Embracing the New Year: Your Guide to a Thriving 2026

Navigating January Blues

…apparently, the jury is still out.

After the clinking of champagne glasses and staying up later than we should (since, well, last year), we look to 2026 to fix all the wrongs of 2025. Personally, though, 2025 was a great year for me, so I was really just hoping things would continue as they were.

Most people, however, take on life-changing habits the moment the calendar flips. The seasonality of gym memberships is staggering. People vow to get that promotion, take that trip, or ask that person out on a date. No wonder we experience crippling anxiety and then quietly fail at taking on these potentially life-altering tasks.

Despite my personal luck and sentiments, I’m still experiencing the January blues. After two weeks of leave, having a lovely time with family and friends, getting back to work feels like an insurmountable task. How on earth do people expect me to just work like nothing happened? Like, excuse me? I was thriving in my “holiday era”.

The Weight of January

Then, of course, there are the 65 days of January. Staring at that salary that now has to fix all the wrongs of December. Having done this arguably 20 times over since I had to start adulting, why is it that we still have the same feelings and mental overheads? Do we not learn from our mistakes? Or are we just committed to the tradition of financial regret?

In an article published by Forbes, they explain that “January anxiety” often comes from a perfect storm of three factors:

• Anticipatory anxiety: January feels like an open-ended year full of unknowns, responsibilities, and possible failure, which can trigger rumination before anything even happens.

  
  

• Post-holiday depletion: After weeks of high stimulation, social momentum, and disrupted routines, many people hit a “post-holiday blues” crash as work or school resumes and the brain recalibrates to a lower-reward baseline.

  
  

• Identity threat: New Year messaging can frame January as a time to become a “new you,” which can destabilise your sense of self and create stress from the gap between who you are and who you think you should be.

  
  

They suggest coping by focusing on small, identity-consistent wins, deliberately replenishing emotional energy, turning big resolutions into simple systems and micro-habits, and allowing a gradual transition back into routine rather than expecting instant motivation.

The Impact of Seasonality

In another article by Dave Robson on BBC Future, they suggest that the season can dent the mood as a result of reduced daylight.

Fortunately for me, being in South Africa, that hardly contributes to the mood, so I thank my lucky stars I’m in the Southern Hemisphere and don’t have that extra layer to deal with.

Finding Inspiration

One night, during a doom-scroll pre-bedtime routine, I came across a reel. Now typically, I watch self-help clips with a huge amount of cynicism. This time, though, it resonated with me. What the feather-covered “Tay” uttered caught my attention and I kept watching. She promised that after watching THIS clip, I’d deliver on the best 2026, and then I’d want to kiss her on the mouth. Strap in, Tay. I love a challenge.

1) Misogi: A Journey of Purification

Misogi is a traditional Japanese Shinto ritual for purification. It involves cleansing the body, mind, and spirit, often through immersion in cold water like waterfalls, rivers, or the ocean. This practice helps shed impurities and achieve clarity, renewal, and strength.

For Tay, this meant planning a bucket-list item. Something you’ve wanted to do for a long time, but never get around to doing. In my case, it’s the Breedekloof Camino, a 5-day hiking adventure through picturesque valleys and vineyards in the Western Cape.

2) Six Mini Adventures: Spice Up Your Year

Now this is something my husband and I already do. We make time for friends and places to visit. What this forced us to do, though, is be a little more strategic. Space things out so it’s financially more viable, and plan around our schedules. Wait. Did I just feel a little jolt of adrenaline? Mmmm.

3) Four Winning Habits: Small Steps to Big Changes

This immediately made more sense. Planning your depressing challenges spaced out over 365 days feels a lot more achievable than attempting life surgery when you’re already down. I really like this one because you give yourself time to plan the habit properly. Like asking ChatGPT for the steps you need to take to stop vaping, instead of going through a sweaty withdrawal in an otherwise tough January.

My husband and I sat down and plotted out our Misogi, the mini adventures, and the habits we plan to adopt for 2026. By the end of this year, I’ll be able to tell you whether Tay is due for a sloppy one from this Daddy Bear.

Embracing Change: Be Kind to Yourself

Whatever your survival mechanisms, please be kind to yourself. Remember that failing and starting again is part of the challenge. Otherwise, it would have been a habit already. And if all else fails, start again next year.

Now tell me, what are your goals for 2026? Let’s make this year one to remember!