You said 2026 would be different. So why isn’t it?

“Rita, Enough is enough!! 2026 is going to be different. I´m so done with operating the way I have done this year. I will demand more space in my calendar. Focus on what actually matters. Outsource more! And when I get to the end of 2026 I will feel I actually moved the needle!”

Sounds familiar?

What I heard most as we moved toward the end of 2025 was not confusion. It was exhaustion. Deep exhaustion after a year of sustained pressure, high demand, constant volatility, and a pace that had stretched far beyond what any of them would call sustainable.

And alongside that exhaustion, something else showed up again and again. A very clear line being drawn.

“Enough is enough.”
“There has to be a better way than this.”
“I cannot move into 2026 doing this in the same way I did 2025.”

What struck me was that this clarity did not come from lack of insight. They could see exactly what needed to change. They knew they were fixing too much. They knew they were stepping in instead of zooming out. They knew that the role they were in now was not about being the one who solves everything, but the one who creates direction, clarity, and space for others to step up.

They could also see something else very clearly. That they needed space in order to think. Real space. Space to slow down enough to actually see what matters. To think strategically. To zoom out of the day to day noise.

And yet, their calendars were full. Back to back to back. No margin. No breathing room. And despite knowing that space was the prerequisite for the kind of leadership they wanted to bring, they were still saying yes to almost everything.

This is where it gets interesting.

Because underneath this is not a lack of discipline or planning. What sits underneath is fear. 

Fear of disappointing someone. 

Fear of not being seen as available.

Fear of letting go of the thing that has always made them valuable, which is that they can step in and fix it. And for some, a quieter but very present pressure to keep proving that they are good at what they do.

There is also a strong sense of urgency running through all of this. A feeling that time is of the essence. That everything is critical. That slowing down is not an option. That delegating will take longer. That asking for help will cost too much right now.

They are in meetings not because they need to be there, but because being there feels safer than not being there. And at the same time, they know they cannot actually be available for everything without paying a very high personal cost.

So they arrive at the end of the year with clarity.

“From next year, I will be different.”
“I will delegate.”
“I will create space.”
“I will protect time to think.”

And they mean it. There is no lack of sincerity here.

And then, two weeks into January, everything looks the same.

The calendar is full again.
They are back in the fixing.
The urgency has taken over.

This is not a willpower problem.

And it is not a time management problem.

This is an inner decision problem.

What I mean by that is this. You reach a place where enough is enough. You see clearly what needs to change. You say it out loud. And yet nothing actually changes, because the decision that is really running the show was made a long time ago.

A decision to people please.
A decision to make sure you are seen as valuable.
A decision to be available.
A decision to solve things yourself instead of asking for help.

These decisions were not made badly. They were often made early, and they worked. They helped you succeed. They helped you be reliable. They helped you build trust. But left unexamined, they become automatic. And automatic decisions do not update themselves when your role, your responsibility, or the cost changes.

This is why so many people say, “I have decided things will be different now,” and then find themselves asking the same question a few weeks later. “Why did nothing change when I was so clear?”

Because the new decision never replaced the old one.

And the old one is still in charge.

So this is where the work actually starts. Not with the calendar. Not with another delegation tool. But with bringing the invisible decision into view.

Go back to the moment at the end of 2025 where you said, “this cannot continue.”

Then look at what happened two weeks into 2026 when the old system quietly took over again.

And ask yourself, honestly.

“What am I scared will happen if I leave space in my calendar?”
“What am I scared will happen if I am not available?”
“What am I scared will happen if I decide to say no?”

Whatever answer comes up is not a weakness. It is a clue. It points directly to the decision that has been protecting something important for you.

And until that decision is seen, questioned, and consciously updated, it will keep running the show, no matter how clear your intentions are.

Love,

Rita

PS. This is the kind of conversation I’m having every week with my clients. If you’re sitting with this, you don’t have to do it alone. Book a private 1:1 conversation here