Dear 2026,

Let’s have some fun.
Seriously.

Because YOLO.
And because I already need readers, so I am done weighing myself down with things that make life heavier than it needs to be.

Before I step into you, I want to acknowledge what 2025 taught me the hard way.

I do not have to fill every second of every day of every week of every month.
Leaving room to breathe is not laziness. It is a superpower.

I chose flourish as my word, and I did.
I built new ideas.
I impacted more lives than I expected.
I showed up stronger than I knew I could.

But somewhere along the way, flourishing started to look like doing instead of being.
And that illusion broke. Thankfully.

So I am walking into you lighter.

I am deciding, regardless of outcomes, to be light.
Effortless.
Happy.
Joyful.
Fun.

In 2026, I am done with overdoing it.
I am done hustling too hard and calling it ambition.
I am done confusing exhaustion for excellence.

My standard this year is simple.
It does not have to feel heavy to matter.

The work I am committing to is not louder. It is truer.
I will show up authentically, even when motivation disappears.
I will be present instead of productive just to say I was productive.
I will do good, and I will enjoy doing it.

Showing up in 2026 looks like laughter mixed with focus.
Presence over pressure.
Fun without guilt.

I know you will test me.
I know you might ask for more time, and that scares me, especially time away from my family.

I know resistance will show up in the tension between chasing excellence in bowling and being fully there for my kids. When that happens, I will remind myself that balance is not perfection. It is attention.

And when things feel uncomfortable, I will remember this truth.

It does not have to feel perfect.
Sometimes truth is uncomfy.

So here is my promise.
Not to the world.
Not to the highlight reel.
But to myself.

Shake it off.
Have more fun.
Feel the lightness.

When I read this letter at the end of you, I want to be able to say this with honesty and a smile.

I kept my word about finding the joy.

Let’s go.

Diandra