2026: Showing up for myself

#250

What a year 2025 was —a roller coaster that left me dizzy, questioning, and somewhere between exhausted and exhilarated, the kind of year where you emerge realizing you've lived through more than you initially thought, where the ups and downs weren't evenly distributed but clustered in unexpected ways, where some months felt like they contained entire seasons of growth while others felt like I was just treading water, going through the motions without really being present.

The latter half of the year brought a lot more introspection —what drained me, what restored and healed me, how often I was running on empty without even realizing it, and how those moments of clarity, however fleeting, were pointing me toward something I needed to actually address.

As I step into 2026, I hope to make something intentional out of those late-year realizations. Self-care has become such a loaded term—wrapped in expensive candles and productivity culture—but what I mean is simpler and harder: actually caring for myself with the same thoughtfulness I extend to loved ones. Mind, body, soul.

I chose three themes to focus on this year with higher frequency and more awareness:

Meditation: Insight Timer has been my anchor. Ten-to-fifteen minutes a day, completely free, and it creates space to notice what's happening inside instead of just reacting to everything outside. It may not always fix everything immediately, but gives me long-term gains.

CrossFit: A real game-changer I discovered only six months ago. What struck me is that it's genuinely for anyone. I've never been consistent with any kind of fitness before, always found reasons to quit, citing lack of motivation, but this turned out different. You see wins almost immediately. Heavier lifts. Faster times. These small victories stack up, and suddenly you're motivated to come back because you're actually stronger. Thanks to CrossFit, I automatically eat better and sleep better. It has become my - what James Clear calls - "keystone" habit. A virtuous cycle.

Conscious hobbies: Reading and playing the guitar for 10 minutes a day remain my constant. Last year I read over 80 books and learnt to play over 20 songs. This year I have 20 books already lined up across eclectic categories: fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, economics, self-improvement, spirituality, young adult novels, novellas. Books are how I make sense of the world, how I borrow other people's wisdom and experience, and find comfort in this relaxing activity. Guitar is how I scratch the itch in my brain, do hard things, and push myself through deliberate discomfort to achieve growth and learning. A stretch goal I've taken up this year is to resume blogging. A year-long hiatus has given me ample space to think, and also fodder for new content!

Why these themes this year? 

The clarity from meditation helps me move more mindfully. I use the adrenaline and momentum from CrossFit to supercharge my day and feel energetic. Books give me frameworks and reasons why any of these matter in the first place. Guitar and blogging soothe me and help me find inner peace as well. And finally, all of these tie back to my 2026 overarching theme: Self-care.

2026 for me isn't about becoming someone different. It's about showing up more consistently for who I actually am—and it starts right here, with this post.