. It creates a soft anchor you can return to when life inevitably gets noisy, busy, and overwhelming. When decisions feel murky. When energy dips. When you forget what really matters.
Unlike resolutions — which often come loaded with pressure, guilt, and unrealistic expectations — a word and a value are companions. They don’t scold you when you stray. They simply remind you who you want to be when you come back to yourself.
And this year, that reminder feels especially important.
Authentic Stillness isn’t about stopping life or withdrawing from the world. It’s not about doing less just for the sake of doing less. For me, it speaks to truthful pause. Stillness that isn’t performative or forced. Stillness that comes from being deeply honest with myself.
Authentic stillness asks questions like:
Am I resting because I’m listening to my needs — or because I’m avoiding something?
Am I quiet because it’s nourishing — or because I’m afraid to speak?
Am I moving slowly because it’s aligned — or because I’ve disconnected from my intuition?
There’s an integrity embedded in this phrase. It invites me to stop pretending I’m calm when I’m not. To stop rushing when my soul is asking me to linger. To stop filling silence just because it feels uncomfortable.
Throughout 2026, I want to practice authentic stillness in very real, grounded ways. That might look like pausing before responding instead of reacting. Letting silence exist in conversations. Allowing gaps in my diary without rushing to fill them. Creating space between sessions, posts, plans, and people — not out of withdrawal, but out of respect for my energy.
It also means trusting that not everything needs commentary, explanation, or immediate action. Some things need time to reveal themselves. Stillness is often where the truth surfaces.
Then there’s my value for the year: Mindfulness.
This one feels like the gentle hand on the shoulder that keeps me present while life unfolds. Mindfulness isn’t about perfection or constant serenity — it’s about awareness. About noticing what’s happening as it’s happening, rather than living three steps ahead or replaying what’s already passed.
Mindfulness asks me to be here. In this moment. In this body. In this breath.
In 2026, I want mindfulness to shape how I work, how I listen, how I teach, how I show up for clients, and how I show up for myself. I want to notice when I’m operating on autopilot. I want to catch myself when I’m rushing through things that deserve presence. I want to savour what’s working instead of immediately scanning for what’s next.
Mindfulness will be my compass when decisions arise. It will help me check in rather than check out. It will remind me that my nervous system matters just as much as my ambitions. That being present is not a luxury — it’s a necessity.
What I love most is how these two themes weave together.
Authentic stillness creates the space.
Mindfulness teaches me how to inhabit it.
Together, they feel like an invitation to live 2026 with more depth and less noise. With more honesty and less performance. With more presence and less pressure.
I know there will be busy days. I know there will be full diaries, emotional moments, big conversations, and inevitable challenges. But these words will be there — scribbled in the front of my journals, tucked into the corners of my awareness, gently reminding me to slow down and tune in.
Not to escape life.
But to meet it — fully, honestly, and consciously.
And that feels like exactly the energy I want to carry forward into this new year.