For the 12 months ahead I’m repeating a practice suggested by Chris Brogan – thank you, Chris – who I first heard speak at Like Minds in Exeter way back in 2010. Each January Chris selects three words to focus on in the year ahead. I adopted this practice back in 2016.
My three words for 2026 are:
Responsibility
Value
Friction
Why this selection?
Responsibility
I believe we embody, and every day encounter, potential for doing both good and evil. The decisions we make from choices available to us can result in various degrees of good or evil, either directly or indirectly. Perhaps we do not intend to cause harm, but instead choose the most convenient option, because sometimes we don’t want to face up to our responsibility or bear the inconvenience and upheaval that a more responsible decision might entail. Reluctance to take responsibility can lead to small annoyances festering and blowing up into huge problems when not addressed. On a personal basis, this can include issues such as debt, which can grow from minor burdens to loss of all when not dealt with promptly. More widely, perhaps this is why too many of our beloved institutions are in crisis –due to a refusal to accept that everything runs its natural course and requires us to reform, renew or replace it – and too many cannot bear to contemplate this until too late.
Yesterday we met a stranger on our dog walk with whom we had a jocular conversation about the meaning of Christmas. Then the stranger looked me in the eye and asked: “Are you brave?” Recalling instantly the reasoning behind the choice of my three words, I replied: “Not as brave as I could be.”
Responsibility requires bravery from me in 2026.
Value
Like everyone else, I get enthusiastic about things – sometimes short-lived, at others more enduring. It’s becoming more apparent to me that life is so short and that I want anything I enthuse about to be of value. ‘En theos’ – the Greek base of our word enthusiasm – represents ‘in God’ or a concept equivalent to divine inspiration.
With so much burstable froth available to enthuse over that will only dry up as scum, I prefer the possibly over-ambitious option of aiming for the divine: presence among souls, the divinity of music, the marvellous touch of nature, the achievement of tasks with purpose, shared laughter and no regrets.
There is no greater value.
Friction
So many experiences these days are vicarious – from action films on screen to fairytale social media posts, video games, even email and messaging – and with AI generation, so much is not drawn from reality.
A real experience requires friction: the grip of a handshake; the bonding or clashing of personalities in face-to-face encounters; the immersion of the whole body in outdoor atmosphere on a walk; pulsing of blood and burning of energy to develop thoughts, then move interlinked elements to transmit them from brain to arm to finger tip, manipulating muscle, skin and bone, focusing eyes and listening to nib scraping paper to shape them into words with a fountain pen (as were these words).
Friction brings wear and tear, and tiredness, marking the performance of an act a physical sacrifice for total fulfilment.
The friction generated by every action we take embodies the value of life – I see a responsibility to perpetuate this.
Happy New Year!
Are you refocusing your aims for the coming 12 months?
