Novelist Josie Shapiro has a vision for 2026 and it’s absolutely, categorically not on Instagram.
I like resolutions. In a world where there is no guarantee of happiness or peace, resolutions to learn something new or do something new can be a way of ensuring my life is, at the very least, interesting. They are like promises to my future self to keep growing and learning. And my idea for a big goal this year – quitting social media – is admirable and brave, only I know what will happen. I’ll break my promise early, log back in and scroll mindlessly for ten minutes, completely disgusted with myself. So, I’m also planning to try some smaller goals, ones that take less effort and willpower yet still yield great results.
Because I’m a goal-oriented person, I need more than one small change, and here they are, starting with: Go to bed earlier. Even just five or ten minutes earlier, which could make waking up less of a shock. I’m not a great morning person. Anything will help.
Text friends who live far away once a week – proximity makes friendship so much easier to maintain, and I’m hoping this little communique each week will help me strengthen friendships with people I care about who aren’t nearby.
Say yes more. When did making excuses become the default? Laugh more. I hardly laugh. Why not? Spend more time looking at clouds. I don’t spend much time looking at anything more than ten metres away. There must be so much beauty and wonder that goes by unobserved, because I’m too busy with what is happening in front of me, probably on Instagram. Meditate, two minutes a day. And on really busy days, meditate for five minutes.
Watch my favourite movie again. Re-read the book I tell people is my favourite. Think about it. Write down what I think about it, and in that process, clarify and deepen my thinking. Sit down for my first coffee of the day, rather than drinking it on the go, rushing to pack lunchboxes and school bags and draw open the curtains. Ask my family questions and listen to their answers. Show them how important they are to me by remembering what they’ve said.
A list like this looks like it’s comprised of so many miniscule, inconsequential things. Where’s the Ironman race, or the mastery of a new musical instrument, or the attempt at fluency in another language? These look like resolutions that won’t make much of a difference to anything, or anyone, although I think that assumption is incorrect. When I look at the things I am choosing to prioritise, these tiny, micro adjustments to my life, I see myself working toward a much bigger goal than it might appear: a rich interior life. Together, over the course of the year, I am hopeful these small changes will accumulate and coalesce into a person with a calmer mind. Maybe I’ll be someone who might worry a little less. A woman who finds connection in real life instead of disconnection online, and who discovers their first instinct now is to think about other’s perspectives more readily. I’m hoping I might become a mother who has even an ounce more patience. Someone who appreciates the world in a new way. Someone who may not be in ownership of a marathon finisher medal, but someone who, through so many tiny shifts, is leading a more considered, interesting life.
Josie Shapiro is the author of two novels: Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts; and the recently published Good Things Come and Go (Allen and Unwin New Zealand).