As the year winds down, many of us are reflecting on 2025—what it meant, what it taught us, and what we hope for in 2026.
For a long time, I believed I had to keep proving myself. That my worth depended on how many degrees I earned, the places I know, how quickly I could leap from one achievement to the next. I was always in motion—chasing titles, applause, validation, luxury hotels. I’d take photos in front of monuments and convince myself I was living a meaningful life.
But looking back now, I don’t see a life well-lived. I see a man running.
What about you? Did you truly live in 2025—or were you just moving?
Life has a way of slowing us down, whether we are ready or not. First, it whispers. Then it shouts. And if we still don’t listen, it knocks us flat and forces us to pay attention.
For me, it was a back injury. Years of lifting patients, neglecting my own health, and ignoring the emotional toll of constantly showing up for people who drained me—it all caught up. The final blow came this year. I injured my back during surgery and ended up bedridden. No dramatic exit. No sympathy. Just me, in pain, trying to breathe through it. I vanished quietly. Hid behind painkillers and silence. And in that stillness, I had to face myself.
I began asking the questions I’d been too busy to confront:
– What was I really chasing?
– If I couldn’t walk again, would any of it matter?
– Would anyone remember the titles before or after my name?
– Had I truly been present for people—or just passed through their lives?
🌜Reflectintrospection🌛
🔥 I’ve learned that travel without reflection is just movement. And degrees without purpose? Just expensive wallpaper. The real journey begins when we stop trying to impress and start trying to connect.
🔥 The people who impacted me most this year weren’t the loudest or the most decorated. They were the ones who showed up with heart. Who laughed through pain. Who cried without shame. Who didn’t need to be seen to be significant. They just were.
🔥 These days, I ask myself different questions:
– Am I learning things that soften me, not harden me?
– Am I becoming someone I’d want beside me in a storm?
– Am I helping to lighten someone else’s load?
🔥 Because in the end, no one will care how many stamps were in my passport. They will remember if I made them feel safe. If I listened. If I loved them well. If I were consistent. If I were real.
🎯 2026: The Strategy Shift
This isn’t about resolutions. It’s about realignment.
– From chasing speed → to choosing depth
– From performing → to practicing presence
– From impressing → to impacting
– From building a résumé → to building a legacy of kindness and truth
🛐 Serenity Prayer ☦️
Dear God,
Teach us to see beyond the surface.
To stop chasing applause and start seeking meaning.
To trade perfection for presence.
To let our pain become a bridge, not a wall.
And to remember that the most sacred journeys
Are the ones that bring us home to ourselves.
Amen.
A Very Merry Christmas To You
