Every January, I give myself permission to experiment. Instead of overwhelming myself with resolutions on Jan. 1, I treat the month as a “free trial” — a time to test routines, build habits, and sit with my goals before committing to them. Looking back, I’ve honestly been doing this unintentionally for as long as I can remember — half because of my short attention span and the other half because I never really understood why we were rushing in the first place (plus, I guess I just like to be different).
The only difference is that, this time, it’s intentional. Everything about the year is going to be intentional with me more than ever — more intentionality, more clarity, just more because I want more for myself. I deserve more… and less — because whether you believe it or not, less is not more.
I used to feel behind every January. Like if I didn’t have my life figured out by the first week of the year, I was already failing. But treating January as a trial run changed that. It allowed me to slow down, reflect, and actually ask myself what I want before jumping into a version of myself I hadn’t fully thought through yet. Growth doesn’t need to be rushed to be real — and starting the year slowly has helped me approach growth with more clarity, intention, and grace than ever before. And here are the three things I remember to channel it.
Clarity comes before everything
A lesson I’ve apparently been relearning every two weeks over the past year is that the hardest part is starting. And that lesson applies to literally every aspect of life. The only problem is that when you’re “just starting” a full-blown life rebrand you’ve been subconsciously curating for the past 20 years, jumping in head-first maybe isn’t the best approach. But you still have to start somewhere.
Taking January to slow down forces clarity. It makes you see things for what they really are — not what you wish they were — and think before you act. Toward the end of December, I start my reflection process. I look through photos, journals, old notes, social media archives — anything that jogs my memory of the year. I let myself think and feel without judgment. No rushing. No rewriting the story. Just reprocessing it.
This year’s reflection made me revisit memories and events I never gave myself the time or grace to process when they were happening. And that’s when it hit me: clarity is important always, but right now, it’s essential. You just lived 365 days. How many of those days did you actually have a clear mind? And how exactly are you supposed to clarify all of that… in 24 hours? Yeah. Exactly.
Intentionality changes everything
Once I started getting clear, I had to make sure I was being intentional — about everything. And yes, I mean everything. This is your life. Every part of it deserves intention.
I’ve noticed that so many of us, especially women, unintentionally put everything before ourselves — work, relationships, responsibilities, expectations — and then wonder why it’s so hard to place ourselves anywhere at all. It’s hard to put yourself on a pedestal when you’ve been teaching yourself to stand in the background.
This year starts with you, intentionally. Intentionally reflecting. Intentionally resting. Intentionally giving yourself the time and space to just be. One sentence that carried me through 2025 was “No one is coming to save you.” Scary? Yes. Motivating? Also yes. It means you have to be intentional about your life — it’s yours to live.
The best way to start is with a life audit, IMO. I reflect on everything: career, relationships, friendships, finances, habits. And the most important part? Keep it real with yourself. Because you can’t live intentionally without honest intentions.
Grace makes growth sustainable
Grace is the final theme I’m carrying into 2026. And let me say it louder: Give yourself some damn grace. You cannot grow with clarity and intention if you don’t give yourself the same — maybe even more — grace you give everyone else, clock it!
And giving yourself grace isn’t just reacting to how others treat you. It’s choosing compassion before outside voices even enter the conversation. It’s giving yourself time to process. To rest. To exist without guilt.
My biggest form of grace has been intentional rest. Real rest. Carving out time to do nothing — not “productive” nothing, not multitasking nothing — just being. And trust me, it’s done more for me than I ever expected.
So for January 2026, our big three are clarity, intentionality, and grace — in that order. This month is our test run. Try new routines. Explore new habits. Adjust your expectations. I’m still figuring out how to do all of this while starting a new semester, but hey — I’m giving myself grace. And if I’m being honest, I also need to take my own damn advice. Reflection doesn’t stop just because I wrote this essay.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to start somewhere.