WHAT 2025 TAUGHT ME: 10 TRUTHS I’M TAKING FORWARD INTO 2026

There’s something sacred about the pause between years… that quiet moment where reflection becomes clarity, and clarity becomes intention. This past year stretched me, softened me, challenged me, and reshaped me in ways I didn’t see coming. These aren’t “positive mindset” lessons or cute one-liners for Instagram. These are the truths that carved me open, built my resilience, and shifted the way I show up as a woman, a coach, and a human being.

As I walk into 2026, these are the insights I’m carrying with me, the ones I’m still integrating, practicing, and expanding into. May they meet you exactly where you are, and maybe even invite you somewhere new.

1. Action beats perfection every time.

For most of my life, taking action was never the issue, it was the pressure for everything to be perfect that held me back. The perfect plan. The perfect timing. The perfect way to show up.

I see this in my clients constantly too: the obsession with the “perfect protocol,” the need to control every variable so they can guarantee a certain result. But health doesn’t work that way, and neither does life. This is why I never hand someone a rigid six-month plan… The body responds in real time, and every woman’s feedback is different. You tune in, you adjust, you try again.

Ironically, I could teach this principle all day, yet in my personal life and business, I was still censoring myself, making sure I sounded polished, palatable, intelligent, “right.” In doing that, I held back the very parts of me that make me magnetic: my truth, my confidence, my authentic voice.

This year has been about unlearning that. About showing up messy, imperfect, in motion and catching myself when I slip back into old patterns. It’s still a work in progress, but choosing action over perfection has moved my life, my business, and my relationships more in one year than trying to show up “perfectly” ever did. Perfect kept me stuck. The lesson was: do the thing even when you don’t feel fully ready.

2. Be the egg, not the sperm.

Thank you Mel Wells for this beautiful reminder…. “Mmmm… egg energy”.

When we’re dysregulated, we overthink, we over-function, we chase, we perform, or we step into a masculine “push harder, do more” energy that isn’t natural to us… and honestly, it repels the very things we want.

This year showed me how deeply my body had been conditioned to lead, to initiate, to hold it all - not out of control, but out of necessity. In dating, in business, in friendship, I was so used to being the one driving the connection, the one creating the safety, the one steering the moment. It wasn’t until a moment on a dance floor, when someone tried to lead me and my whole body instinctively resisted that I realised how foreign it felt to truly soften, to trust, to be held. My nervous system had never known what it meant to be led without collapsing, overthinking, or taking over. That moment cracked something open. It reminded me that a regulated woman can be receptive, intuitive, anchored and that this is where our natural magnetism comes alive.

I realised I didn’t need to chase or prove or contort - I just needed to be the egg, not the sperm.

The egg attracts. The egg draws in what’s meant for it. The egg doesn’t pursue — it chooses. That shift into receivership, groundedness, and magnetism helped me make clearer decisions in dating, relationships, and even business. It reminded me that safety is what sharpens discernment, not force. And that when you’re anchored in yourself, you become naturally magnetic to what’s aligned.

3. Your feelings create your reality.

There’s a quote I’ve always loved: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” - Henry Ford. But this year I realised it goes even deeper than belief… It’s about how you feel.

We spend so much time trying to affirm our way into a new reality, rewriting narratives, upgrading beliefs, and while that inner work absolutely matters, it’s meaningless if you’re not actually feeling the emotional state of the life you want.

This clicked for me after listening to Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn and reading Amanda Frances’ Rich as F*ck. Both taught me that alignment isn’t conceptual - it’s emotional. Grabhorn talks about “opening the valve,” and every time I dropped into fear, scarcity, or a negative spiral, I could feel myself closing it. Dimming. Turning off my magnetism. But when I consciously opened it - when I chose joy, laughter, gratitude, presence, everything shifted.

Not because I forced positive thinking, but because I tapped into the feeling of the reality I’m moving toward. From there, magic happened in the smallest ways: the kindness I received from others, unexpected moments, aligned conversations, beautiful experiences, synchronicities I couldn’t explain. This practice isn’t perfect, and it’s absolutely a lifelong skill, but understanding that feeling - not thinking, is what creates the shift has been one of the biggest realisations of my year.

4. Let go of the small things so you can rise into the big things.

When I set off overseas at the start of the year, I was so intentional about wanting to make the most of my time away, personally and professionally. But within a month of arriving, I slipped straight back into old patterns, routines, mindsets, and rhythms that I thought I’d left behind. I don’t believe in motivation or willpower - they’re too fleeting. I do believe in inspiration. And even when I felt those bursts of creativity and acted on them, I expected fast results. When they didn’t come, I fell back into what was familiar. I was repeating what wasn’t working, pouring time and energy into things that didn’t move the needle, yet expecting a different outcome. Classic insanity.

It wasn’t until much later in the year that I realised I wasn’t lacking discipline - I was lacking focus. I was showing up to work, doing more hours than ever before, coaching my clients, being the embodiment of the lifestyle I teach… but I wasn’t focused on the right things. I was distracted. Pulled in a hundred directions. Enjoying the freedom and novelty and experiences of being abroad (all beautiful things), but energetically scattering myself at the exact same time I needed to be anchoring into the bigger vision. I was busy, but not effective. Inspired, but not directed. Embodied, but not refined.

This is where the “10x is easier than 2x” principle hit me hard. If you want to build something big, you have to stop tending the weeds. Let go of the things that don’t serve you. Release the small tasks, the low-impact habits, the distractions masquerading as productivity. It’s easy for me to coach clients through this, but integrating it myself required a painful level of honesty. I had to remind myself: you have big dreams, big goals, and a mission that actually matters. And while different areas of my life are important, this season required a sprint. Refinement. Focus. Choosing the work that moves the future forward, not the work that fills the day.

This realisation only fully landed in the past few weeks, but it’s already reshaped how I’m moving into 2026. Focus isn’t a mood. It’s a choice. And when you choose it, everything changes.

5. True evolution is choosing differently again and again.

This year showed me that real growth isn’t about becoming “perfectly regulated” - it’s about being able to catch yourself the moment you drift out of alignment and choosing a different response.

I’ve done a lot of inner work over the years, and I could feel how grounded, regulated, and safe my nervous system had become. But that didn’t mean old patterns disappeared. Instead, they showed up in quieter, subtler ways. Moments where I caught myself trying to prove my worth, over-explaining to feel needed, drifting into ego instead of essence, or pushing past the energy of a room rather than tuning into it.

The gift was the mirror: recognising the pattern as it was happening. That split-second awareness was enough to interrupt it. To pause. To recalibrate. To listen more than I spoke. To stop sharing my story out of habit and instead wait for the moment where it would actually serve. I realised I don’t need to be “on” all the time, and I don’t need to offer wisdom to be valued. Sometimes the highest version of me is the one who watches myself with compassion, notices the shift, and chooses a different expression.

This insight wasn’t about perfection - it was about ongoing evolution. A reminder that no matter how much work you’ve done, staying attuned to yourself is what keeps you growing.

6. They can only meet you where they are, not where you wish they’d be

One of the biggest reminders for me this year was the realisation that you have absolutely no control over someone else’s capacity - not in business, not in friendship, and definitely not in love.

As a recovering people-pleaser, I’ve spent years unconsciously moulding myself to fit the version I thought others needed: softening parts of me, amplifying others, showing up in ways I hoped would be met, understood, respected, or reciprocated.

But the truth is, someone can only meet you at the level of their own readiness. Their capacity has nothing to do with your worth, the size of your heart, or the intention behind your actions. And nothing you do - no amount of effort, love, self-bending, or “perfect” behaviour can change who someone is capable of being in that moment.

The work is learning to hold your centre, stay rooted in who you are, and stop shrinking yourself in an attempt to meet them where they aren’t. It’s choosing acceptance over over-functioning, clarity over contortion, and recognising that your path moves forward even when theirs can’t walk beside you yet.

7. Your environment determines your expansion.

I was reminded this year just how quickly your environment can shift your baseline - for better or for worse. I noticed myself subtly absorbing the habits, mindsets, and behaviours of the people around me: eating a little more chocolate because it was there, shrinking my dreams because others were being overly logical, feeling constricted around people who were hyper-focused on money, or expanding instantly when I was around people who were abundant, bold, and thinking bigger than their current circumstances. It became obvious how easy it is to get pulled into someone else’s rhythm without realising it.

And yes, we talk about being the thermostat, not the thermometer - but the truth is, your environment still matters. Managing your mind, your energy, and your nervous system is a lot easier when the space around you matches the frequency you want to hold, not one you constantly have to resist. Expansion happens naturally when you’re in rooms where dreaming big is normal, where overflow is expected, where delusion is celebrated, and where people are already doing the things you want to do. This year taught me to not only elevate my own baseline, but who and what you surround yourself with as it’s the foundation for who you become.

8. You have the capacity to hold it all.

For so long I played small, thinking I was chasing my dreams. I was showing up, doing the work, but seemed like I wasn’t progressing. I thought it was my strategy, but it was a quiet self-sabotage.

It wasn’t a fear of failure, it was a fear of successI was terrified that if I expanded, I’d slip back into burnout or fatigue or the version of me who used to carry everything alone. So I played small. I protected myself from my own potential.

But about midway through this year it finally clicked: I’ve spent years expanding my capacity - the nervous system work, emotional work, psychological work, energetic work… and the work had worked!

I realised I can hold so much more than I ever gave myself credit for, I just had to acknowledge I could. The big dreams. The big purpose. The big emotions. The big mission. All of it. And the truth is, more will continue to be added to my life as I grow — not less. So this insight became a reminder that my fear wasn’t proof of limitation; it was proof of expansion. I do have the capacity to hold it all, and doing so doesn’t compromise my boundaries or my wellbeing, it actually reinforces who I’m becoming.

9. Your big dreams require you to be (a little or a lot) delulu

I was fortunate enough to be in a number of rooms this year with extraordinary humans (especially women). What I witnessed was - every woman who creates something extraordinary has to be a little bit delulu — in the best possible way.

You have to believe in what isn’t visible yet. You have to trust the direction when the evidence isn’t fully there. You have to hold a level of conviction that most people will never understand, because they’re operating from their limitations, their fear, their belief systems - not yours.

I’ve had so many moments where people asked, “But what if it doesn’t work?” and my answer has always been the same: There is no Plan B. Not because I’m naïve, but because I know my mission. I know the life I’m meant to live. I know the woman I’m becoming. And I know that if someone else is already doing what I want to do, that’s not competition — it’s proof. It's an expansion. It’s a sign that my dreams are possible, too.

And if anything, this year taught me to dream bigger. Dream harder. Dream more. Not from greed or ego or selfishness, but from that electric space of what if this truly happened? And knowing, deep down, that it can. That’s your reminder that your vision is possible, your path is valid, and you are not delusional for wanting more.

Being a little delulu isn’t about bypassing reality; it’s about refusing to let other people’s limitations shrink your vision. It’s about meeting the edge of what feels unrealistic and choosing to believe in it anyway.

10. Get comfortable in the uncomfortable

I could write an entire book on this. In fact, one day I probably will. And I’m not referring to discomfort from the usual stress-resilience perspective I teach my clients — the cold plunges, the saunas, the hormetic stressors that build physical resilience. I’m talking about the kind of discomfort that comes from operating at the edge of your own limitlessness. The kind of discomfort that comes from choosing to be fearless. Fearless was my word for this year, and it challenged me over and over again to show up despite the discomfort. To live in the discomfort required for me to grow.

There’s a quote I held close: “The bigger the tree of your calling, the bigger the shadow of your resistance.” And it’s true — the resistance you feel is often the clearest sign you’re moving in the right direction. When we take action on our fears, challenges will arise. Discomfort will follow. But it’s not about hardening up or bulldozing through. It’s about building the kind of mental resilience, mental toughness, determination and strength that can’t be taught — it’s trained like a muscle.

The more you’re willing to put yourself outside your comfort zone, the easier it becomes. So think about the scariest thing you can do… and then go do it. Not from a place of recklessness or being unsafe, but because that’s where the magic happens. That’s where the results are. It’s the extra mile you push on your run. The extra minute you sit in the cold plunge. The extra hour you spend practicing when you could choose ease instead.

This isn’t about sacrifice, it’s about knowing the reward is greater than the temporary discomfort. And here’s the part that clicked for me: that resistance you feel, both internally and externally, is feedback. It’s your body telling you you’re expanding. It’s life rearranging itself around your growth. It’s a sign that something is shifting, that you’re breaking old expectations, outdated patterns, and inherited belief systems. Discomfort is not the barrier. It’s the invitation.