Here is my goal for 2026: Fail.
I’m going to fail to start listening to podcasts because, frankly, I like my own thoughts and the sound of very little.
I’m going to fail to do more at work–I’m giving up some big things and focusing, instead, on lesser ones that give me more unstructured time.
I’m going to fail to try to become better. I’ll never be a supermodel, a Nobel Prize winner, a perfect parent, or run a marathon and I don’t care. I might work on becoming a painter and I already know I’ll never be great at it. I’m just in it for the fun.
I’m going to fail at going to the gym five days a week. I may even congratulate myself, occasionally, walking up the stairs from my condo’s garage.
I’m going to fail at emulating the endless striving that has come to characterize, for many, a meaningful life. I think, instead, I’ll shoot for calling my mom every day and reminding myself how lucky I am. I don’t need more wins–I need more simple joys.
I’m going to fail at promoting my brand. Instead, I’m going for more walks.
I’m going to fail at never having a drink, being lazy, eating dessert, watching rom coms, or making bad puns. Life is way too short to be serious all the time.
So, 2026, bring on my fails. I kinda can’t wait.
How about you?
Great! Just don’t fail to fail or give up your fail goals before January is over!
Happy 2026!
Love this Dabney, there’s nothing quite like lowering expectations.
Two things I don’t want to fail at: get a year older, and visit NYC for my next birthday. Everything else is fail-able. HNY to you 🙂
If you make it to the Big Apple, let me know! I have a kid who lives there and visit regularly!
Thanks Dabney – I will!
I recommend reading Kate Clayborn’s LOVE LETTERING before you go to NYC. It’s not a guide to the city, but it taught me to look up and look around when I’m there. I’ve been to NYC a lot (at various times each of my children lived there), and I used to dash from one item on the highlight tour to the next (the museums, Rockefeller Center, and so on). But I now try to follow Meg & Reid and discover the more hidden aspects of the city. Sometimes the hidden aspects are in plain sight, it’s just that if rushing down the street one doesn’t stop to notice how varied the buildings are (they aren’t all steel and glass), or see the gorgeous decorative detail in the older buildings, or appreciate how the boroughs and neighborhoods differ. Take a tour of the Park Avenue Armory to see the Tiffany fireplace and learn some interesting facts about a place that was more than just a place to store weaponry. Take a tour of Rockefeller Center to appreciate the buildings from the inside; I’m grateful the builders cared so much about creating beautiful buildings for all who entered. Go to the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Arboretum (especially in the Spring when the Rose Garden is in bloom), then wander around Park Slope (or other Brooklyn neighborhoods). I could go on, but do visit NYC (and avoid Times Square if possible).
Hi Susan, thanks so much – this is gold! My idea came after I read Love Lettering (for the first time) – it’s a ‘zero’ birthday for me, and the plan is to spend two weeks in NYC and visit places that I’ve read about in romance novels, or heard about in romancelandia. So many ideas to go on my list – I’m not a tourist, but I want to feel the city and all the places – The Ripped Bodice bookshop, the Museum of Sex, the Brooklyn Bridge, Staten Island Ferry (from Promise Me Sunshine), the brownstones – it feels like a city that can rock a theme. It will be winter in December 2026 if I can pull it off. Thanks again!
Sounds good to me!
My New Year’s goal is to find things/reasons to be hopeful, in small ways and perhaps big ways. Also I’ll continue to work on accepting reality and finding ways to move on from that point, and stop fighting what I have no power to change (as in let go of anger). That still means working to make an impact and to change what I can for the better in my sphere of influence.
My goal is to build strength and push myself in honor of those I’ve lost. Watching loved ones get frail has been a harsh reminder about how important it is to shore up your reserve of strength, flexibility and stamina while you can. Basically, getting back to the basics and be better.
What a perfect resolution! Let’s be kind to ourselves.