2026: The Year of Forward Motion

Dear Friends,

Ok, first of all, where did this year go?

Now that we have all expressed a collective smirk and nodded in agreement, 2025 (as these things usually go), for me, has had its highs and lows.

This year, I celebrated my son’s foray into double-digit territory. 10 years of wonder, intense love, patience tested, and the ever-presence of worry that comes with having a child, but also joy at the same time.

Professionally, I continue to learn a lot of lessons, one of which is reclaiming a version of myself that I had hidden for a long time, of embodying what I coach, and of (perhaps most importantly) removing masks that I have worn for as long as I can remember.

As the new year approaches, I am channelling what I want more of and creating more space for: substance, honesty, unwavering and solid support, and a tribe of women who I want to see flourish for being themselves. What I’m doing away with is pretence or performative conversations (not that I really ever engaged in them). And finally, as I look to 2026, I’m not interested in resolutions or reinvention.

As your resident life coach (yes, I decided to wear that crown), here is my message to you:

There is no New Year, New You plan.

What I am focused on is what happens when we stop seeing ourselves as the problem to be fixed—and finally get out of our own way. That doesn’t mean we ignore what needs to change or improve in our lives, or shirk responsibility for the actions that contribute to our unhappiness. It does mean we stop letting hesitation, self-doubt, or overthinking dictate our choices.

I spent this year in conversations with women who are intelligent, high-achieving, creative, funny, charming, dynamic, and trusted in their work. These are women I admire, respect, and genuinely like. When they came to see me, on the surface, their lives looked solid. But inside, many were carrying a tension that I recognise so well: they were ready for influence, ready for more success as they defined it, ready for meaningful connection, ready to branch out and focus on work that excited them—but they were still negotiating with themselves.

Not because they didn’t know what to do. But because old patterns—beliefs, narratives, whatever you want to call them—were persuasive, embedded into their nervous system. We all experience this. This is the unseen energy that acts as a gravitational pull, choosing our relationships, careers, and the situations we put ourselves in. It decides how we show up. It decides what we tolerate. It decides which doors we walk through, and which ones we walk past without realising they were ours.

We tell ourselves we’ll move once we feel more certain. Once someone else validates the decision. Once the timing feels safer. Once we know more. We outsource our authority. And yet the thing that consistently changes the quality of someone’s life isn’t effort or strategy. It’s what happens when that internal resistance eases. When we stop working against ourselves and start recognising that we have agency, even over our own feelings.

I’ve seen this shift again and again. When it happens, it’s magical to witness. Decisions stop dragging on and take a decisive turn. Conversations become clearer. Boundaries are held without argument. A confident calm settles within. It all makes sense. And when we’re in that space, we feel inspired, ideas move forward, relationships deepen, old patterns lose their grip, and the work that feels good to us starts to take shape. This is what my clients experienced. They experienced the impact of finally stepping out of their own way. They experienced life when it finally felt less like a performance and more like presence, focus, and a state of flow.

That’s what I’m carrying into the year ahead. 2025 made something clear to me: when I choose to pursue what feels aligned with my true ambitions rather than what feels familiar or “safe”, what is mirrored back at me are the people, conversations, and opportunities that reflect all that I embody and want to continue to experience. What was reflected to me was what I believe we need more of today: honesty, connection, and the courage to shed the masks we wear.

Now, if you’re the type that needs a sign (and I always welcome signs), in Chinese astrology, 2026 is the Year of the Horse—symbolising freedom, boldness, and forward motion. Numerologists call it a 1-year, a time for new beginnings, fresh starts, and stepping into our own power.

This is the year to act decisively, to live by our design, and to make things happen without carrying the overweight baggage of resistance that is our outdated narratives. It’s a year for choosing consistently with intention and acting without hesitation. It is for noticing consistently where we’re tolerating an internal friction that doesn’t need to be there. It is for acting consistently without over-explaining. It is for building the muscle of self-trust. It won’t always be easy, but it’s the commitment we make to ourselves every single day with small actions that will make a big difference.

So as the year closes, these are the questions I encourage you to sit with:

• Am I done negotiating with myself?

• Where would things move faster if I stopped hesitating?

• What would change if I backed myself without needing it to make sense to everyone else?

• 
  

You don’t need answers yet. You just need to be willing to ask.

And I’ll be here, continuing the conversations that matter, in rooms where honesty is valued, and nothing needs to be performed. I’ll be here to listen if you choose to share with me your story and to provide a safe space for you to shed what doesn’t serve you anymore.

I wish you a peaceful ending to the year, and a beginning that feels steady, self-directed, and true to where you know you want to be. You deserve this, you know.

Happy Holidays everyone!

And thank you for always making the time to read my posts.

Monita xo