Dear Readers: Before we rush into a brand-new year, I want to pause and say thank you. Thank you for reading, for writing in and for trusting me with the parts of your life you don’t always share at the dinner table. Thank you for letting this corner of the page be a place where we can talk about the messy, meaningful work of being human. I don’t take that lightly. And if no one has told you lately, I’m glad you’re here.

New Year’s Eve has a funny way of making us feel two ways at once: hopeful and raw.

Hopeful because we get to begin again. Raw because we can’t help but look back at what didn’t go the way we wanted — the goals we didn’t hit, the phone calls we didn’t make and the “I’ll do it tomorrow” moments that quietly piled up into a year.

If that’s you, let me offer you a different kind of resolution: Stop treating your happiness like a finish line.

Happiness is not something you earn after you finally fix everything. It’s something you practice while you’re fixing things.

This year, make your life slightly kinder to you. Choose one habit that makes your days easier, whether it’s a 10-minute walk, water before coffee or putting your keys in the same place. Choose one relationship to nourish with a weekly check-in, a handwritten note or an apology you’ve been rehearsing in your head. Choose one boundary that protects your peace — less explaining, fewer “yes” answers you regret and more space for what matters.

And please, don’t wait until you feel “ready” to begin. The feeling of being ready shows up after you start.

If the past year was hard, let it be information, not a life sentence. If it was good, let it be proof that you can build good again. And if it was somewhere in between, that counts, too. Most lives are built in the middle, in the ordinary days, in the quiet choices no one applauds.

What I want for you in the coming year is not a perfect life but a lighter one. Not nonstop joy but steady meaning. Not a brand-new you but a more honest you.

Make plans, yes. Dream big, absolutely. But also make room for ordinary happiness in the form of a warm mug, a clean sheet, a laugh that surprises you or a day you didn’t dread. Say the kind thing. Take the walk. Put down the phone. Do one small, brave act that your future self will thank you for.

And if you slip, if you stumble, if you have a messy week in January, remember that you don’t have to start over at the beginning of the year. You can start over on a Tuesday.

Happy New Year, dear readers. May 2026 be the year you stop postponing your peace.

“Out of Bounds: Estrangement, Boundaries and the Search for Forgiveness” is out now! Annie Lane’s third anthology is for anyone who has lived with anger, estrangement or the deep ache of being wronged — because forgiveness isn’t for them. It’s for you. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Follow Annie Lane on Instagram at @dearannieofficial. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM