I'm realizing that I'm struggling a bit know what to do and focus on work-wise going into this new year. About halfway through the year last year, my business endeavors finally reached a point where I felt like I didn't have to really worry about my runway anymore. Between ColorBliss and some freelancing, I am making enough for our family.
And that feels great. I'm so grateful and it is such an amazing privilege. The great experiment I set out on two years ago--can I support my family while working 20 hours a week--has been successful. And we are all happier and more peaceful as a result.
But now that I have enough and I think I have done a lot of work for myself to be content with enough--I find myself wondering if there is something else I should be aiming for? I don't necessarily need ColorBliss to make more money, but I know there are things I could work on that could grow it. Should I do them?
All of my 2026 Reading List is focused more on personal type things and exploring how to grow as a person outside of my work.
And maybe that's where I'm feeling a bit lost right now. I'm starting to realize that for years I pulled a lot of my identity from my work. There was always a promotion to aim for, peer recognition, a salary raise, a bonus, awards to aim for. There were people to please. Maybe I could leverage my accomplishments at one job into a huge raise at a next job. And when I went out on my own, there was so much excitement there. Could I do it? How much could I make? And as I was sharing more in public on social media, there was the excitement of people cheering me on.
I'm not longer sharing as much about success from a revenue perspective for reasons. And the monthly gains in the business are not as large or as thrilling as before. And they aren't as existentially relevant either. Growing the business 10% in a month doesn't make that much of a difference now, after our baseline is there.
So that leaves me wondering -- what next? Where should I funnel my energy to this year, and where can I draw energy from? I'm still figuring that out.