The Optimism Gap: Why Making Peace with 2025 is the Key to a Soaring 2026
Last week, during my Elevate Gather workshop, we did a simple exercise. I asked the group of incredible professionals in the room to describe their 2025 in just one word.
The energy in the room shifted. It got quieter, a little heavier. The words that surfaced were tough: Exhausting. Confusing. Complicated. A blur.
The "best" words I heard were "Cruising" and "Steady"—and even those were spoken with a heavy sigh, as if stability was just a consolation prize rather than a victory.
Then, I asked them to describe their hopes for 2026. Suddenly, the room lit up. The words became bright: Growth. Breakthrough. Joy. Expansion.
It made me wonder: Where is our optimism?
I know it’s hard right now. We are navigating a tough socio-economic climate. The job market feels tight, budgets are shrinking, and the holidays can sometimes feel like a "professional pause" where worry creeps in. It is incredibly difficult to look at the present moment with rose-colored glasses.
But here is the thought I shared with the room, and the one I want to share with you: We cannot build a soaring 2026 if we are standing on a foundation of regret for 2025.
If we view the past year only through a negative lens, we leave behind our accomplishments, our resilience, and our growth. We try to pull a bright future out of thin air, rather than building it on the solid ground we’ve already created.
Here is why—and how—we can reframe our past with kindness and optimism to secure our future.
Why We Need "Historical Optimism"
Yosemite National Park
It is natural to seek growth. We all want the next year to be better than the last. But there is a trap in labeling the past year as simply "bad" or "wasted."
When we judge our past year too harshly, we enter the new year with an energy of desperation. We are running away from something, rather than running toward something.
Reframing the past with optimism changes your starting line:
For Job Seekers: If you view a gap year or a tough role as a "failure," you walk into interviews with defensive energy. If you reframe it as a time of "resilience and upskilling," you walk in with confidence.
For Founders: If 2025 felt like a "struggle," you might make panic decisions to fix it. If you see it as a "stress test that proved your durability," you build your next strategy with trust in your own grit.
For Professionals: If "Cruising" feels like laziness, you might feel guilt. If you see "Cruising" as "maintaining stability in a volatile market," you realize you are a steady hand in a storm—exactly the kind of leader needed right now.
Optimism isn’t about ignoring the hard stuff. It’s about acknowledging that growth happened, even in the quiet moments. When you mine the past for gold, you enter the new year with assets, not baggage.
How to Reframe Your Year (The Optimism Audit)
Street Market Paintings, Mumbai, India
So, how do we flip the script? How do we find optimism when our energy is low?
We have to actively look for the "wins" that are disguised as "survival."
Reclaim the "Boring" Words
In the workshop, people were disappointed by their own stability. They called it "cruising." I challenge you to look at that differently. In a year of uncertainty, "Steady" is not stagnant. Steady is strong. "Cruising" means you built a system that works.
Action: If you felt stuck this year, ask yourself: What stayed standing because I was holding it together? That is a massive accomplishment.
The "Even Though" Technique
We often use "but" to discount our wins (e.g., "I kept my job, but I didn't get a raise"). Let's try flipping it. Use "Even Though" to highlight your resilience.
The Critic: "I didn't launch my business this year."
The Optimist: "Even though the market was volatile, I spent 2025 refining my business plan and building my network so I can launch with more confidence in 2026."
Mine for the Invisible Skills
Hard years teach us soft skills. Did 2025 teach you patience? Did it teach you to do more with less? Did it force you to prioritize what really matters?
Action: Write down three things you know now about yourself that you didn't know in January 2025. That is your ROI for the year.
Building the Bridge to 2026
Pigeon Point, Pescadero, CA
Optimism is a bridge.
When we can look at 2025 and say, "That was hard, AND I am proud of how I navigated it," we unlock the energy needed for 2026.
We stop trying to "fix" a broken past and start leveraging a resilient past to build a brighter future.
Job Seekers: Your story becomes, "I navigated a tough market and sharpened my value proposition."
Founders: Your story becomes, "We weathered the winter, and now we are lean and ready for spring."
Executives: Your story becomes, "I led with steadiness through uncertainty, and now I am ready to lead with vision."
🚀 Let’s Find Your Gold Together
It is hard to do this reframing alone. Our brains are wired to focus on what went wrong (it’s a survival instinct!).
If you are struggling to find the optimism in your 2025, or if you want to ensure your 2026 plans are built on a foundation of strength rather than worry, I am here to help.
As a coach, my job is to hold the mirror up so you can see the strength you might be missing. Let’s mine your 2025 for gold and use it to fund your 2026 dreams.
Current Offer: To help you end the year with clarity and confidence, I am offering a 20% discount on all coaching packages signed through the end of 2025.
Let’s turn that "Cruising" into "Soaring."
Book Your Free Discovery Session