It’s December and for me that means it is “blog every day month” an effort for which I have long since concocted a list of blog-able reflective topics called my December-ish posts each of which should do little more than offer a leaping off point for some rambling writing to fill up my daily blogging quota.
Today that topic is…
One quote that
sums up your 2026 is…
Flexibility.
Now, before you go thinking this is some kind of subtle yoga reference, consider one fact: I’m writing this post on December 31st —and not on the thirtieth like I should be. Like, the timestamp will imply.
I am being flexible.
My life has been filled with hundreds (if not thousands) of little personal goals. I set out plans and mark milestones. I create bars for myself to jump over… and it’s starting to become a problem.
I overthink. I get pangs of anxiety trying to keep up with my own little task lists. I state a win condition and then struggle to meet it.
And sometimes this is a good thing, sure. Having standards for yourself is a way that standards are met. Saying you are going to strive to write so many words per day, or swim so many laps per week, or run such and such a distance every month, or read a specific number of books in a year. It can be a real motivator.
But it can also create obstacles. Real obstacles. You start to lean into those goals as unbreakable standards, and then if something does break—well, in my case? They often don’t just break but I often then turn around and give up.
Missed a couple days of sketching on that streak? Shrug. I guess I’ll draw again next year.
Wasn’t feeling like a run today. Oops. I guess I’ll take the rest of the week off, too.
Oh, you were planning on practicing your violin every day between rehearsals but missed one session. Oh well… why bother again tomorrow.
I need to break that cycle for myself. Thus, my goal of 2026 is flexibility. Fewer goals, more concepts. Less absolutes of full accomplishment, more experimentation with attempting completion. It sounds counter-intuitive, but I think in the end it will lighten the effort and bring me more fulfilment in my hobbies and side projects.
So this post is an example of that flexibility. Sure, I missed writing a proper post yesterday (um, today) but I’ll just write it a day late and update the timestamp so it appears on the right day. Shrug… and keep plugging along. Happy new year.