2025 was a transitionary year. I decided to move six suitcases to Atlanta, then ultimately chose to remain in New York for the energy and support network. A promotion at work clarified that external markers that once brought confidence were no longer sufficient. I loosely recovered from surgery for more than half the year, limiting my ability to regularly work out, dance, and socialize, which ultimately resulted in a more introverted personality. I quieted, and the external sparkle I was known for dimmed as my attention turned inward. The medications could have a part to play too—I was able to do more things without resistance but felt emotionally flattened and grew anxious across different pillars of life. Overall, I became aware that I wasn’t accessing myself the way I normally do.
This is the language my 2025 used, and I’m ready to change that for 2026. While I don’t typically prefer to be so vulnerable online, I do want to remain authentic and wish to document my realities so I can look back upon this period and appreciate the change I’ve been able to effect in months, or even weeks, from now.
The Interregnum
2026 is my Interregnum, the time in between two reigns where power is being consolidated. Power has been lost, and I am not yet ready to enter a brand new era having defined who I am. Instead, I will spend this year grounding and stabilizing a new foundation that sets up the next era, a real dynasty to serve my thirties.
My 5 commitments for 2026 are related to and involve:
- health / establishing a daily rhythm that promotes physical confidence and emotional regulation
After months of physical limitations, I am rebuilding the relationship between my body and my confidence. This means creating non-negotiable routines: movement that makes me feel strong, sleep that allows me to recover, and nutrition that fuels rather than erodes progress.
- meta / grounding in self-trust rather than self-monitoring
Too much of 2025 was spent watching myself from the outside, constantly evaluating whether I was measuring up. 2026 is about moving from surveillance to self-trust and letting my internal compass guide rather than constantly triangulating against others’ opinions.
- love / being emotionally, physically, and logistically available for a healthy, committed romantic partnership
This commitment requires honesty: I haven’t been available. Between recovery, work intensity, and emotional flattening, I’ve been operating in survival mode rather than connection mode. Making space for partnership means creating capacity, not just hoping it appears.
- work / delivering core work with calm authority and without burning myself
This year is about finding sustainable excellence—setting boundaries that protect my capacity rather than proving my dedication through depletion.
- voice / articulating my thinking publicly in my own words
I’ve been quiet too long. Not just in social settings, but in the ideas I’ve let sit unshared, the perspectives I’ve kept private, the writing I’ve started but not finished. This year is about reclaiming my voice and sharing my thinking without waiting for it to be perfect. Contributing to conversations publicly rather than staying safely invisible.
Guiding Principles
This set of quotes is serving as my current inspiration for affirmations on alignment to these goals, or to a more privileged and slower way of moving:
“When I let go of chaos, I can make room for peace.” Ironically, I purchased a dashboard for my new disc-bound planner that states, “Chaos is the muse”—mentally I will interpret this the source of inspiration to get everything scheduled, everything figured out.
”Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” This involves incorporating language like: “Right now, I’m a little overwhelmed, but I’m getting this done and it will pass."
"What if I fall? Ah, but what if I fly?” I expect things to work in my favor, even when I don’t have things figured out. I have faith; I trust that things will work out. I cannot live an extraordinary life while expecting the worst.
Rest is something I honor. For women, it’s particularly important to prioritize this. Rest is leadership. Build a schedule around rest. Walk slower. Rest on purpose—work (personal, professional, chores, etc.) will always be there.
I move around with main character energy. I show up fully in this life I’ve been blessed with. I show up differently because I belong everywhere I go. Shrinking doesn’t serve me. I bring value.
These will serve as reminders in my times of need when I refuse pause because I haven’t been productive enough, when I treat rest as reward instead of requirement, when I only maintain instead of creating space for vision, or when I speak negatively about anything in life.
The Work Ahead
An interregnum is neither the old reign nor the new one. It’s the uncomfortable in-between where structures are being built before they’re visible. That’s where I am—the foundation is being poured, but the building hasn’t risen yet. This period takes patience, especially in a culture that rewards visible hustle over invisible preparation.
But this is the work that matters. Not the performance of productivity, but the actual rebuilding of capacity. Not the appearance of confidence, but the cultivation of genuine self-trust. Not the rush to the next achievement, but the deliberate construction of something sustainable.
I’m leading with faith, knowing that favor will follow.