The Year That Asked More of Me Than the Business

It’s 2026, lovelies – and without fail, the first Monday back to work comes with a very specific energy. The inbox wakes up feral. The calendar suddenly has opinions. And I feel an almost comical sense of urgency to do everything immediately.

Outside, the snow is falling softly – calm, quiet, cinematic. Inside? A full-blown derby race. Horses neck and neck. No clear winner. Zero chill.

That contrast followed me straight out of 2025.

sitting in the cenote after I bruised my bottom jumping in..

A Personal Detour

(a.k.a. The Universe Clearing Its Throat)

For the holidays, my family had planned a multi-generational trip to Cancun - cousins and great aunts and uncles spanning ages three to ninety-two. Months of planning. Big hugs at the airport. The kind of trip that feels like a minor miracle once everyone actually agrees on dates.

We arrived at the airport to early warnings of a delay due to "crew availability." We stayed optimistic despite the multiple delays.. then a brief flirtation with boarding… a sudden stop just before midnight... And finally, the inevitable: the flight was cancelled.

We were put up in a hotel for the night and, hours later, given a new itinerary - one that I can only describe as boldly unhelpful. The new scheduled flights fractured our group entirely. Families were split up. Children separated from parents (my children included) and elderly relatives who explicitly required assistance scheduled to travel alone days later. A logistical puzzle no one asked for.

Because I’m a (chronic?) action taker, I immediately connected with support and from 3:30 a.m. until nearly 11:00 a.m. the next morning, I stayed on the phone with a WestJet agent who assured me every fifteen minutes that she was “checking with support.” In that same window of time, I found four available flights leaving that afternoon that could accommodate our entire group. With every passing “checking with support” notification and hours passing by, my patience also grew thin.

Apparently, those available flights I found only existed for me.

So I did what 2025 taught me to do.

I stopped waiting for permission. I stopped outsourcing responsibility. And I made a decision.

I booked last-minute one-way tickets and got us to the sand and sun that same day – effectively only missing one day and night of our trip instead of the proposed 3… Slightly unhinged? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

The Year That Built the Woman (Not the Metrics)

 This moment didn’t feel dramatic at the time (ok, maybe a little unnecessarily so) – and honestly looking back, it mirrors the entire year behind me.

Some years drive the business and the business thrives. Other years build the woman.

2025 very politely – and then not so politely – chose the latter.

I made decisions I didn’t expect to be making 13.5 years into this career. I faced challenges that asked for clarity over speed, discernment over momentum, and self-trust over external validation.

Much like that day at the airport, the lesson wasn’t about control. It was about leadership. And knowing when to move, or cut my losses – even if the plan wasn’t perfect.

A Blank Slate (Freshly Painted OBVI..)

Like my favourite whites – Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace or Sherwin Williams’ White Snow – each new year arrives as a blank slate. Clean. Quiet. Full of potential. (And no, not Pantone’s Cloud Dancer. We need to talk about that another day.)

Yes, any day can be a blank slate if you choose it. But January carries a collective pause – an invitation to reflect without immediately rushing to perform.

Not every season is for scaling. Some are for strengthening.

Some years build what you can measure. Others build what you’ll rely on later.

And if this year is asking you to build the woman before the business, trust that it knows exactly what it’s doing.

Here’s to a year that honours depth, discernment, and the kind of growth that actually lasts.

In the meantime…

XO, 

Cynthia 

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