How Do You Want To Feel In 2026?
A few months back, my (now) fiancé and I found ourselves with one of those rare weekends with no plans.
Determined to avoid it slipping by having done nothing of note, but unsure as to how to spend it, I asked the question “how do you want to feel this weekend?”.
This was a switch-up from starting with “what do you want to do this weekend?”, and helped us be more intentional about how we spent our time.
I followed my curiosity about setting feelings-based intentions and began experimenting with it in my work.
It’s been so effective that I wanted to share it with you here.
So... how do you want to feel in 2026?
This type of question is one I’ve been asking more of in the last few months.
It’s a theme which has come into view for me with recognising that life can be seen as a string of moments (many of which we’re not fully present in… but that’s for a different post). And recognising that these moments have a feeling or emotion marbled throughout them. Combined, these moments make up this thing we call ‘our life’ and impact how we reflect on it.
Examples of how I want to feel in 2026 are:
- Like I’m positively impacting the world
- Action-oriented (think: Man in the Arena poem)
- Generous towards others
- Peaceful
- Honest and supportive
- High in autonomy and freedom
If you want to get all Simon Sinek-y with it, this approach helps you start with your ‘why’, but on a deeper level.
It seems simple, doesn’t it? But in reality, when we look ahead at a period of time and make plans, like we tend to at the turn of the year, it’s common that we start with what we want to achieve rather than how we want to feel.
Occasionally, these goals happen to be in alignment with what we want to feel like.
Unfortunately though, much of the time they are ‘I’ll be happy when…’ goals. Or, the even more dangerous ‘I’ll be enough when…’ goals.
Many of us intuitively know when we set these types of hollow goals that, if we achieve them, we’ll be left with that empty feeling. We inevitably end up reflecting on the climb being better than the summit (probably because we felt purposeful, engaged, or had fun with others along the way).
So, what does this mean for your new year ‘goal setting’?
I suggest spending a few minutes thinking about your feelings in 2025. When did you feel:
- Most purposeful?
- Most at peace?
- Most proud of yourself?
- Most like you were growing?
- Most like you were positively impacting the world?
- Most connected with those who matter to you?
(You can adapt these questions based on your own values).
Use the insights you glean from answering those questions to set your goals and plans for the coming year.
Here's an example:
| Intended Feeling | Intended Strategy |
| Like I’m positively impacting the world | Be selective about clients such that I only work with open-minded leaders and organisations who are working on projects which inspire me. |
| Action-oriented | Spend a higher proportion of time on building real-world impact versus working with theory or doing ‘busy work’. |
| Generous towards others | Be patient, give time generously, and give without the expectation of reciprocation. |
| Peaceful | Structure time into my working day to walk (preferably on the beach).
Also, continue to keep my phone on Do Not Disturb as often as possible! |
| Honest and supportive | Deliver honest feedback to those I believe require it, and support others to surface ‘what’s not being said’ to drive individual and team growth. |
| High in autonomy and freedom | Simple: travel and explore, often. There’s no better investment (in my opinion).
Also, resist the idea that I have to be working certain hours or doing certain things to be considered by others as ‘working hard’. I measure my success. |
Beneath the strategies lie more specific tactics, like daily/weekly actions or certain skills which need to be developed, which feed into your strategy. The art is that it is all embedded and aligned. But that’s the easy bit once you’re clear on the intended feeling.
It’s a small tweak – starting with a more personally-aligned end in mind – yet it’s one which can support you in feeling how you really want to feel.
Which, when you add up those moments, leads to you living the life you want to live.
