My Word for 2026

Every year, I choose a word to help guide me, something simple and meaningful that keeps me grounded in what matters most. Last year, my word was Refine, and it showed up again and again throughout the year. I found myself refining processes, routines, priorities, and even the way I think about life and business.

This year, my word is Cultivate.

Cultivate is a word rooted in patience, care, and intention. It’s not about rushing to the finish line. It’s about tending to what already exists and helping it grow strong and healthy over time. As someone who has spent a lot of time around plants and greenhouses, the word just fits. Growth doesn’t happen overnight. It happens because something is cared for, nourished, supported, and given the right environment.

That’s the kind of year I want 2026 to be.

What I Want to Cultivate This Year

This year, I don’t want to start a bunch of new big projects. Instead, I want to focus on what’s already here; in life, in business, and personally  and make it stronger, steadier, and more intentional.

I want to cultivate:

• Consistency: showing up day after day, even in the quiet, ordinary moments
  
  

• Patience: giving myself time and space to grow without pressure
  
  

• Confidence: trusting my instincts and my abilities in every role I carry
  
  

• Connection: with the people I serve, work alongside, and do life with
  
  

• Peace: creating rhythms and boundaries that help life feel steady rather than overwhelming
  
  

Cultivating means tending  and tending is slower, quieter, and deeper than just “doing more.”

Why Cultivate Matters to Me

Over the past year, I noticed that I often felt reactive instead of proactive. Life moved fast, and sometimes it felt like I was just trying to keep up. This year, I want to be more intentional. I want to build systems, habits, and routines that support the life I’m creating, instead of scrambling to manage it all in the moment.

Cultivate reminds me that meaningful growth doesn’t happen through hustle alone. It happens when we slow down long enough to care for the things that matter; our work, our homes, our relationships, and our own well-being.

Bringing Cultivate Into My Work

This word also shapes how I think about business. My heart has always been to serve well, to create meaningful experiences, thoughtful details, and beautiful moments. Cultivate means:

• continuing to improve the experience I offer
  
  

• deepening relationships with customers and clients
  
  

• caring about the details that make things feel special
  
  

• staying true to what matters most
  
  

It’s about building depth, not just busyness.

A Year of Tending What’s Already Growing

I love that cultivate is both gentle and strong. It’s a reminder that growth can be peaceful, that progress doesn’t always have to be loud or dramatic to matter.

So here’s to tending, nurturing, strengthening, and growing with intention in 2026.
I’m excited to see what this year blooms into, not because I rushed to plant more seeds, but because I cared deeply for the ones already in the ground.

And if you also have a word for the year, I’d love to hear it. There’s something incredibly powerful about naming the season you’re in.

Here’s to cultivating a beautiful year ahead. 

Talk soon,

NK