The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
MARCUS AURELIUS
A lesson in trust and psychological safety
The end of 2025 finished on a beautiful note for us: we adopted a four-year-old male Boerboel-cross-Ridgeback. Meet Moose. He is a lovable boy, but he carries some PTSD from previous trauma. We are currently working hard to build his confidence and create a sense of psychological safety for him.
It always amazes me how unconditionally dogs love, and how quickly they can build emotional bonds and learn to trust again, even after a difficult past.
How is your transition?
As we settle into the rhythm of the new year, I want to ask: how have you transitioned into 2026? Are you moving with excitement and anticipation, or perhaps with a sense of trepidation and concern?
Ultimately, the choice is yours. We can choose to see all the reasons not to do things, or we can focus on the opportunities and the reasons why we should or could.
The power of the TIE Principle
I have often written about Optimism, and I find myself focusing on it again. Why? Because it has such a profound effect on every aspect of our lives: our effectiveness, our health, our quality of life, and our relationships.
Optimists see opportunities even in the most challenging situations. When faced with adversity, they use the TIE Principle to shift their perspective:
- Temporary: Seeing the situation as a passing moment rather than a permanent state.
- Isolated: Viewing the challenge as one specific event, not a reflection of their entire life.
- Energy/Effort: Believing that through their own energy and effort, they can change the situation or the way they view it.
In other words: Optimists believe in choices.
Choosing possibility over the ‘known’
What would your future, and even your present, look like if you truly believed you had a choice in every aspect of your life?
Last week, I was chatting with a friend who is on a very difficult journey; her husband has become totally debilitated with Parkinson’s over the past decade. He now needs 24-hour care, which she provides after her own full-time professional workday.
She is at a crossroads regarding their home, which they currently rent but is now up for sale. Her instinct is to keep everything the same. As unaffordable and ‘not ideal’ as the house is, she is holding onto the known, the safety of the current situation, despite it being sub-optimal for their needs.
She explained how she felt ‘frozen’ in her decision-making due to her emotional and stressed state. In that ‘frozen’ place, she was missing so many opportunities for positive change. By seeing only the reasons not to move, she was missing the chance to find a more suitable home at a far more affordable price with better facilities.
Finding the flicker of hope
As we spoke, I saw hope start to flicker across her face. She realized that while her husband’s condition may not change, she still has choices on how and where they live out this chapter. She is incredibly brave and resilient; she just needed a change in perspective to see hope as a real possibility.
Your situation may not be as extreme, but how often are you only seeing the downside? How often are we terrified of change because there is ‘safety’ in the known, even if the known isn’t serving us anymore?
Challenge: step into your butterfly moment
As we move through life, our challenges change and we change physically, but the wisdom we need lies within us.
This year, I encourage you to stop saying “I can’t do it because…” and start asking:
What could I do, and what would that look like for me?
Focus on your strengths and use them to move toward opportunities, professionally and personally.
Don’t settle for less out of fear. Step forward into the future with courage and choice!
Just when the caterpillar thought its life was over, it became a butterfly.
Here’s to a year of transformation!