New Year, Same Chaos: My Resolutions, Reality & the Road Ahead

Posted on December 31, 2025 by Courtney

“Map out your future — but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.”

–Jon Bon Jovi

Understanding my resolutions, reality, and the road ahead. Every January I’m tempted to write something polished and perfectly optimistic about the New Year. And every January, life gently reminds me that I am a widowed, work-from-home therapist, raising a teen, a chronically ill child, and a rotating cast of dogs, cats, and emotional support laundry piles. So instead, here we are—with honesty, humor, and caffeine. As this, like other things, written at 4 a.m.

A Real-Life Update (a.k.a. Where I’m Actually At)

Let’s start with the content creator journey, because numbers are fun and accountability is character-building. I committed to a 45-day journey to reach 1,000 followers across all platforms. Did I hit 1K? No. Did I start from almost zero in October and keep showing up anyway? Absolutely.

Day 45 of 45 – The Numbers

• Facebook: 400 followers

• Instagram: 200 followers

• Threads: 27 followers

• TikTok: 38 followers

• YouTube: 29 subscribers

• Grand Total: 694 followers

Not bad for starting from scratch, learning on the fly, and creating content between therapy sessions, medical appointments, school drop-offs, and breaking up animal disputes.

While I didn’t hit the 1K goal, I did hit something better:

Momentum
Consistency
Proof that progress doesn’t require perfection

So the journey isn’t ending. It’s just evolving. What I have learned is that if you want lasting growth and followers that become your community/tribe, it takes a long while to build. Slow growth is better overall. I plan on continuing this adventure. Not perfectly, though. But consistently.

Life Lately: The Many Hats I Wear (Sometimes All at Once)

If you’re new here, welcome to the beautifully chaotic reality:

• Widow navigating grief while still choosing joy

• Mom to a hormonal teen (enough said)

• Mother to a child with a chronic illness

• Work-from-home therapist

• Content creator

• Business owner in progress. Slow progress.

• Dog and cat referee

Some days are productive.
Other days are survival.
Most days are both. All start at o’ dark thirty.

A Big Shift: From Buying a Business to Building One

One of the biggest mindset shifts heading into 2026 (and beyond) is this:

I’ve moved away from buying a traditional business
I’m building a digital business from home instead

Why?

Because flexibility matters.
And health matters.
Moreover, my kids matter.

This new path includes:

• Digital products

• Affiliate marketing (only products that actually help us as a single-mom household and support my daughter’s chronic illness needs)

• Monetizing social media platforms

• Monetizing my website and blog

• Continuing to write and author books

Yes—there is a murder mystery coming. Because clearly I like balance, and a way of dealing with teen drama in a healthy way.

My Primary Focus Moving Forward

If I had to sum up my main focus in one sentence:

I am learning everything I can about the digital world to create long-term financial independence for my family.

That means deep diving into:

• Content creation

• Digital marketing

• Affiliate income strategies

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) (yes, that is an A.I Image of me, not bad)

• Online business systems

• Financial independence and security

I’m grateful for my daughter’s disability fund—but I want more security than that.
More stability and options

And I’m willing to be a beginner to get there.

Health, Home & Slightly Crunchy Goals

Because life isn’t just business plans and analytics, I’m also focusing on:

Learning soap making for my teen’s eczema and skin issues

Eating cleaner to better support chronic illness management

Creating a home life that supports healing—not burnout

Keeping pets and kids alive (daily win). And possibly the plant Anais keeps trying to eat.

My 2026 Resolutions (The Sustainable Version)

Instead of dramatic resolutions that last until February, here’s what I’m committing to:

• Keep creating—even when growth feels slow

• Build a digital business aligned with real life

• Learn before earning (and earn anyway)

• Share the journey honestly

• Choose progress over pressure

• Prioritize health, flexibility, and peace

• Laugh at the chaos whenever possible

• Keep Anais out of trouble…

Come With Me

If you’re:

• Building something from scratch

• Parenting through hard seasons

• Navigating grief while still dreaming

• Learning digital skills later than everyone else

• Trying to create financial independence from home

You’re not alone.

Follow along on whatever platform you’re on—because this journey is happening everywhere, imperfectly and in real time.

Here’s to learning, building, healing, and laughing our way forward.

New year. Same chaos. Better tools.