Creating your 2026 Road Map: A Guide to Intentional Growth

This isn't about resolutions. We all know how those go—bursts of motivation in January that fizzle by February, leaving us feeling like we've failed at something we never really wanted in the first place.

This also isn't about productivity hacks or optimizing yourself into a more palatable version of who you think you should be.

What we're doing here is different. We're getting honest about where we are, what matters, and who we're becoming. We're building a year grounded in authentic leadership (of your own life), radical kindness (especially toward yourself), and the kind of self-awareness that only comes when you stop performing and start being.

Before you write a single goal, sit with these questions. Really sit with them. Pour yourself something warm, find a quiet moment, and let yourself think without the pressure to have the "right" answers.

1. What did 2025 teach me about myself that I didn't know before?

Not what you accomplished. Not your highlight reel. What did you learn? Where did you surprise yourself? Where did you fall short in ways that revealed something true about your values, your limits, or your needs?

2. When did I feel most like myself this past year?

Think about the moments when you weren't performing, weren't trying to impress anyone, weren't checking boxes. When were you most present, most alive, most authentically you? What does that tell you about what you need more of?

3. What am I ready to stop apologizing for?

This one cuts deep. What parts of yourself have you been treating like problems to fix? What boundaries have you been afraid to set? What do you need to accept about yourself so you can actually grow from a place of wholeness rather than shame?

Write your answers down. Keep them close. These are your compass points.

Leadership isn't about having followers. It's about knowing where you're going and why it matters. It's about making decisions that align with your values even when no one's watching. It's about taking responsibility for your life without blaming yourself for everything.

List 3-5 things that, when you compromise on them, you don't feel like yourself. These might be:

These aren't goals. These are boundaries. They're the lines you draw so everything else can flourish.

Your 2026 commitment: Protect these fiercely. When opportunities arise (they will), measure them against these non-negotiables. Does this job align with what I need to feel whole? Does this commitment honor my energy? Does this relationship allow me to be honest?

Authentic leadership means saying no to good things so you can say yes to the right things.

We're culturally trained to be harsh with ourselves. We think self-criticism is what keeps us improving, but here's the truth: you can't hate yourself into a better version of you.

Radical kindness doesn't mean being soft on yourself or making excuses. It means treating yourself like someone you're responsible for helping. It means acknowledging that you're doing your best with what you know, even when your best falls short.

Look at how you talk to yourself. If you journaled or kept notes in 2025, read them. If not, just notice this week. What's the narrative?

Now imagine you're speaking to someone you love deeply—a child, a best friend, someone who deserves grace. Would you talk to them the way you talk to yourself?

Your 2026 commitment: Choose one area where you're habitually harsh with yourself and consciously practice kindness there.

Maybe it's your body. Maybe it's your career pace. Maybe it's your social anxiety or your creative output or your parenting. Pick one thing and for the entire year, every single time you notice the harsh voice, pause and ask: "What would kindness sound like right now?"

This is not a small practice. This will change everything.

Self-awareness isn't about knowing everything about yourself. It's about staying curious about who you're becoming. It's about noticing your patterns without judgment and asking better questions.

Set four dates in 2026—one per quarter. Treat them like appointments you cannot miss. On these dates, ask yourself:

What's working? Not "what am I doing right," but what actually feels good, aligned, sustainable. What's giving you energy rather than draining it?

What's not working? Where are you forcing something? Where are you pretending? What feels like you're pushing a boulder uphill?

What's one thing I learned about myself this quarter? This could be big or small. Maybe you learned you need more alone time than you thought. Maybe you learned you thrive with structure. Maybe you learned that certain people drain you and that's valuable information.

What needs to adjust? Based on what you've learned, what's one thing you can change? Not overhaul, not revolutionize—adjust. Small pivots, consistently applied, create massive change.

Your 2026 commitment: Show up to these check-ins. Put them in your calendar right now. Treat them as sacred. This is where you course-correct before you burn out or drift too far from what matters.

Here's the thing about goals: they should emerge from who you are and what you value, not from who you think you should be or what would look impressive.

With your foundation in place (non-negotiables, kindness practice, check-in framework), now you can set goals that actually serve you.

Aligned: Does this goal reflect your actual values, or someone else's expectations?

Life-giving: Will pursuing this energize you or deplete you?

Iterative: Can you adjust this as you learn and grow, or is it rigid?

Valuable: Will achieving this matter to you in five years, or just look good on social media?

Explorative: Does this goal let you discover something new about yourself?

Choose no more than five. Seriously. You're not a corporation. You're a human being with limited energy and attention.

For each goal, write:

Example:

Goal: Build a sustainable creative practice (writing 3x/week)

Why it matters: Writing is how I process the world. When I don't write, I feel disconnected from myself. This isn't about being published; it's about staying sane.

What it requires: Protecting my mornings. Saying no to early meetings. Having hard conversations about my needs.

Kindness practice: When I miss a day, I don't miss two. When I write poorly, I write anyway. When I feel like a fraud, I remember this is for me, not an audience.

Check-in metric: Do I still want to write, or does it feel like one more thing to check off?

Real change is slow. It's boring. It's the same decision made over and over until it becomes who you are.

You won't transform in 2026. You'll take hundreds of small steps toward someone you're still becoming. Some days you'll feel powerful. Some days you'll feel lost. Both are part of the process.

The goal isn't perfection. It's not even consistency. The goal is to keep coming back. To keep choosing yourself. To keep practicing kindness when it's hard and leadership when it's easier to avoid responsibility and self-awareness when you'd rather just coast.

Notice when you're living from fear and when you're living from alignment.

Notice when you're performing and when you're being.

Notice when you're harsh and choose kindness instead.

Notice when you're drifting and course-correct without shame.

That's it. That's the work.

Everything else is just details.

2026 will happen whether you set goals or not. Time passes. Life unfolds. Things change.

The question isn't whether you'll change—you will. The question is whether you'll do it consciously, with intention, with kindness toward yourself and clear-eyed honesty about what matters.

You don't need a new you. You need to become more fully who you already are.

Start there.

Now take these ideas and make them your own. Cross things out. Add what's missing. Make this guide reflect your actual life, not an idealized version of it. The point isn't to follow these steps perfectly. The point is to start paying attention.

Happy 2026!!

In Community and Conversation,

Jim