New Year Rebellion: Why I’m Not Fixing Myself in 2026

Here we are again. That weird pocket of time between Christmas and New Year where the days blur, the biscuits vanish, and everyone suddenly becomes a motivational speaker. The internet is overflowing with “reset routines,” planners, colour coded goals, and declarations like THIS IS MY YEAR, usually said by someone who burned out in February last time.

I used to buy into it. The pressure to reinvent yourself as if your entire personality is a seasonal product line needing a rebrand. New face. New body. New habits. New woman. New… everything.

But this year? I’m done. I’m opting out of the full renovation package. 2026 is not the year I “fix myself.”

It’s the year I stop apologising for existing exactly as I am.

The problem with ‘New Year, New Me’

Every December, we’re encouraged to believe we’re one skincare product, one productivity hack, one vision board away from becoming an entirely different human. It’s exhausting. And a tiny bit insulting.

Because underneath the shiny “fresh start” marketing is the quiet implication that the current you is insufficient, that you need polishing, refining, replacing.

But the truth is, you don’t need to become someone else. You just need to become less afraid of being yourself.

Soft rebellion: The opposite of reinvention

Instead of reinventing myself, I’m doing something far more radical, I’m keeping myself.

Soft rebellion is choosing gentleness in a world obsessed with extremes. It’s saying, I will take up space without needing a reason, I will stop hustling for worth like it’s a Black Friday sale, I will prioritise my peace without writing a 12 step justification, I will rest because I want to, not because I’ve earned it through suffering. It’s rebellion, but with a fluffy blanket and a cup of tea.

I’m not upgrading myself, I’m unlearning the rules

2026 is not about getting smaller, becoming “better”, forcing discipline, becoming softer or quieter to be liked

It’s about unlearning the idea that productivity equals value, the pressure to glow up on a deadline, the myth that your life must look perfect to be worth anything

It’s about rejecting the idea that the New Year requires a New You, as if women are software updates.

The version of me entering 2026? She’s staying.

She’s tired, a bit chaotic, prone to leaving mugs everywhere, but she’s also resilient, self aware, and done with shrinking.

She doesn’t need a reinvention. She needs support. She needs softness. She needs space.

We’re not throwing her out on 1st January like a mouldy mince pie just because society says so.

If I set any resolutions this year, they’re these,

• Do less of what drains me.

• Do more of what feels like oxygen.

• Say no without writing an essay.

• Stop trying to be palatable.

• Dress, speak, write, and live like someone who isn’t afraid of herself.

• Choose joy, not discipline disguised as “self improvement.”

  
  

This New Year isn’t about transformation, it’s about permission

Permission to rest. Permission to evolve slowly. Permission to be complicated, emotional, ambitious, tired, soft, angry, hopeful all at the same time.

2026 doesn’t need a new me. It just needs the real me, unedited.

And if that’s not a soft rebellion, I don’t know what is.

It's fine to make resolutions, some people need these to keep their actual goals on track and have a reason or 'starting' point to make the changes they feel they need to do, but don't do it because society expects it. Be a better you, for you. And if you are someone who still likes to make goals for the New Year, but don't want it to feel like a heavy task set by your year 7 maths teacher, here's my growth journal

a calming and creative journal, a gentle nudge to make your goals, keep track of your progress, and to take time for you.

Hi, I'm Charlie.

UK based blogger, beauty therapist and skincare specialist of 16 years, award winning brand owner, and reluctant adult. This blog is where I share everything that doesn’t fit on the back of a palette, thoughts, routines, breakdowns, realness, recommendations, and reminders that you’re not alone in this. I’m not here to sell you perfection. I'm here to show you how beautiful imperfection can be.

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