This time next year 2026

Another year of hopes, dreams and wishes.

Last year, I penned a spiralling list of my thoughts about what I wanted my life to look like one year later, namely, this time next year. Reading it back was emotional, knowing that I made my way to most of my wishes, but most of the time, taking the scenic route (to say the least.)

I thought I would revisit this ritual and write my thoughts for this time next year, which felt like the most cathartic way to bid last year farewell and move forward into 2026. I hope you enjoy, and I can really recommend this for anyone else who teeters on the edge of the new year with quiet daring hope, but without that go-get-them resolution mentality drilled into us.

This time next year, I’d like to have the recurring issue of dirty, chipped nails. Odd, I realise, but for good reason, I promise. After all, dirty fingernails are a small price to pay for pivoting my career into horticulture. I’d like to get home at the end of the day, boil a kettle for tea and have a moment running my hands under the warm water, brushing off the efforts of the day.

This time next year I’d like to be able to say I tried. I tried to pursue my dreams. I tried to be a better partner, friend, daughter, sister, aunt. I tried to rediscover my confidence. I tried to run the races. I tried to make content I enjoyed again. Even if the trying comes with failure.

This time next year I’d like to be able to tell people how I feel. Even if it makes me feel uncomfortable, especially if it makes me feel uncomfortable. I’d like to prioritise rewiring how my brain prefers to keep me isolated, even when I know I have people who are there to help.

This time next year I’d like to say yes more than I say no, but when I have to say no, to do it with honesty. I’d like to drop the shame that I don’t have a bottomless bank account to match the lives of others, or the social battery to spend days without rest. I’d like to feel confident in my gut feelings, understanding that no one knows me better than me.

This time next year I’d like to hike another mountain, or at least a big hill. To eat homemade sandwiches along the way, to comment frequently on the weather and to greet everyone I see on the way up. I’d like to stand at the top and feel really proud of the girl who didn’t grow up with activity in her blood. The girl who grew up afraid and was taught to give up when things get hard.

This time next year I’d like to have passed my exams. To prove myself wrong, to know that academia is for me, I just didn’t find the right path the first time. But I’d also like to know that if I failed, that’s okay, and it’s just a part of the journey. Failure isn’t a permanent state — it’s a temporary learning curve.

This time next year I’d like to have found community. To bond over hobbies. To run with others, to garden with others, to read books with others. I’d like to remember that I’m someone who needs social connection and that it’s a good thing to be a part of something bigger. I’d like to be a villager in someone else’s village.

This time next year I’d like to have learnt how to accept compliments. How not to self-sabotage when something is going right, out of shame, fear and discomfort. To understand I’m allowed to find success, to be liked, to be loved.

This time next year, I’d like to be the person who I truly believe I have the capability to be. The person who remembers to send a card. The friend who isn’t afraid to pick up the phone. The person who has solo dates the cinema. And rides their bike into town just because they need a change of scenery. The person who doesn’t craft their day around another’s, but always finds pockets of time for everyone. I’m ready to be that person.

This time next year I’d like to enter the new year without undue worry. Without what ifs. Without comparison. But most importantly, with the tools to deal with those things, if they should arise.

This time next year I’d like to look back on 2026 as the pivotal year that changed my trajectory, no longer a lost wanderer, but a woman with purpose and happiness.

Hopefully, you enjoyed this post, if you did, I would be eternally grateful if you would share/restack so I can reach more people like you. Also, don’t forget to tell me what you would like to see in yourself this time next year!

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