New year, new me.

These last few days of the year I’ve been doing a retrospective on the past twelve months. There were many activities—professional projects, lifestyle habits, and spiritual practices. Because I didn’t use a consistent method to record and evaluate them, it’s been hard to recall the details of each one. That’s the first insight from this exercise: I need to track and measure my goals instead of relying solely on memory.

Since I couldn’t gather every fact for each area, I chose to focus on the efforts that brought me the most happiness and peace. One of those was meditation. A deeper practice regularly transports me to a state of tranquility and joy. That bliss and calm, born from daily moments of silence and prayer, leads me to be mindful in other areas of my life. I noticed for instance that I had poor eating habits, so I took action on that fast: adjusted my sugar intake, which immediately improved my sleep. I also saw that I spent too much energy on life’s negative drama, so I stopped sharing my time with certain people, news sources, and entertainment that made me anxious.

I applied the same reflection to my professional life, health, friendships, relatives, work and workouts.  And discovered that I had spent a lot of time and money learning skills I am not good at. I earned the professional certification, which was useful because at least I committed to the end of the program, but deep down I knew I would never use those skills with confidence. It was eye‑opening to realize how much wellness meditation has brought to my health: being mindful of my eating habits has had a positive impact on my life. I also recognized that I’ve been spending time with people who don’t value friendship—the lack of an apology, accountability and honesty—make me think it is time to look for closure. I kept chasing jobs that once worked well for me, even though their systems, values, and metrics have changed dramatically. Leaving those roles and following my intuition to turn my dreams into reality pushes me hard. I need to increase my visits to the gym. Fitness may seem boring, but its rewards are well documented and worth the sacrifice.

From these observations—well, from what I can recall—I’ve decided that in 2026 I’ll devote more time and energy to the areas that spark enthusiasm and harmony. Those will become the criteria for deciding whether to pursue any given activity.

The retrospective also revealed setbacks. I now view those obstacles as “learning opportunities,” a label that helps diminish their negative impact. I’m learning to move through them without letting them dominate the areas I truly want to focus on. It’s hard—my mind constantly pulls me back—but the effort is worth it; reframing setbacks as learning opportunities frees mental space for new goals.

In 2026 I’ll set concrete resolutions for each domain, grounded in the insight I’ve uncovered: the pursuit of joy and peace. I will definitely keep meditating—its quiet benefits are priceless. I will also track my goals so I can adjust them at the right moment; daily review is essential.

As the year ends, we mentally restart, reset, and refocus. I’ll harness this psychological shift to become the best version of myself. New year, new me.