Hey Professors.
Happy New Year. Today I’m going to be doing things a little bit differently; I’m going to be sharing with you my guiding word for the year. For the past few years, I’ve come up with one word at the end of December that serves as a kind of North Star for how I want to live and be in the coming new year.
And I know that many people do this as a practice…but I’ve found that this one really works for me, and works a whole better than setting New Year’s resolutions.
So, I pick my word in December while reflecting on what has transpired earlier on in the year. I also take the time to set some specific goals for the coming new year. I’ve often done this in tandem with the fantastic free tool called YearCompass—which I’ve talked about before on the podcast, on Episode 10: Draft Your Own Personal Syllabus for 2024.
In the past few years, I’ve chosen the guiding words:
manifest
build, and
resilience.
Resilience was for 2025.
This practice has really helped me to clarify the energy that I want to bring into the new year, and I also check in numerous times during the year with how I’m doing in terms of my intention.
In this 50th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, and the first one of 2026, I’m going to be reflecting on how I’m going to really try and lean into my word of the year.
Leaning Into NOURISH in 2026
So, I’m recording this episode in early January 2026, just before I intend to release it. Even though we’re only 10 days into the New Year, it has already shown us—for those of us in the United States—that there is going to be no break from state sanctioned violence and cruelty towards marginalized communities and their allies, as well as other countries.
I fear that things are likely to escalate in this coming year.
Knowing this grim state of affairs, I’ve decided that I want to be flexible with my goals this year. More importantly, I want to approach 2026 with a clear intention and mindset.
The guiding word for 2026 that I’ve decided upon is:
NOURISH
There are a couple definitions that come up for this word:
- To provide with the food or nutrients that are necessary for life, health, well-being, and growth.
- To cherish or foster
- To strengthen, build up, or promote
- To keep a feeling or belief in one’s mind (typically for a long time).
I love that this word has multivalences, that it has different dimensions to it, and that it can be applied to other people, other living things, and to oneself.
I also like that I can be creative with its applications and use this word to infuse what I’m going to do this year.
As someone who has been a primary, full-time caregiver for my father for nearly the past 3 years, I’ve thought about nourishment a lot in the context of stroke recovery and rehabilitation.
There’s the aspect of nourishment from the perspective of sustenance, which may seem the most obvious. But as one heads into the later stages of life, nourishment changes. As the body starts to slow down, one’s ability to intake food and nutrients—no matter how delicious or how plentiful—naturally decreases.
And so, a hearty meal that would have given adequate sustenance 5 years ago becomes dangerous to deliver to someone in the end stages of life. And for someone who has dysphagia (difficulty with swallowing), food and water (which in my dad’s case must be thickened) must always be carefully administered.
I’ve been thinking about how nourishment then, is not just about feeding someone nutrients and calories, but also intentionally nourishing their body, mind, spirit, and soul.
It’s about carefully listening to that person’s needs and desires, and providing them with gentle and compassionate care.
I think this is connected to that second definition of “nourish” which can also mean: “cherishing” or “fostering.”
I’m trying to be more mindful of creating “nourishing” experiences and moments with my dad, which I can then look back on and cherish.
Another way that I’m actively thinking about the word “nourish” this year is in relation to, well, me.
As a giver by nature, I often set aside my own priorities over others. This showed up a lot when I was a professor. And I wasn’t so good with setting boundaries, which led to exhaustion and burnout. Interestingly, now that I’m no longer in higher education, I still find it difficult to set boundaries being in the current situation that I’m in.
It’s funny how this is something that is recurrent, and something that I’m constantly having to tend to in my life.
So, given the constraints of being a primary caregiver for someone who requires 24-hour care with all ADL along with running my own coaching and consulting business, I aim to integrate “nourish” or “nourishment” in small but impactful doses this year:
I’m doing this by:
- Claiming respite at least once a week
- Trying out new local restaurants or cafes that tap into my exploratory nature
- Ordering or making food that I consider delicious
- Making it a point to see artwork on a regular basis
- Taking the time to see/hear inspiring performances
- Supporting the work of independent artists
- Figuring out ways to support others in nourishing ways
- Thinking about nourishment in broader terms and ways that can lead to sustenance and fortification of oneself and one’s community.
And on the flip side, it means intentionally staying away from things that do not nourish me. This could mean harmful behaviors, harmful people, tuning into the 24-hour news cycle, and bad habits like doom scrolling.
Okay, the third definition of nourish that I mentioned earlier: is to strengthen, build up, and promote. I think this aligns well with what I already do with my coaching clients. I do this by partnering with them in a supportive and also non-judgmental way. And it’s something that I will continue to do in the coming years.
I think this definition can also connect to a sense of strengthening or building up of local communities—which I think is absolutely critical in the current moment.
And lastly, the fourth definition of nourish is to: “keep a feeling or belief in one’s mind – typically for a long time.” Since my word of the year has already been tested in these first few days of 2026, I plan to double-down on my word, even if it’s going to take some real change and persistence on my part.
I hope that by doing this I can cultivate a steadiness in order to face what is coming my way this year. And I believe that by nourishing oneself and nourishing others is at the heart of our future moving forward.
It’s connected to self-preservation and what Tricia Hersey has advocated in terms of her Nap Ministry and her calling for rest as a form of resistance in the face of grind culture, capitalism, and white supremacy.
So, as we come upon mid-January, I’d like to invite you to consider in what ways you can create nourishment for yourself in the coming weeks.
And I would also love to hear what guiding words you’ve selected or connected to this year. Feel free to write to me at Katherine at RisewithClarity.com
As always, Stay strong and stay well.