Life Is Precious: Starting 2026 with Awareness

Life is precious. How are you starting 2026 in a fast-changing world?

I remember being in my postdoctoral clinical psychology program at the California Medical Center in San Francisco, CA, when we lost an intern to a seizure. He loved NPR. He was young, brilliant, and full of potential. His life ended suddenly, without warning. He is not the only person who left this world too early.

Moments like that stay with you. They remind you that we are on a journey without guarantees and that awareness changes how you live, if you let it. As the year begins, I find myself reflecting on what it means to live fully now, not later, and what truly deserves my energy and attention.

Reflection and Action

I usually start the year with both reflection and action. Practices like meditation, reading, daily routines, and physical exercise help me stay centered, while I also remain intentionally open, agile, and future-focused in the face of ongoing change.

My clients are doing the same. They have full lives with families, friends, responsibilities, and ambitions. They are navigating organizations in flux while trying to lead well, do meaningful work, and make thoughtful choices about what comes next.
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Many are keenly aware of how precious life is—not in an abstract way, but in how they spend their time, how much they carry, and where they draw boundaries. As the year unfolds, it is worth considering what you may be carrying that no longer serves you and what you are intentionally choosing to protect.

Living and Leading Amid Change

Life is changing quickly. It demands new ways of thinking, learning, and adapting. I have not yet mapped my next sailing or swimming steps, or even what my next adventure might be, but this moment itself feels like an adventure.

I am focused on continuing to grow my two businesses while staying open to what emerges next. I see that same openness in many of my clients. Across industries, we see that reorganizations, leadership transitions, and geopolitical factors are reshaping how work gets done. Many leaders are stepping into new roles, navigating uncertainty, and redefining priorities in real time. This requires agility, flexibility, and the capacity to think clearly under pressure.

Some of my clients have been practicing these skills for decades. I see them responding thoughtfully to new information, data, and research as they navigate change. Staying steady when the ground shifts often comes down to knowing what helps you re-center and think clearly.

Choosing How to Move Forward

Even now, I believe in continuing to dare to dream. I’m thinking about how to deepen my own learning so I can better support my clients, while remaining curious about what my next chapter may hold.

The pace of change makes internal grounding more important than ever. Reflection, physical strength, and awareness are not luxuries; they are foundations. Ethical and effective leadership requires learning from challenge and uncertainty, then allowing those lessons to shape what comes next. I see my clients doing this every day as they adapt, refine how they show up, and continue to contribute thoughtfully and creatively.

We are alive on this earth. We owe it to those who came before us, and to ourselves, to live life fully and consciously: life-affirming, aware, grounded, and agile.

As the year begins, what kind of year are you choosing to create?

If you would like support as you reflect and plan, feel free to reach out at                           [email protected]