Year-End + Hope’s Not for Sissies
As the year winds down, and life’s feeling December-crazy, the last thing on your mind might be hope.
Now, you know I am NOT an optimist. Snarky pragmatist? That’s me! But, as I reflect on what was best in 2025, one example looms large. It’s how positive change can happen when people step out of silos and join with others seeking something more.
My hopeful experience took place over several months, with a coaching group I facilitated. (We just wrapped up this week!) The magic happened among a group of senior leaders Zooming in from around the world – how cool is that? – motivated by one shared goal: mapping out a meaningful Post-Career Life.
The powerful results for group members came from choosing NOT to go-it-alone, spurred onward by structured reflection and a path-forward framework. Here’s what one participant shared: “When I came to the group I was feeling unsettled and flat about my future. Now I can see the light coming through the window again – psychologically, emotionally, spiritually.”
Bearing witness, it’s hard not to feel, uh, hopeful?
Hope has NEVER shown up for me as a character strength, so I’m experiencing a shift as I consider how to follow my energy, and where to deepen my work in 2026.
Of course, the companion pieces never go away: the wish-things-were-different feelings: powerlessness, anger, sadness, and despair. (Taking a moment here to acknowledge the truly bad this year: deliberate cruelty, and so much and many lost.)
Yet as I reflect on the group, and the year, I think hope has been a quiet partner -- and has something to offer still, if I’ll allow it oxygen. You, too?
The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. The most you can do is live inside that hope, running down its hallways, touching the walls on both sides. (shout-out Barbara Kingsolver, 2008, link below)
Oof. It’s hard to pivot from cynicism, or tough pragmatism, friend! (Maybe it’s not an either-or?!)
The timing couldn’t be better for me. On New Year’s Eve day (weather permitting), me, hubby - Peter, and dog - Ellie will travel by car to spend 2 months in Sarasota, Florida. Part vacation, part sabbatical, and part work. Even as I’ll be Zoom-meeting with clients on select Feb days, I’ve never taken this kind of time away from home for rest and reflection.
So, for 2026 for me, for you, I wish hopeful things, and love and laughter, to sit alongside the not-so-great stuff that’s just as real and true.
To that end, here’s the homework I’m giving myself. Might these serve you, too?
What hope do you have for your darn self?
What would it take for that hope to become true?
What’s at stake if you don’t at least give it a try – hopefully in the company of caring others, open to hear your truth, without judgment, or pat solutions.
I’ll leave you with this close:
“You can be as earnest and ridiculous as you need to be, if you don't attempt it in isolation. The ridiculously earnest are known to travel in groups. And they are known to change the world. Look at you. That could be you” Barbara Kingsolver Commencement Address (2008).
To a hopeful 2026 for you, and our world
P.S. If you’re curious about my Design Your Post-Career Life coaching group, or craving a conversation as you contemplate new chapters, I’d love it if you scheduled time for us here. I’ll be on sabbatical for a bit, but no rush - the next group doesn’t begin until March, so we’ve got time.