How Do You Want to Feel in 2026? A gentler New Year reset for women in midlife

Did you know we weren’t originally meant to start the new year in January?

Before 153 BC, the Roman calendar began the year in the spring—around March or April. New beginnings lined up with longer days, warmer weather, and things coming back to life.

Later, the calendar was changed for political and administrative reasons, and January became the first month of the year. That’s the Gregorian calendar we still use today—which means we now celebrate the new year in the middle of winter.

No wonder so many women in midlife feel out of sync. Our bodies are saying,
“Slow down. Rest. Hibernate.”
The world is shouting,
“New year, new you. Fix everything by Monday.”

If you feel caught between wanting change and wanting a nap—you’re not alone. 

Winter Is for Rest and Reflection (Not Pressure)

By the time January rolls around, most midlife women are tired. Holidays, family, work, caring for everyone else… it’s a lot.

In another post, I talk about the 7 types of rest women in midlife need—physical, mental, emotional, social, sensory, creative, and spiritual. Winter is the perfect season to lean into those kinds of rest instead of forcing yourself into a big midlife “reinvention.”

You do not have to have your 2026 goals figured out by January 1st.
In fact, it may be healthier if you don’t.

In fact, I think winter is the perfect time to:

• • Catch your breath

  • Gently reflect on 2025

  • Decide how you actually want to feel in 2026

That’s what this blog is all about.

Why Resolutions Don’t Quite Work in Midlife

Traditional New Year’s resolutions focus on what you do:

• Lose weight

• Get organized

• Work out more

• Save more money

Nothing is wrong with those goals. But for midlife women, they’re often built around who we think we should be, not how we want to feel.

You can hit every goal and still feel disconnected, lonely, or restless.

That’s why, in my No Resolution New Year series on Instagram and Facebook, we’re doing things differently. Instead of rushing into goals, we start with reflection using the Midlife Balance Wheel—a simple tool that helps you look honestly at different areas of your life.

You can download the free Midlife Balance Wheel here:

Once you’ve reflected, there’s one powerful question to ask:

How do I want to feel in 2026?

Why How You Want to Feel Matters

You need to hear this before you make another resolution:

Goals work better when they’re built around how you want to feel, not who you think you should be.

Think of feelings like:

• Calm & grounded

• Joyful & energized

• Content & aligned

• Connected & loved

• Confident & brave

• Creative & curious

When you choose a few guiding feelings, they become a filter:

• Does this support how I want to feel?

• Or does it pull me away from it?

I had a client who chose one guiding word last year: peaceful.
That one word shaped her whole year. If something didn’t bring peace, she practiced saying no. When she did feel peaceful, she paid attention to who she was with and what she was doing—and then created more of that.

Her life wasn’t perfect, but it felt more aligned.

A Simple Exercise: Choose Your 2026 Feelings

You don’t have to rush this. You can work through it slowly over the winter.

1. Reflect with the Midlife Balance Wheel
   Notice where you felt strong and grounded in 2025—and where you felt off, stretched thin, or unhappy.

2. Use the Midlife Feeling Word Bank
   I’ve included a Midlife Feeling Word Bank in this post to help you find the right words.

   Circle the words that describe your best moments in 2025—and the ones you wish you’d felt more often.

3. Pick 2–3 words for 2026
   These are not resolutions. They’re anchors. As you move into 2026, you can ask:

   • Does this decision move me toward feeling this way?

   • Or is it pulling me further from it?

Let those feelings shape your goals when you’re ready.

What to Do Next (No Rush Required)

You don’t have to do all this reflecting before the clock strikes midnight.
Give yourself all winter if you need it.

And if, as you do this work, you realize you’re ready for a deeper shift, my 10-week group coaching program, The Midlife Roadmap, is where we turn all of this reflection into a real, doable plan for this next chapter. We'll start the next group on January 19 and I'm currently offering $100 off (message me for the code). 

You don’t need a “new you” in 2026.
You need rest, reflection, and a clear sense of how you want to feel—
so you can build a life that matches it.