Starting slowly on purpose
I've decided to start this year with a little more intention in my actions. Before the year even began, I was already planning what I wanted to talk about across each of the coming months. I'm doing all this to pursue clarity, less friction, and a stronger position on who I am, and the moat I’m building for myself and Lweno & Co as a business.
You're probably wondering why go through all this — maybe you aren't. I'm telling you anyway.
To keep it short, when I look back on 2025, it felt like one of the best years I’ve had across many areas of my life. My health, family, work, and the business. But despite all that, I closed out the year feeling drained and out of focus.
Out of focus on what my priorities should be moving forward.
For the last three months, everything felt urgent. I was pulled in many directions, juggling everything, never saying no. Slowly but surely, I began to notice early signs of burnout. With everything getting on top of me, I decided to begin early with plotting what 2026 could be.
The biggest takeaway after some soul searching was to start slow.
Why slow? Because I’ve seen it work to my advantage with most things I’ve been part of. Give anything the test of time and true effort eventually shows itself. Take this for example ... Gyms all over the world are well aware of the January “New Year, New Me” crowd. Most times, this crowd falls off within 30 to 70 days.
I can say it because used to be me. I stuck with it long enough for it to work. And built a structure to how I like to train which made it fun and enjoyable to do over an dover again.
Instead of working out for just the summer, my goal in my twenties was to be a healthy 30-year-old. Now in my thirties, I train weekly with the aim of making it to 100. Regardless of what situations arise over the next 69 years, my intention is to be in the best shape I can be at 100. Is it a stretch goal, yes. Is it fun to aim towards, absolutely!
For me, January, won’t be about making big moves. I want it to help me build familiarity and practice.
To get back in tune with who I am and how I want to live. I’m well aware of both my good and bad habits, but this year I want to lean into the good more than the bad.
I want to form healthy systems that allow me to create and curate content. To really explore and express of my creative genius.
Not only do I want to compound my presence online, I want to find and work with others ready to build.
I’ve reached a point where I need to focus more on outputs than intensity. I want to care deeply about what I put into the world. And to do that, I need to build a life that prioritises my identity, not just the churn. That means fewer clients, but higher trust. Deeper work and less turnover. Less platform anxiety when showing myself and what I do.
I want to sound like me anywhere that I show up. No code switch, no being apologetic. I want to do it without feeling burnt out.
My colleagues would say this is the ENFJ in me talking. Who knows. What’s clear to me right now is intentionality.
You wouldn’t get on a boat, let the waves push you wherever they want, and expect to arrive neatly from A to B, right? So why not plan and chart a course for where you’re trying to go? Listen ... it is cool to be methodical about it! Whats worked for me over the last four years won’t take me to the next stage of where I want to be. So, I want change.
Journalling has opened my mind like nothing else. And much like the gym analogy, the reps I’ve put on paper are nothing short of admirable. I’ve built a library of who I am, with each page revealing patterns I never noticed before.
To quote Matthew Dicks in his book Principle of ‘But and Therefore’ "We are still headed in the same direction, but the best storytellers don’t take a straight line to get there"
2026 is about being steady first, knowing that the rest will come.
Hatibu