January 2026 Intention: Passing Good Moments

I posted a shorter version of this on Instagram, but I figured it would be equally important (if not more so) to document this on my blog. I have an end-of-the-year ritual where I get a body scrub and massage on December 31 to scrub off the previous year and let all the tension go from the past year. This is my 7th year of doing it. During that spa treatment, I try to think about what I want the upcoming year to look like with 20/20 hindsight of the ending of the previous year.

Disclosure: I love a fresh start. I am motivated by the delineation of a fresh start. In all its forms.

Coming off 2025, which was one of my more challenging years since 2015-2021, I’m embracing a fresh start.  In 2017, after what could only be described as 14 months of hell personally and professionally, I embraced the idea of a deliberate intention for each month to get back to, well, me. This level of mindfulness was something that I needed, and I feel like I’m very much there again. It wasn’t resolutions that I was looking for – it was more a long term reframing how I moved through my worlds in various capacities.  

So, I’ve decided to bring that back. My intention for January 2026 is to focus on the words of my friend Sebastian at Cave SD said, “I wish for you to pass a good moment here.” I wrote about this earlier this week, and it’s just stuck with me for a long time. Thus, I think I think it’s the right intention for January. Everyone is starting the year with anticipation for what is to come.

Wherever you find yourself in 2026,

I want you to pass a good moment.

One of the things that I’ve noticed over the last few years in my work with young people and young professionals is the reluctance to celebrate joy.  To be happy.  To shine.  To give yourself the brain space to be proud. There’s this idea if someone does well, someone else didn’t get that… so people dim their lights to accommodate others.  I’m not saying you should not exercise humility, but disappointment is part of life. How we handle disappointment is an even bigger part of life. I see so many people passively going through life without thinking about how to get to where they want to be in whatever capacity they wish for themselves. This lack of appreciation and joy for moments (big or small!) plagues me, and I feel like its something that people have been conditioned to accept is normal. 

If you find yourself passing a good moment, please celebrate it.

We’re trained to eschew the highlight reel and we’re conditioned to disregard what went into the highlight reel. Most good moments are the result of more than hard work (or luck). Attributing success merely to hard work (or luck) is a lie. I am bothered by the fact that we aren’t willing to talk about the entire process to get to the good moments, whatever that may look like for you. Let me say that again: success isn’t a result of hard work exclusively.  A lot of people work hard. It doesn’t mean that things work out. When people tell my students they are lucky, they are ignoring the sacrifices made by everyone for that happen. It doesn’t acknowledge the fact that everyone – from the students and families to the admissions officers made deliberate choices based on the opportunities presented to them. It ignores the sacrifice and focuses on the final result. While it shouldn’t be a privilege to have access to higher education, it is – and it’s intentional decisions all the way around. It minimizes their accomplishments… because it’s meant to.

Many good moments are a result of sacrifice.  Everyone I know that has been successful has been willing to sacrifice something.  Maybe it’s time.  Maybe it’s ego.  Maybe it’s how people are (or aren’t willing to) pivot.  Maybe it’s a combination of a little bit of everything and in between.  When we ignore the sacrifices made to get to a good moment, we’re doing a disservice to those around us who think that a moment is exclusively the result of circumstance, not our individual actions.

Stop Disregarding The HIghlight Reel

When we convince ourselves to eschew the highlight reel, we’re also training ourselves to not focus on the good. To ignore the positive. That’s not healthy. One of the best things that both Tom and my friend Erin did for me was to remind me about the importance of gratitude in my daily life. Things can be hard and they can be good. Focusing on the good doesn’t make you less human, and, in fact, I’d argue it makes you more human. Don’t dim your light and don’t ask others to dim theirs. It might be the only thing sustaining them right now. We’ve seen what happens when you flood the zone with negativity. Let’s try and see what happens when you flood the zone with positivity AND acknowledge how good things happen.

I have been inspired by my friends at Bakkerij Filip & Liraz who not only show you the beautiful pastries they make for their community, but what goes into making them, which allows all their customers to pass a good moment there. In January, on instagram (and hopefully on the blog), I will be highlighting people and places that have helped us to pass some good moments, in hopes that you will also enjoy some of those moments.     

The world is filled with so many terrible things, and it’s filled with so many good people who are doing what they can to help you pass a good moment here (wherever here is). 

My wish for you in 2026 is to define what you want to be your good moments to look like and also acknowledge what it looks like to make those moments possible. (And, stop telling people it’s luck or just hard work. That minimizes everyone involved, including yourself.)