Into the Mix with 2026...
2026 Kicks!
Or something like that...
ANYWAY...it's a new year, it's a new day, it's a new dawn and I'm hearing Michael Bublé in my head...
So after a week spent breaking down what worked and what didn't last year to prep myself for a new year what did I land on? What big changes am I making? And...yeah. I'm not.
I mean, I've been a little restless and bored (song switches to Bob Seger) but I also know that the things I do work so I just need to reframe a little and set a few numbers to them and make sure I'm focusing on the why that I do the things I do to remind myself that it's important.
The year ahead is going to be a challenge. I mean we already know that. It's the 250th Anniversary of this great nation of ours is what we will hear on a constant loop leading up to the MOST PATRIOTIC FOURTH OF JULY EVER. Add in an Olympic cycle and a World Cup and man it's going to be a hard year to be in a constant state of disappointment with your country. And yet...
I will be.
I am so sad about what has already been destroyed and what will continue to be destroyed. I am disgusted with the damage that has been done and that it will be long past my lifetime for it all to be fixed. I am even more disgusted with the response of some of the people that are supposed to be on "my" side that it's okay to be a little bit of a bigot if you don't go full bigot. People, let me tell you, you've already decided what you are, you are just negotiating how far you're willing to go to protect yourself at that point.
So with midterms coming in November we are going to get some of the nastiest campaigning out there. We are going to get the worst hot takes of hot takes. And then we are going to see if there is enough left of our democracy to hold an actual free and fair election. You all know I'm not actually hopeful about that, but I would love to be wrong with every single fiber of my being. It's such an odd thing to constantly wish you were going to be wrong for someone like me who loves to be right so very much. But here we are...
So 2026, what are we focusing on? Same as 2025. Defiant joy. Protecting my heart, my mind, my family, my friends, and as much as I can, my country. Those people in DC are vile but my people? We're all wonderful, aren't we? We are smarter than AI slop. We are kinder than ICE thugs. We are more fiscally responsible than the grifters in Trump's orbit. And we are more cognitively sound than the president. So let's act like it.
So smaller goals...
The overarching theme is What have you done today for your brain and heart health? Breaking that down to asking myself Is this benefitting me? And not in a material or selfish way, but in that basic question. Is what I am doing right now good for my brain or my heart? If the answer is yes, carry on my wayward son (Kansas starts singing) if not then stop in the name of health before you hurt your heart (The Supremes chiming in).
Reading: Always my favorite goal. It's the one I'm going to do no matter what so it's kind of a gimme. This year I'm aiming for 70 books with one book a month being nonfiction and at least one book a month coming from my already owned TBR pile. The first book of the year was started in 2025 but the finish date is the one that counts so I will already have my nonfiction book done. Yay me! Obviously this one is good for my brain. Even when what I'm reading is fluff fiction, it's still good for me. It's like if chocolate cake was health food.
Writing: I want to make sure I still focus on this one. It gets challenging when the world is turning to shit around me but I enjoy it, I get a huge mental health benefit from it and I can connect with you all through it so it sticks. I'm aiming for at least 260 blogs this year with 52 of those being fiction. Yes, I'm aiming for one a week. I'm also continuing my exchange with Dana, which I want to say this is year 4 of that so wow! That's an accomplishment in and of itself. Writing is good for my brain on two levels. It helps me with my mental health and it stretches my cognitive pathways in new directions.
Language: Still keeping up with Duolingo. Like I said, before, it's not really making me fluent but it's helping my brain anyway. Anytime you can learn something new it's good for your brain. Music, language, crafts, it's all new pathways and all great brain health.
Daily positive meditation: Sticking with this one. The new book is a little different than the old one was, but I think it will work out just as well, maybe even better. I like the time each day to stop down and focus on something positive. Some days it's harder than others so this is a good way to force the issue. Good for my brain.
Masterclass: Started this back up last year and I'll keep it for at least the full year subscription. It's a pick and choose thing for me to listen to experts in their fields talk about what they do. It can be inspiring or just interesting. I like them. But then again I always liked the Keynote speakers at the conferences I went to. I'm odd that way. Love an inspirational speaker who is good at their job. Good for my brain.
Chores: Okay, here is one I've been trying to figure out how to work into my new framing. And honestly it's its own thing. I do chores because they need done. I could say it's good for my brain in that I need the house to be tidy (not as tidy as Brent needs it) to feel calm and centered. Too much clutter stresses me out. So it's good for my mental health to have a clean house. I could also say it's good for my brain because I often work on my writing in head while I clean. I could say it's good for my heart because I'm moving and when I put on the jazzy music I'm grooving while I clean. But honestly it's just what needs done. And that's okay too. Sometimes in life we just need to do what needs done. I'm breaking out my day by daily chores, weekly chores, monthly chores, quarterly chores, twice a year chores and yearly chores. I'll make note of what I've done. Obviously the daily chores are every day (cooking, cleaning the kitchen, scooping the litter), weekly chores are the things that need done once or twice a week (bathrooms, dusting, laundry), monthly chores are the things that only need done once a month (windows, baseboards, the little detail things) and so on and so on. I think what I'm going to do is look at rearranging my time in the day for chores. Set aside a block of time and tackle whatever I feel is on the list that day. A couple hours a day should be enough most days. Good for my brain, my heart, my marriage....
So we've got a lot of brain health covered. How about that heart?
Workouts: I'm going to mix it up a little bit. I've been bored so I need to break it up and change it around. I think I've settled on a 10 day rotation. I want/need to work on weight bearing exercises, cardio, balance, core strength, and flexibility. Trying to get all of that in and keep the workouts short enough not to seem overwhelming has been a challenge. So I decided not to. I'm going to cycle through all of them on different days. We will see if it's enough work to challenge my body and my muscles and adjust accordingly. But something different everyday seems like a good idea right now. Good for my heart. Also good for my brain. Working out has been a very effective mood stabilizer for me. It's a twofer.
Weight: I still want to lower my weight. I would like to be around 15 pounds lighter. I would like to unpack all of those clothes I put away a couple of years ago "temporarily" so I'm going to give it another go. I'm going to track what I'm eating and see if there are changes there that I should make. Either volume or content. I think it's probably content. But either way I'm going to try to figure out if I can budge the numbers. And if I can, then I will be really happy about it. If I can't? Then I will be investing in new clothes that make me happy to wear and sending away those packed up things to never speak of them again. Right now I feel like this is another twofer. Weighing a little less would be good for my heart. Liking what I see in the mirror would be good for my head. I'll be doing the work to like what I see in the mirror, either way, through acceptance or through dropping a few pounds. And of course making sure I'm eating healthfully is good for my heart either way.
So that's the year ahead. Same as always just framed a little differently. I've never been a new year new me person and that hasn't changed. I just want to be the best version of me that I can. Life is short and it gets shorter all the time. What am I doing today that is benefiting my brain or my heart? I'm writing, I'm planning, I'm moving forward.
2026 in the mix
Happy New Year, love you all!