Hi friends,

Welcome to 2026! New year, new me, right? Time to set a few massively unrealistic goals and convince myself that somehow, by virtue of existing in 2026, I will turn into a completely different person.

We’re all adults here. We know that when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, you aren’t filled with the mystical spirit which suddenly allows you to initiate and maintain a 5am wake up time, or a macrobiotic diet, or whatever it is that society tells you will be the thing that finally fixes you, if you only tried harder, you lazy bones.

I’m so over making resolutions. Consistency and making habits stick is not my bag.

(I have genuinely only stuck at this newsletter because I quickly became online pals with many of you and the thought of disappearing from here without explanation makes me feel awful. Of course, I love writing, but my executive dysfunction and ‘out of sight, out of mind’ tendencies could easily see me forget this place, if it wasn’t for all of you. Thank you for being here.)

Instead of setting big goals in neon lights that make me feel bad about myself in February, I’m picking a 2026 mindset. Ok, that sounds a bit alt-right-podcast-bro of me. Sorry. Let me rephrase.

I’ve decided that this year I am going to have a go at stuff. To hell with making mistakes, embarrassing myself, or heaven forbid, not being good at something the first time I do it; I’m going to find new hobbies and experiences and just have a bloody go. My back is creaking, my hair colour is fading, and time is my most precious resource. Why not use it to just see what happens?

Making art, going to classes to learn new things, meeting strangers (!), travelling to new places, maybe finally learning to cook something more advanced than pesto pasta. All of this and more.

The meeting new people thing is the scariest one of the lot in all honesty.

How do you tell new people that you’re not a shifty so-and-so, you just find maintaining eye contact quite a challenge?

Will I need to police myself regarding the extent I politely inform them about the music of Fleetwood Mac?

Will people think I’m weird because I continually shoe-horn quotes from ‘The Bald and the Beautiful’ podcast into my daily life?1

Jokes aside, I worry a lot, but I can’t keep moaning on here about having a small social circle whilst also doing absolutely nothing about it.

The best thing about this plan is that it is genuinely what I want to do. I’m not picturing some idealised version of my future self that doesn’t and frankly never will exist and making myself do stuff I don’t want to do, yet thinking I ought to do it (because, and I don’t know if anyone has noticed this, but nobody is perfect. I know right, what a unique observation. This is why people pay me, for these sorts of cutting-edge insights.)

Instead, I considered how I want to use my time this year. I realised that I’ve been feeling a bit bored and a bit too wrapped up in my comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, I needed my comfort zone since I started to recover from my last major episode of autistic burnout. I needed certainty in my life and the safety of places where I could unmask and expend as little energy as possible. Now, a year on, I feel in the clear enough to make a few steps outside into the scary unknown.

My rich inner world is ready to meet the rich outer world, finally.

So here we go. Buckle up, buckeroos. It’s time to be perceived!2

Take it easy, and happy new year,

Ren

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