Who am I 2026?

Who am I? What do I stand for?
Have you ever truly sat with those questions?

Not the surface answers—the easy ones.
Not I am a mother.
Not I am a grandmother.
Not I am a widow, a friend, a horse and dog owner.

Those are roles. They matter, but they don’t reach the soul.

The deeper “I am” takes more courage to answer.

Wayne Dyer spoke often about the power of I am—that what we say after those two words becomes how we define ourselves. When I look beneath the labels, I see more truth there.

I am strong.
I am resilient.
I overcome challenges.
I am the designer of my life.
I live in the present moment.
I am worthy of love.

These aren’t static descriptions. They are actions. They are choices.
And maybe that’s why I’ve kept moving forward. I haven’t stayed stuck. My feet and my heart aren’t planted in the past.

If we’re honest, the mud of life usually isn’t that deep. We make it deeper by piling on every painful thought, every replay of what went wrong. What starts as a small puddle can turn into quicksand when we forget that the past cannot be changed. It’s over. It’s done.

So the real question becomes: Where are you now?
What kind of life have you created for yourself?

Mary Oliver asks it best:
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

That line hits me in the heart every time.

 Because this—right here—is all we get. One wild and precious life. And we get to choose how we live it.

This time.
This moment.
This life.

My life has been beautiful.
My life has been awful.

I think most of us could say the same. Life comes with both the good and the hard. The real question is this: What will you focus on?
What will you give your energy to—the good or the bad?

That decision quietly directs the course of your life.

Science tells us our brains are wired to focus on what’s wrong, not what’s right. Negative thoughts stick more easily. I fall into that trap too. One unhappy client, and suddenly I’m convinced everyone is unhappy.

That happened recently. I received some negative feedback about my programs, and it shook me. I spiraled. I questioned everything—my work, my worth, my place here on the farm. Days passed before I could breathe again.

And then I realized why it hurt so much.

Because I care.
I care about what I put into the world.
I care about the people I work with.
I care deeply about doing no harm.

But I also had to accept something else: I don’t control how others perceive me. Everyone arrives with their own history, values, and experiences—many of which I’ll never fully know.

All I can do is show up aligned with my truth and trust that authenticity will be felt.

And here’s the gift: after the self-criticism settled, I turned the experience into reflection. I looked closely at my programs. I made small adjustments. I grew. What came from the mud was something good.

That moment helped clarify what I’m really here to do.

So I’ll ask you the same question I keep asking myself:

What do you want to do with your one wild and precious life?

Grow.  Love. Travel.  Teach. Give.  Care.  Embrace.  Learn.

These are words I can live by.

What about you? What will your words be?