🎤 Behind the Roar | January 17, 2026
I didn’t disappear this past week—I went inward and paused with purpose.
Somewhere between a Vegas airport terminal with my daughter and a pile of magazine clippings, I realized I wasn’t avoiding my work at all. I was preparing for it.
I am one of the outliers who doesn’t approach the New Year with a bunch of new resolutions and intentions. I’ve been that person in the past, and I’ve broken every resolution within the first 2-4 weeks. So, I no longer follow that specific process.
I do, however, try to have short term goals in front of me—specific things that I want to accomplish in the next month, quarter, or year. I closed a major chapter in my life towards the end of 2025, and I have been sitting back quietly pondering what I want to do next in my life.
But it wasn’t until I returned from my Vegas trip that the intentions and goals finally came to me with clarity.
It has become a beautiful tradition for my daughter and I to take a trip somewhere to celebrate Christmas/New Year’s together. We don’t force it to be during the actual holidays, if it doesn’t fit. This year was one of those situations. We went to Vegas for a few days and returned home last Sunday. One of the activities we wanted to do was create Vision Boards for ourselves to represent what we want to manifest into our lives for 2026. Since we were going to have a bit of a wait between checkout time at the hotel and our flights, we decided to do Arts & Crafts in the Vegas Airport Terminal!
I know we got some strange looks as we were taking magazine cutouts, markers, glue and tape—each of us creating our own vision of our 2026 manifestations. And we even finished them with time to spare before our respective flights!
And when I got home, I spent most of this past week reflecting on that vision board I created. And I came up with 6 major goals that I have for my life in 2026. Those goals span three specific categories: (1) career/work, (2) Piano/Musical Creativity, and (3) Author/Writing Creativity.
And with some wonderful advice from a dear friend of mine, I began to reverse engineer those goals and turn them into monthly and then weekly bite-sized actions that I am committing to doing in 2026 until each and every one of my goals have been met!
I’ll be honest — I’ve felt guilty for being quiet since my newsletter went out on January 7th.
Ten days without posting felt heavy. Not because I didn’t care—but because I didn’t yet know how to name what I was doing. I was afraid that the quiet meant I was losing my voice, when in reality, I was still finding the words.
But then I realized something important: I hadn’t been doing nothing at all.
I had been deeply introspective — digging into my passions, my dreams, and the direction I want my life to take next. That quiet space wasn’t avoidance; it was necessary. I needed that reflection to clear space and reconnect with my purpose before I could show up, share, and be vulnerable again.
So, today, I am sharing this very personal story in Behind the Roar as a reminder that sometimes we need the quiet time in our own lives to remember what our purpose truly is. And I was boldly reminded of my purpose with the goals I have committed myself to in 2026.
And, because I don’t mind sharing, here are the 6 goals that I have in front of me. Sharing here so you can cheer me on throughout the year!
Career / Work
- Study for and obtain OSHA 30 Certification (Construction)
- Refine 3–4 skill-specific resumes to support my next role
Creative – Music
- Master 35–40 piano pieces in preparation for public performance by Q3 2026
Creative – Writing
- Publish my first fiction book (teaser: about an Unexpecting Mother) by Q2 2026
- Publish the Roar Like A Woman Companion Workbook by Q3 2026
- Publish my first Middle Grade Fantasy novel by Q4 2026
Big goals, big dreams, big possibilities. And I’m committed to meeting them one step at a time!
I hope this encourages you to also follow your dreams. Sometimes, all it takes is seeing someone else dig into their passion with Grit to remind us that we all are capable of doing so much if we really want it.
May this remind you that you already have within you everything you need to make your own dreams and passions come true. Just take it one step at a time.
Growth rarely announces itself loudly. More often, it’s built quietly — through small, deliberate steps taken with purpose.
“For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together.” —Vincent Van Gogh
— With Gratitude,
Ronda 💛