Intentions for 2026
I head out in less than two hours to meet up with a friend for New Year's Eve activities. I'm eager to end 2025, and start fresh tomorrow.
I know resolutions are hit-or-miss, but I still take the occasion of a new year to reflect on where I want to go. I want to look back on 2025 as an inflection point on my journey, from lost to found, anxious to resolute, floundering to determined.
So here's a mix of clarifications, resolutions, and goals I'm making for 2026. They're what I intend to enact within the year ahead.
Clarifications; or, what do I want to know?
- Where I'll be in the next three to five years in terms of career and living situation.
- The details of my research agenda as a scholar; a road map for five years.
Resolutions; or, how do I want to live?
- Less Internet. In this last week, disconnecting (for the most part) from life online made me realize how much my mind gets entangled by doom-scrolling, regard for technology, online chatter/discussion, etc. I've come to enjoy using the setting that turns networking off on my laptop. Writing felt quieter, more focused, and even enjoyable. This also relates to how I stopped streaming my music this year and switched to single-purpose devices for listening.
- More purposeful use of tools. On that note, I'd like to have a better relationship with my Kindle and read more. With my stationery for analog writing—I'd like to write first drafts by hand and use my computer to revise. And with my gaming platforms. Tools are meant to be used, each of these examples have utility (even when it's just to derive enjoyment).
- Better relationships with people: quality over quantity. I've lived long enough to know what to look for in the people I want in my life. In my scholarship and service, I have to interact with a wide range of people and personalities, but I have learned my criteria for friendship. Also for romantic connections. Also for colleagues. Just as it's OK if not everyone enjoys my presence, I should like to be OK with keeping people at a distance if I don't feel they have a role in my life.
Goals; or, what do I want to achieve?
- More writing, for this blog, private journaling, and scholarship. I know I have the ability to write well, and 2025 taught me that my areas of improvement are not technical, but practical: the discipline of showing up every day, of respecting deadlines, of taking seriously what writing can achieve (even in the era of gen AI)—these are the obstacles to my progression as a writer. I like the idea of using a calendar and marking 'x' for each day I write, and starting a chain.
- A handle on my personal finances. Being a student sucks, especially in the current economy. I've acquired a bit of debt in the last year. In 2026 I'd like to tackle repayments and getting my finances back under control.
Thematically, across all these intentions, there are four ideas I'd like to manifest every day to ground me:
Slowness is a virtue. Festina lente (make haste slowly) was a motto of Augustus. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast is a mantra of the Navy SEALS. Goethe advised, "Do not hurry; do not rest." I strongly dislike the anxious energy that comes from rushing, as much as I dislike the mistakes that result from it. I'll pursue my intentions with steadiness.
Default to simplicity. My choice to limit my exposure to the Internet unless I have a purpose can be framed as this: I want my default state to be offline. As a millennial, I recall several years of youth in which I experienced boredom and had to find ways to keep myself engaged. Somewhere in the last decade (or approximately the time since I got my first smartphone), being connected all the time meant my default state was always online. I desperately want to reverse this because I know I deserve a good quality of life, one that gives my mind the space and time to think without distractions and influences. This is just one example, but I think the principle of defining a "default state" conserves energy in making decisions, especially the recurring ones of modern life.
Appreciate the moments. With slowing down and minimizing distractions, I'll ideally increase my attention, focus, and concentration. In turn, I should like to find more enjoyment in what I choose to spend my time on. In 2025 I spent a foolish amount of time regretting the past and worrying about the future. Part of why I'm ready for this year to be done is because it was just mid. Where I did find enjoyment was when I lived in the moment. So, I'd like to make that my default preference in 2026.
Above all, I set these intentions in an effort to be kinder to myself. Once more, I hope that 2025 represents an inflection point in hindsight. This obviously means that I hope I have better years ahead. Yet hope is not a strategy, and getting there cannot be rushed. So, as I learn to slow down and focus on the present and find enjoyment in it, I wish to also cultivate self-kindness.
Thank you, 2025, for your lessons. To 2026: I look forward to our time together.