New Year, New View

Oh, it’s that time again, when the New Year’s resolutions, intentions, ideas, calendars, vision boards, and fresh starts roll around.

How does this time make you feel? Are you excited for a new year? Dreading a long cold season (in Ohio, at least)? Are you thankful the holiday season is finally over and assessing your financial bottom line? How’s your body? How well did you meet your physical needs or protect yourself from overindulgence in food, drink, late nights, and questionable family dynamics? Maybe you’re feeling a little of all of it.

Let us take a moment to recall that January is part of the Gregorian calendar and was created by humans. This is fine, but it benefits you to remember that this is not the start of a new year for Nature, and therefore, your body. This time in the Northern Hemisphere is still very much a time of hibernation, rest, quiet, incubation, gestation, and tending the internal fire. Let’s not be harsh, critical, or demanding of our bodies while it’s still dark and cold.

And let’s take into consideration that it’s entirely possible your nervous system is a little (or a lot) dysregulated after the holidays. If you are experiencing more of any kind of symptoms—pain, fatigue, rashes, viruses, GI upset, headaches, anxiety, autoimmune flares—these are the signs that your nervous system is activated at some level of fight/flight. What it’s asking for is a return to rhythm. It’s fun to stay up late, imbibe, and indulge, but that is not sustainable, and it’s time to gently ease yourself back into a rhythm.

I like to think of returning to tending the inner fire, which post-holiday means returning to the core of what nurtures you. So hearth, home, rhythm, fresh air, comfort, friendship, dreaming, and yes, planning for what you want to experience this year—but consider doing this with the idea of a return to routines that sustain you, or perhaps a gentle reset, slow creation, and purposefully choosing what 2026 will hold for you. It is a perfect time to investigate and incubate all those fresh ideas while returning your body to gentle, familiar rhythms.

I like a beautiful new calendar with clean pages just as much as the next first-born, high-achieving daughter. I love New Year’s Day (vs. New Year’s Eve, when I’d still like to be in bed around 9 p.m.). I love to look at fresh white pages, my list of Instagram saves for “best trips close to home,” or “10 places to see before you die” (yikes, no pressure there…). I used to like to have all the commitments I am aware of penciled in because it helps me feel like the year somehow won’t get away from me, like if I can anticipate every possible thing, I will not feel overwhelmed, I won’t forget important things, and will somehow feel accomplished. By the way, trying to control for all the variables is also a sign of a nervous system that feels unsafe (dysregulated). There is nothing inherently wrong with any of this, but let’s take a look at underlying motivation and the things that really move the needle year to year.

As we age, we tend to become more and more aware of how quickly time feels like it is passing. So really, the key is not what you accomplish—it’s how you feel.

So for a moment, set aside your calendar and your lists.

Close your eyes and place your hand on your chest and your other hand on your thigh or belly.

Take a nice breath in and let it out.

Say to yourself out loud or in your mind:

“When it is one year from now, how do I want to feel when I look back on the year 2026?”

“How do I want to show up this year?”

“How do I want to feel about myself, my body, and my life at the end of 2026?”

What is the first thought, feeling, word, or image that pops into your mind?

This is your truth before your mind starts spinning a story about what is possible or what you should do.

Now, when asked this question, lots of people will say, “I want to feel peace and joy. I want to feel present.” OK—how do you feel that? How do you know when you are feeling peaceful and joyful? How is it in your body? Can you identify a time when you felt present? How did that feel in your body?

Others may say, “I want to get into shape, travel, get a promotion, etc.”

OK—how will that feel? What will those things do for you?

This is the place to start from as you begin to craft your lists, vision boards, and calendars for the new year.

What do you want the view to be when you look back on 2026?

Health and Integrative Life Coaching through Partnered Healing can help you refine and achieve your desires for 2026.

Join us for our monthly Partnered Healing Community Group session on January 8th. We will be discussing gentle reset, nervous system regulation, and planning for the year ahead. Details and RSVP are live on the website events page.

Written by Jessica Cochran, BSN RN

Integrative Life Coach