The Art of Looking Ahead (Journal prompts for 2026)
On this threshold of the year, in what I’ve recently heard called “void week” (the last calendar week of the year), I love goal setting for the year ahead.
Actually, I’ve been looking ahead to ’26 since October, but now feels like as good a time as any to post up some thoughts on goal setting for the calendar new year.
When I set goals, I take time to visualize and feel how I’d like my future self to feel when I get clear on what I’m ready to let go of and what I am calling in more of.
For me, goal setting is less about fixing or forcing, and more about listening.
It’s about sensing into the body, the nervous system, the emotional landscape — and asking “What wants to be nourished next?”.
Below are some journal prompts to support that process.
As always, take what resonates and leave the rest. Let the body lead. Let images, feelings, and sensations come before words if they need to.
✨ Future-Focused, Embodied Journal Prompts
When I imagine myself at the end of 2026, what do I feel in my body first?
If my future self could speak to me now, what tone would their voice carry?
What does “enough” feel like in my nervous system — and how do I know when I’m there?
What am I ready to release so my energy can move more freely next year?
What emotions do I want to experience more of in 2026 (not achievements — feelings)?
Where in my body do I already sense the version of me I’m becoming?
If my life next year had a rhythm, what would it sound like? Fast? Slow? Spacious? Steady?
What does safety feel like in my body — and how can I build more of that into my days?
What kind of environment does my future self live, work, and create within?
What am I calling in more of — not because I should, but because it genuinely brings me alive?
What boundaries will protect the version of me I’m growing into?
If I trusted myself deeply, what would I choose next?
What does success look like when it’s defined on my own terms?
What small, embodied actions could help me live closer to my future self now?
How do I want to feel when I wake up most mornings in 2026?
So I hope some of these inspire you to sit and visualize your future self in the now.
I hope you feel inspired to create the world you’re longing to live in. We all have a unique piece of this collective experience, and we are all so intimately connected — even when it’s hard to see and easy to forget.
Your joy and peace liberate others to be in their joy, peace, and most importantly: authenticity.
I know that, if everything goes according to plan in 2026, I will be leading a life that looks quite different from the one I have just lived in 2025. I am excited for the grand adventures ’26 will bring. I am also savoring each and every moment in the end of this chapter I’m finding myself in.
We may have just entered winter, but I am starkly aware of the changes spring will hold — not only in nature, but in my own life. Still, I savor and slow down. I ask myself, “How slow can I live and still stay present?”
I wish a fabulous winter to you, and an even more fabulous new year with many blessings coming to you and yours. Thank you for pausing to reflect with me.
Until next year. ✨
