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Hey Reader,

There’s something about the beginning of a new year that always feels like standing in front of a blank page for me. There’s excitement. There’s a possibility. There's a "newness" in the air.

But sometimes, there’s also pressure, pressure to reinvent ourselves overnight or to “finally become” the person we think we should already be.

This year, instead of chasing urgency or thinking about what I "should" have been or done by now, I’ve been asking myself different questions:

"What actually deserves my energy, and what doesn’t?" "What is in my power to control and to make a difference on, and what do I need to release because it's not mine to change?

To truly notice what we can (and what we cannot) control. The Stoics had a powerful belief:
Your peace depends on knowing what’s yours to carry, and what isn’t.

The recovery community practices something called the Serenity Prayer:

We cannot control what has already happened in our lives, but we can always control the choices we make moving forward.

I can’t control the outcomes, other people’s choices or opinions, or the timing of when certain things happen in life.
But I know I can control:

• How I respond to what happens
• Where I place my attention and my energy day to day
• The effort and the attitude I bring to the challenges life offers me
• The habits I practice consistently and daily
• The courage I choose in the small moments of doubt

When I focus there, in what is mine to control (or at least to impact), I feel grounded instead of overwhelmed. Aligned instead of scattered. More at peace with where I'm at, even when life is far from perfect.

As life is rarely ever perfect.

A simple reminder to recognize and differentiate between what we can change and what we can't. What we have influence over and what we do not.

Because when we make it a point to notice that, we can better use our time this year on the things we truly have the power to change.

Deciding this can change your year

I told you before how this year I have been asking myself different questions to decide what I want to do and focus on in 2026.

Something that has been in my mind lately is determining what would make this year a 'successful' and worthwhile year. If nothing else happened, what would I need to do, change, or experience to consider 2026 one of my best years so far?

A way to do this is to finish this sentence without editing yourself, without needing it to be perfect, or without the "shoulds" you think you need to have in your life.

Imagine it's one year from now. Finish this sentence:

"2026 was the best year of my life because..."

What would need to happen for you to look back at the end of the year and consider this year a success and one of the best years of your life? Because that answer, whatever came to you right now, matters.

This answer proves what you're already available for.

The truth is that you don't get the year you hope for. You get the year you decide you're available (and ready) for. You get the year that you believe you (your nervous system, mindset, and current perspective) believe you can hold.

So, I want you to say this sentence again out loud and let the answer flow out of you:

"2026 was the best year of my life because..."

You already know what you want. It's time to start seriously going after it.

Memento Mori: The question that keeps following me

There is a phrase from Stoic philosophy I return to often: Memento Mori.​
​"Remember that your life is finite."

This, far from being morbid, can be very clarifying about what matters in your life.

That's exactly why, another question I have been pondering about recently is:

This answer has given me immense clarity about what I want to go for and where I want to stop waiting in the coming year. So, if you get really honest with yourself, what is your response?

• Not starting sooner.
• Not telling the people around me how I felt or what I wanted.
• Not creating what was on my heart.
• Not taking care of my health long-term.
• Not spending more time with the people I love.
• Not taking that leap of faith I have wanted to take for a long time.
• Not being more courageous and more honest about what I wanted.

Ironically, this question doesn’t make me panic. It helps me get more honest with myself.

It helps me see what truly matters in my life, and what is just noise.

And that is already a gift.

Commit to one big, bold move

This year, on Christmas Day, I started a new ritual where I wrote down 13 big, different goals and intentions I would like to work on during 2026.

Every day since then, I burnt one down as a way to surrender a little bit of control and discover the one that the Universe and God selected for me to work on this year. I still don't know which is the goal and yearly intention that will remain (I still have two days left, but I will report back next weekend!)

Whether you believe in these kinds of practices or not, something is true.

Having ONE main focus, theme, or intention for the year helps you focus your attention on what truly matters and allows you to make real progress without falling into so many of the day-to-day distractions we have in our lives.

If you're not committing to one big, bold move each year, one thing you're willing to see through, no matter how uncomfortable it gets, you won't grow, and you won't change.

Becuase for us to create more growth and more change in our lives, we need to get out of our comfort zone. And that can only happen when we commit our full focus to one main, big thing.

So, let me ask you: "What's your BIG, BOLD move for 2026?"

Not the goal that feels safe, or logical, or accessible. The move that makes you uncomfortable when you think about it. But that's also the one you continue thinking about.

The one that stretches you, but that also makes you excited at the same time.

Because the bold moves are the ones that keep you in the game and that keep you in the arena.

So, what is your next bold move for 2026? Hit reply if you would like to share it with someone!

Writing it down or saying it out loud makes it more real.

And if you're not sure what it is yet, answer this:

"What would you do if you trusted yourself more?"

That's your bold move for this year.

This year, let's be in the Arena together!

A personal letter from a Venezuelan

I'm Venezuelan. I was born and raised in Venezuela.

So, when Maduro was caught just yesterday (January 3rd), I was incredibly shocked, happy (to not say, completely elated), and at the same time full of that "what happens now?" uncertainty, where you wonder if it's too good to be true, what will that truly mean for Venezuelans all over the world moving forward, and you wonder when the other shoe will drop.

I don't have any responses to these questions yet. I honestly don't know what will happen and what this will mean in the coming days, weeks, and months to come, for Venezuela and for the world.

But do know this, change (of any kind), when you have over a decade wishing for something to change, is already a blessing. For that, I'm grateful.

In 2013, I left my only home, my family, and a country I had always considered 'rich' (in many more ways than just financially) due to the prevailing conditions of the country (the lack of safety, of opportunity, of freedom, and of certainty about the future you could create).

When I first left, I did it naively, thinking I would return, that I would visit my family and country often, and that at some point, I would move back there.

That was over 15 years ago, and I have never gone back since. Eventually, it was my sister and brother the ones who also moved here. Then, my parents moved here. And along the way, many of my childhood friends and people I grew up with also moved to different cities and countries all around the world.

So much has changed in my (and my family and friends') lives that I honestly cannot picture life in Venezuela anymore. I have no idea what that would even look like.

And yet, even after years of struggle, loss, separation, and waiting… something powerful has remained all these years:

Hope.

Venezuelans all over the world have survived through faith, perseverance, humor, resilience, and the quiet belief that someday things can (and will) change, even if it happens slowly and even if it happens painfully at times.

Watching what’s unfolding right now, when something so many people have wished and asked for, for so many years, reminds me of two truths:

1️⃣ Life can shift in ways we never expect. That's why it's important to always acknowledge the blessings that exist in your life at any given time.
2️⃣ We should never underestimate the power of faith and of the people who refuse to give up (no matter how difficult it sometimes may feel).

And that applies not just to countries, but to each of our lives.

A gentle invitation for this year

As we step into this new year, I’m carrying three core intentions:

1. Focus on what I can actually control and change. Be able to release the things that are not mine to control or change.
2. Live today with the honesty of someone who knows that the time we have alive is finite and precious. And what we do with it now, it matters.
3. Hold tightly onto hope and onto faith, especially when change feels extremely slow or nonexistent. Nothing's forever. Trust.

And moving forward into 2026, I want to invite you to reflect with me:

👉 What would your 80-year-old self beg you and nudge you to stop postponing and start doing right now?
👉 What are you still fighting for, in your life, in your dreams, in the world?
👉 Where can you stop trying to control everything and simply show up with the courage to be seen as who you are?

You and I may not be able to fix everything.
But I know this... We can still live with intention, integrity, compassion, and more courageous action.
And that changes our lives more than we think.

Thank you for being here.
For spending time with me. For growing alongside me. And for choosing to believe in better, for both yourself and for others.

Here’s to a year full of clarity, courage, and calm, steady progress.

P.S.: If you’re ready for this coming year to be different, this episode is for you. You’re not behind. You can change things. And once you redefine how you see yourself, change becomes possible. Tune in HERE to learn how to create evidence of change in 2026.

Love creating your mind one day at a time? Forward this to a friend so they can get in on the action and sign up below. Subscribe to The Created Mind Thank you for reading and sharing, Jenny ​​​​

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