A Soft Reset for 2026 — Five Gentle Questions for the New Year
- Jema Killala-Barnard
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Why a Soft Reset Matters for Mothers at the New Year
There is a certain magic to the week between Christmas and New Year...
a hush,
a breath,
a suspension of time.
The lights are still twinkling, the days are short and dark, and the house holds gratitude but also mess, and exhaustion. It is a season where as a mother I often feel stretched thin, longing for a moment of stillness amidst the fullness.
Before 2026 arrives with its noise and expectations, here is a soft place to land.
A quiet pause.
A gentle reset.
A moment to meet yourself again.
Every year, the world rushes towards January with urgency... visions, resolutions, manifesting big desires, reinventing everything overnight.
But in many of my own seasons of motherhood, (through loss, rebuilding, late-night feeding, homeschooling, navigating change), I’ve learned that true intention doesn’t rise from pressure.
It rises from quiet.
It rises from honesty.
It rises from the deep places inside us that only speak when we slow down enough to listen.
I recorded this video for the mothers who are craving softness. For the women who feel the weight of December still in their bodies. For the ones who don’t have the bandwidth for a “new year, new me,” but still long for meaning as the calendar turns.
Below, you’ll find a gentle, spacious guide into a soft reset for 2026.
Bring a journal and a cup of tea.
A soft reset is not a reinvention. It isn’t about creating a brand new self or designing the perfect plan for your life.
A soft reset is an act of remembering.
It’s a moment to honour
• the woman you’ve become this year
• the truths that shaped you
• the limits you brushed up against
• the longings that wouldn’t quiet down
• the seeds that began to stir beneath the surface
As mothers, we are always tending, children, homes, emotions, schedules, and the quiet corners of our own hearts.
Setting intentions from a place of depletion only leads us further from ourselves.
Setting intentions from softness brings us back into alignment with the life we’re actually meant to live.
This video is a guided, spacious invitation to ask yourself five soul-level questions that help you step into 2026 with clarity, truth, and devotion.
A simple ritual to sit with as you enter the field of 2026
A 3-breath Soft Reset Ritual
Inhale: What am I holding that I can release?
Exhale: What do I need right now?
Inhale: What truth is rising within me as the year turns?
Let your breath be the doorway.
Let your body speak first.
Let your soul answer in its own time.
If all you do is pause and breathe, it is enough.
A Mother’s Invitation to Pause, Reflect, and Remember Herself
If you’re longing for deeper guidance as you enter the new year, I’ve created a free meditation to help you remember who you are beneath the noise of motherhood and the expectations of the world.
It’s an activation, a homecoming, a return to the part of you that holds your truest desires.
You’ll also join my inner cycle email list, where I share seasonal reflections, rituals, and gentle guidance for mothers walking their own becoming.
May this winter give you softness where you’ve been hard, spaciousness where you’ve been stretched, and clarity where things have been foggy.
May 2026 meet you gently, and may you meet yourself with tenderness and truth.
Comments