I am not someone who tends to share my personal life publicly. Yet standing in front of those fallen trees, on the brink of a holiday period that was meant to be restorative, I was struck by two powerful truths. How little we can control, and how much responsibility we still hold.

I once heard expectations described as premeditated resentments. In that moment, it resonated deeply. Nature, life, and circumstance do not negotiate with our plans. Life happens on life’s terms.

As we enter Term 1, I am reminded of a familiar refrain I have heard for more than twenty years working alongside schools, particularly during staff development days. Each year, educators share that this year will be different, that something needs to change, or that they do not want to end the year the way the last one ended.

These reflections are honest and hopeful. They also invite a deeper question. What can we actually control?

For me, over recent years, the answer has not been about fixing or changing myself, but about building and sustaining qualities that anchor me to my values.

One of those qualities is creating a sense of internal safety. A place where I can notice, with curiosity rather than criticism, how I am responding or reacting. A place where I do not rush to fix or override what I am feeling, but instead allow enough space to understand what is really happening for me.

This has required strengthening boundaries and choosing integrity over overextension. It has meant learning that I can set a boundary without guilt. That capacity to protect my own internal safety has been essential not only for my wellbeing, but for creating psychological safety for the people around me.

At Life Skills GO, one of the core pillars of our culture is a deep understanding that we are each responsible for our own wellbeing. At different stages of life, we all need different tools, different supports, and different levels of care. We cannot stop life from happening, but we can take responsibility for how we respond.

It has been nine weeks since the trees fell through our house. During that time, caring for myself became non-negotiable. Moving my body regularly, eating well, allowing people to support me, and putting my hand up when I needed someone simply to sit with me were not signs of weakness, but of intention.

As educators and leaders, we extend extraordinary levels of kindness, compassion, and patience to the young people and communities we serve. My hope this year is that the same lens of gentleness can be turned inward.

It is worth pausing to ask how we speak to ourselves internally. Is that voice kind, compassionate, and forgiving? Does it sound like the way we would speak to someone we care deeply about?

Rather than beginning the year with the thought that we do not want to do something again, perhaps a more powerful question is what qualities we want to expand this year. What boundaries can we set to protect our mental and physical health? And how can we care for ourselves with the same commitment and consistency that we offer everyone else?

Because sustainable leadership does not begin with doing more, it begins with becoming more intentional about how we show up, starting with ourselves.

As we move into a new year, it is worth pausing to consider how we really know how the people around us are doing. Within our teams and staff rooms, what structures and conversations will we put in place to support one another as we return to the rhythm and demands of school life? And for our students, how will we move beyond assumptions and first impressions to truly understand how they are arriving back at school after the holidays?

So often, on the outside, things can look fine. Yet when we take the time to scratch beneath the surface, we discover there is often much more going on than we initially see. Creating the space to notice, to listen, and to respond with intention is a powerful act of leadership.

At Life Skills GO, this same principle sits at the heart of our work. We support schools to move beyond guesswork by making it easier to genuinely understand whole-school and student wellbeing. With just a click, Life Skills GO does the heavy lifting, providing timely, meaningful real-time insights for every student and every class, so schools can respond proactively and with care. As you look ahead to 2026, we invite you to explore how Life Skills GO can partner with you to support your school community in a way that is sustainable, informed, and deeply human.

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