2026: Stop Setting Goals. Start Setting Priorities

The beginning of the year often brings a frantic energy to set goals like trophies we want to collect. While goals are valuable tools for achievement, they often keep our eyes fixed on a distant horizon. This year, I am shifting my gaze to priorities. What if, instead of looking at where we want to go in the future, we looked at who we want to be in the present?

I see a goal as a destination, but a priority is a compass. It is the quiet choice of where we place our focus in the present moment. By establishing what is truly vital—our physical presence, our mental peace, our work, and our connections—we ensure that we don't just "arrive" at the end of the next year, but that we are actually present for the journey.

Here is a guide to checking in with your four cornerstones for 2026.

1. The Body: Your First Home

We often treat our bodies as mere vehicles to get us from point A to point B. This year, try to view your body as a living, breathing forest that holds your entire history.

• The Practice: Close your eyes. Scan your face, your hands, your heart. What sensations are shouting? Which ones are whispering?

  
  

• The Prompt: Write a letter of gratitude to your body for the ways it has carried you. What is your body trying to tell you that you've been ignoring? How will you prioritise its restoration in 2026?

  
  

2. The Mind: The Internal Narrator

Our thoughts create our reality, yet we rarely stop to listen to the storyteller. To prioritise your mind is to move from being the thinker to the observer.

• The Practice: Imagine your thoughts are clouds passing through a clear sky. Some are dark, some are light, but they are not the sky itself.

  
  

• The Prompt: What is the most frequent story you’ve told yourself this week? Put it on the page and look at it from the outside. Is it a true story, or is it just noise? How will you protect your "inner sky" this year?

  
  

3. Work: Finding Your Flow

Instead of looking at your career as a ladder to be climbed, look at it through the lens of Ikigai—the Japanese concept of "a reason for being."

• The Practice: Visualise a moment where you are doing something meaningful that feels like flow and supports others.

  
  

• The Prompt: Reflect on your "Purpose." What are the moments when you feel most useful and alive? What strengths do you have that can contribute to society?

  
  

4. Relationships: The Quality of Connection

Healthy relationships aren't just about the people we find; they are about the energy we bring to the room.

• The Practice: What would it be like if there was nothing preventing you from being the person who creates and encourages healthy relationships?

  
  

• The Prompt: What does a "safe" connection feel like in your nervous system? Are you practicing the behaviours you expect from others? How are you collaborating and working with others? How are you showing up for the people you care for?

  
  

Defining our priorities helps us become more intentional with the limited time we have on this planet. It is an act of self-respect and also kindness towards others.

If you are ready to start putting your thoughts into writing, join us at Grafto to begin your 2026 reflections. Your time is a non-renewable resource. Spend five minutes of it on yourself today.