My 2026 Yearly Theme

Myke Hurley

07 Jan 2026 — 4 min read

Every year — for nearly ten years — I have set myself a Yearly Theme. This is a word or phrase that guides my year and informs the choices I make. I use this phrase to help me evaluate decisions and to give me an anchor point to base my work — and sometimes my personal life — around.

In a usual year, Grey and I would record an episode of Cortex where we reflect on our previous Yearly Theme and set our new one. However, this is not a normal year. With Grey on break from Cortex at the moment, I decided not to record the episode without him — it wouldn’t feel right. Instead, I have made a YouTube video, on the Cortex YouTube channel, where I share my thoughts. This may feel like a small distinction, but it’s an important one to me.

I recommend that you watch this video, as I go into a lot of detail reflecting on my Year of Fatherhood for 2025 before sharing my 2026 Yearly Theme. However, I also wanted to share some detail about my Theme for this year here on The Enthusiast too.

For 2026, my Theme is The Year of New.

This Theme has absolutely been informed by what 2025 was. The first half of the year was about trying to understand and learn everything I could about becoming a parent, and the second half focused on a lot of changes in my work life that presented new opportunities to learn and grow. I decided that I wanted to carry these elements forward, using my Yearly Theme as encouragement to strengthen what’s already going on for me.

The Year of New is broken down into a few categories:

New Opportunities

The work I’ve started with Cross Forward is creating many new areas for me to learn and grow. Some of the things I’m working on are completely new to me — and I’m loving that experience. These projects live in areas I care deeply about and have many ideas for, so it’s been incredibly inspiring so far. I’m learning more than I have in a long time, which feels very rewarding.

Additionally, the State of the Workflow series on Cortex has been very creatively fulfilling. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to so many inspiring people and to create new connections within my professional life. I’ve been thrilled by the positive response to these interviews, and it’s encouraging me to keep pushing and broadening my horizons.

New Behaviours and New Attitudes

2025 was a year full of new challenges. It’s fair to say I haven’t been forced to learn so much, so quickly, at any other point in my adult life. Through that process, I’ve learned a lot about myself.

I’ve had to take a hard look at how I react to things and how I manage my emotions, knowing that the patterns I set now will only amplify over time. I’m working to be more intentional — to pause before reacting, to consider how I want to respond, and to be more deliberate with how I spend my time. I’m trying to create the best environment possible for my daughter to grow up in, and I know that will require constant effort.

New Connections

I want to be better about creating and maintaining friendships and relationships. That means sending and replying to more messages, making the first move where I need to, and putting myself out there a little more. This is something that comes up year after year, and something I continue to struggle with — so it will remain a recurring part of my Themes.

I’ve loved having this blog as a place to share things I care about and things that are happening in my life. It’s been one of the highlights of 2025, and it’s something I’ll absolutely continue in 2026.

I’ve become increasingly jaded with the state of text-based social media and its value to me as a creative person. Over time, I’ve grown more convinced that it’s not a space I want to invest much energy into.

Instead, I want to focus on sharing more long-form content here, potentially exploring more video, and sharing more on Instagram (which is a place I continue to get value from). I really enjoy when people share monthly recaps through a collection of disconnected images, and I plan to do more of that too.

I’m really looking forward to what The Year of New will bring. Over the last few years, my Themes have often focused on letting go or shifting priorities toward other people. That work has helped me better understand my work–life balance and given me a foundation from which I can more carefully bring new projects into my life. I know I’ll overshoot in some areas and need to course-correct, but I’m incredibly enthusiastic about the work ahead. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to focus on things that are entirely new, and I think this year will offer many opportunities to broaden my knowledge and perspective.

If you want to learn more about Yearly Themes, there are many episodes of Cortex to listen to, a great video Grey made explaining the idea, and plenty of information on The Theme System Journal website — which remains the best way to track your Theme day to day.

Happy New Year.

Happy new Theme.