It’s the first week of January, I’m working from home taking some time to reflect on the festive season and look ahead at 2026.

It’s so easy to get sucked into the toxic positivity of ‘New Year, New Goals’, seeing everybody’s 2025 successes and their impossible new wellness routines. Instead, January - for me - is a time to slow down after the Q4 chaos, enjoy the peace without festive stimulation, and set some intentions. To be clear – intentions, not goals.

Things get wild over Christmas and New Year; we get sucked into buying-the-fun-thing and trying out new trends – be it the Christmas cocktail recipe we sent our pals on Instagram, the hosting hack we saw on TikTok, or the outfit we saw our fave influencer wear. But January is the perfect time to take a step back and really think about what you want. Instead of diving headfirst into a new gym routine, trying to smash career goals or punish myself with a bloody juice cleanse, I find it much more beneficial to give myself time to slow down, recalibrate and actually *think*. How do I want this year to go? How do I want to feel this time next year?

That’s when it all comes back to the ‘why’ I talk about so much. I like to revisit the mind map that changed everything for me this time two years ago – a time where I was so lost, not only as a business owner, designer, and creative director, but as a person. It was going back to basics, thinking about my core values and writing down my ‘why’ on paper that helped me to see where I’d been steered off course and why all the effort I was putting in wasn’t working; and it all came down to authenticity. Once I realigned my plans with those core values in mind and used them to inform every decision I made, the tides started to turn. Over the course of the last 12 months I’ve finally rediscovered ‘the point’ and have never felt more sure of who I actually am – not just as a founder or a mum – but as me, Jade.

Right now, I’m taking a beat to think over whether everything from my marketing calendar and product drops to my personal schedule and home life align with those core values. Do my plans foster positivity, joy and belonging for my customers? Am I considering how to encourage strength, purpose, and confidence in my daughter? Without these key pillars, I find it so incredibly easy to wander down a path of doing what I think I should do, and not what’s actually right for me.

So, to kick off 2026 I’m leaning into ‘New Year, Same Me’, ‘cause the more I lean right back into who I am authentically and what I care about the most, the more the truly ‘right for me’ stuff happens. I’m re-listening to my all-time-favourite songs, wearing my favourite clothes and finding joy in all the small moments of this life I’m so truly lucky to be living. Part of which, is engaging with this wonderful community.

So, tell me - what’s your ‘why’?

Big Love,