Word of 2026

 2026: Magical

I love living life with intention.

Not halfway. Not casually.

But fully—heart, soul, and presence engaged.

Each year, I choose a single word to guide how I want to live the year, not just move through it. A word that becomes a compass when I feel distracted, uncertain, or pulled off center.

Last year, my word was Focus.

I wanted clarity—of mind, body, and soul—so I could create what truly mattered for myself and for those who chose to share their time and energy with me.

And it worked.

Focus helped me step back and see my life more honestly. It helped me define what belonged and what didn’t. It also asked me to let go of things that no longer fit—never easy, sometimes painful, but deeply necessary.

That clearing led me here.

To this year’s word.

Magical.

Not magic.

But magical.

Just this morning, I realized something quietly important: I have been living very seriously. And while I am, at my core, a light-hearted and joyful person, I also have a long-standing habit of overthinking, overdoing, and competing with myself—always striving to be “better,” often chasing acceptance without even realizing it.

This pattern runs deep. It began long ago as a way to survive, to be needed, to make others happy so I could feel safe and cherished. Much of it lived far beneath my awareness—until this past year, when I finally saw it clearly.

I noticed how often I tried to fix situations so others would feel okay. Sometimes that was empathy.

But sometimes—quietly, subtly—it was about easing my own discomfort.

Seeing that truth was both tender and freeing.

And that clarity led me to my word.

Let’s pause with it for a moment.

Magic is about power, illusion, the act itself.

But magical is about feeling.

Wonder. Ease. Enchantment. Presence.

Magic creates tricks.

Magical creates experience.

That is what I am inviting into my life this year—the felt sense of being alive. Less pressure. More curiosity. Less fixing. More allowing.

Magical gives me permission to soften.

To leave room for surprise.

To trust that life doesn’t need to be forced to be meaningful.

As we begin this year together—Listening, Choosing, Trusting, Becoming—I see how perfectly this word fits. You cannot live magically without listening. You cannot choose wisely without trust. And you cannot become who you’re meant to be while carrying the weight of who you thought you had to be.

This year isn’t about doing more.

It’s about feeling more.

It will be an interesting year of discovery.

And I’m stepping into it with wonder.