From Architect to Steward: What 2025 Built and What 2026 Is Asking

At the beginning of 2025, my word for the year was Architect.

I was inspired by this quote often attributed to Joseph Pilates that says:

“You are the architect of your own happiness.”

As a result, last year felt like a year of actively shaping the systems, relationships, and rhythms that make real life work.

It was also my second full year operating my business under its new identity of Nimble Up. Year one was pure building energy. Year two became more intentional. I evaluated what worked, what didn’t, and where my energy was best spent. I was still building … but now with blueprints instead of scaffolding.

Here’s what my ARCHITECT year looked like in practice.

What 2025 Built

Strategic impact across organizations.
I spent a lot of time supporting leaders with strategic planning and organizational clarity. Watching teams move from reactive chaos into intentional decision-making never gets old.

Emotions at work became central.
Much of my work this year focused on helping organizations build emotional fluency, resilience, and healthier cultures. If you’ve been following my work in this area, you’ve seen how powerful it is when people learn to work with their nervous systems instead of against them.

You can explore more of that work here.

Practicing what I teach.
I kept returning to The Process to get work done using the same systems I teach my clients but for myself and my business.

If you’re curious about what that looked like, check out this blog post.

Building something new.
I launched the Lifelong Wellbeing Foundation and hosted our first fundraiser. As part of that work, I deepened a partnership with Enactus and traveled to both the U.S. and World events (Kansas City and Bangkok).

Leadership development at scale.
I delivered escalation path trainings, values workshops, presented at five conferences, and certified over 100 new Scrum Masters and Product Owners.

Expanding into embodied leadership.
I completed my Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training which opened a whole new layer of understanding around physiological efficiency, nervous system regulation, and sustainable performance.

A dream client.
I worked with the Denver Zoo which felt like the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

And personally…
I met the love of my life!

All of these accomplishments required architectural thinking: designing systems, structures, foundations, and capacity.

Which naturally led me to my next word.

Looking Ahead: 2026 and the Shift to Stewardship

My word for 2026 is Steward.

If architect is about building, steward is about caring for what has been built so it can last.

Stewardship asks different questions:

• What deserves protection?

• Where does consistency matter more than expansion?

• What needs tending instead of optimizing?

For me, 2026 is about anchoring. About letting the roots deepen so the tree can actually support future growth.

Stewardship will show up in a few key areas this year:

• Stewarding my body through Pilates training, intelligent recovery, and respecting physiological limits.

• Stewarding my partnership through shared rhythms, boundaries, and daily care.

• Stewarding my work by offering fewer services, going deeper with aligned clients, and protecting creative energy.

• Stewarding place and seasonality by allowing seasonal rhythms to shape how I work and rest.

You’ll see more seasonal programming, more embodied leadership practices, and more bite-sized free education shared thoughtfully throughout the year. It may feel like “new” offerings… but in reality, this is what I’ve been quietly building toward these last couple of years.

Why Choose a Word for the Year?

A word of the year isn’t about productivity or self-optimization.

At its best, a word gives language to the season of life you’re actually in. It can also serve as a powerful lens through which to view your decisions, boundaries, energy, and attention.

Instead of asking:
“What should I do next?”
You start asking:
“What would someone living this word do here?”

It simplifies complexity. It reduces noise. It helps you notice when you’re drifting off course.

Your word becomes your compass.

Choose Your Word of 2026

In next week’s post, I’ll share exactly how to work with a word of the year in a practical way and share reflection prompts / an AI-assisted process you can use to uncover the real pattern of your life instead of picking a word that sounds nice on Instagram.

Stay tuned!