2026 Goals
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Hello friends,
Happy New Year. I know it is the end of January, but it took me a bit to mentally move from 2025 to 2026. Lots of new people here, welcome. In full disclosure, 2025 was the worst year of my life, by a landslide, and I have entered 2026 still dealing with some profound situations, and I am not sure when the end is in sight. Just keeping it real: as always, I will bring my truest, most authentic self to this space.
We rang in the New Year with friends we made during our 10 months living in Ecuador way back in 2015. The short story is that we hosted a lot of parties to make friends with the local community when we moved to Ecuador. These friends came, we connected right from the beginning, and the rest is history. Now, years later, their daughter is attending uni in France, my girlfriend is doing a one-year advanced program in her field (also in France), and the rest of the family has come from Ecuador to explore France over the holidays. They even brought the grandparents! Plus, our friend from downstairs joined us with her kids. We had a beef and cheese fondue, and it was magical. There is nothing I like more than feeding people, like I REALLY LIKE IT. Food connects us!
It was a bit of a crazy night: Will almost cut off his finger trying to open a bag of Ecuadorian coffee, but my doctor friend saved the day with the membrane inside an eggshell to seal it, since we did not have Band-Aids. Will walked in on Grandma using the bathroom, bah ha. The youngest guest ended up with the glass that had the message “thanks for all the orgasms” at the bottom, and then she proceeded to ask, “Mom, what's an orgasm?” I almost had a panic attack on the metro because it was so crowded. Will almost got hit by a car trying to stop traffic so we could all get across the street. We never made it to the Arc de Triomphe because there were so many people and the streets were closed off. Someone grabbed my ass, and it was not Will. Will and I kissed at midnight on a small street in the middle of Paris to screaming crowds, with our kids and our friends. Life is good if you have good people in it. I am grateful for all of our friends who have been with me through a very rough period in my life. I am grateful for their tender care for my heart, and for their continued push to make me laugh. I am so lucky.
Yesterday, we recorded the podcast version of this post with Will adding in his goals. I also made a pdf of all of my text messages with Doug, just in case they disappear at any point, hundreds of pages. I then went down the rabbit hole of reading a lot of it. I miss him so much. He just got me, and I got him…and that is when you know it is a beautiful friendship, when someone understands your coolness, weirdness, trauma, dreams, and more.
So, let’s do this, 2026 goals. Go! Typically, we divide our family's goals into Personal, Business, and Health. We usually sit down on January 1st and share as a family, but as the kids launch and find new paths, we fit it in wherever we can, and what used to be big travel dreams have manifested in many different new adventures.
I used to make massive goal lists. I would accomplish half, and I was happy with that. Some years, I even exceeded that list and added additional items. As 2025 began, I knew the magnitude of what I would be dealing with (though some big, hard surprises emerged mid-year, too), so I chose to focus on relationships and being there for my people. As a result, I only accomplished my personal goals, not any business or health goals. And although I wish I had taken better care of my health, I would not have swapped that for time with those I love. If you want to read about 2025, you can do it here, but from this point on, I will be looking forward. Let’s do this in 2026!
Personal
Read one book a week: I love to read, but really never make enough time for it, as it has always felt too selfish with all the “other” stuff in my life. 2026 is the year I change that. In full disclosure, it will mostly be audiobooks because I process information better while moving. I will hold myself accountable by sharing a highlight from the book each week on IG stories.
Learn French: I need to for my visa, but I also want to communicate better in France. This has been on my list for years. Learning French scares me as it takes a lot of time and commitment, which I am endlessly short on. I would at least like to get to the A2 level by the end of the year.
Journal daily: One of my very few regrets. Although I blogged a lot in our early years of full-time travel and shared here, I still wish I had kept a daily journal of this WorldTowning life. But it is not too late.
Solve Avalon’s medical mystery: In an effort to protect her medical privacy, I will not elaborate here, but know this is the most important goal for 2026, and if I only accomplish this, then everything else can be pushed to 2027 or fall off completely, except…
Launch Largo: Not because we want to get rid of him, but because he wants to go to university, and we are in full support of that. I cannot believe we are going to be empty nesters, another season that fills us with deep sadness. I do not believe the best years are to come, and no one will ever convince me of that. These are the years! And I am so glad we soaked up every ounce of them, eternally grateful for 18 full-time, unbelievable years with our kids, and if we get some bonus years…even better.
Explore Paris real estate: I am not interested in getting back into real estate acquiring; that was another life, but maybe having a small place in Paris to recharge a couple of times a year.
Business
Write my AT book: Yes, I have gotten a lot on paper, but it is not even close to becoming a book I would put out into the world. 2026 is its year!
Start 2nd book: I have a handful of ideas for this one, from intentional living books to a coffee-table book on traditions to an international cookbook.
Open registration for more group hiking trips: I love to hike, and I want to take you with us. We have one hiking trip for 2026, the last 100km of the Camino Frances (Santiago). We only have 4 spots left, so grab one while you still can.
Gain more coaching clients: In recent years, we have not had space to add more clients, but in 2026, we have opened up some spots. If you would like to work with us, the details are here.
Produce 30 podcasts on The Why Matters: 3 (10-episode) podcast seasons, with breaks between.
Live the Dash project: Secret project I am currently noodling.
Health
Meditate daily: I am not holding myself to a specific style or time frame, as my lifestyle does not allow it. It might be sitting, walking, or eating meditations.
Hike: A lot. Currently, it is freezing, and I don’t like hiking in extreme weather, but I do have a couple of hiking trips planned, alone and with Captain (Largo), once it gets warmer, plus our group trip and our 25th-year anniversary massive hike. See below in health, the cats out of the bag.
Walk 10,000 steps a day (or what divides out to 10,000 per day at the end of the year): This is not hard for me to do, since I love walking; finding the time is the hard part. This can be part of my hiking goal as well.
Sleep 8 hours a night: This is complicated for me, but I know now how important sleep is, and I am committed. I am happy to report this happened last night. I have never received a 100, and I don’t remember the last time I slept 8 hours. I took a bubble bath, had a gummy, talked to family, and read my book, out like a baby.
Dance every day: I love to dance and rarely go to “clubs” anymore, but dancing to just one song a day can improve one’s mood so much, plus I get steps.
Take my supplements: Daily is the keyword, as I am good at taking them, but just not consistent.
Strength training: I loved how strong I felt after my AT thru-hike. I aspire to feel that strong again.
No sugar: This comes with a *. If it is food that others are providing for me, then I will not decline, but if it is a chocolate bar or anything heavily processed, I will say no.
Hike Norte Camino: The big surprise mentioned above. Yep, Will and I are going to celebrate 25 years of marriage with a big hike. And yes, our 25th anniversary was in 2025, but we chose not to celebrate because the year was already proving to be too much, and we put our anniversary on the back burner. But don’t worry….2026 will be our 25th anniversary, and we plan to do it up.
To be honest, I feel like this is very manageable, minus learning French, but we will see how the year unfolds. I am remaining positive for a lot of forward movement and answers this year. However, I have kept space open to ebb and flow as the year unfolds, as one big thing is launching Largo and becoming empty nesters, and I know that is going to hit me super hard.
How are your 2026 goals going? Do you set resolutions, goals, or do something else? How do you keep yourself accountable? I do a monthly check-in on my goals, adjust where necessary, and at the end of the year, we do a family wrap-up to get everyone’s thoughts on their goals. May all your 2026 dreams come true.
My 2026 word is find joy. 2025 was short on joy, and I’m committed to finding it again.
xoxo,
Jess (Sunshine)
To learn more about us, our mission, and our business, you can visit us at WorldTowning. To view our most recent group trip offerings, head over to WorldTowningvoyages.com. If you want to book a coaching session to turn your travel dream into a reality, schedule you’re. If you’re going to follow the travels of our WorldTowning family, you can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and The Why Matters Podcast.