Giving Yourself Grace in 2026

In my experience, there are times in life that can feel stagnant - things move forward, but change is minimal. And then there are times when so much happens all at once it’s almost difficult to know where to start and what to do to keep things moving forward.

2024 was the latter. In 2024, Renelly and I decided to start Midday Society. In 2024, my team changed drastically as we were heading into our busiest time of year. In 2025, Renelly was digging into her new role. We were confident that we’d written enough articles to hold us through the transitional phase. We were wrong.

And after a few weeks of feeling the stress of not posting, we had a talk and decided, “it’s ok, we’ll get back to it when we can”.

And here we are.

Submitted for the consideration of the Midday Society:

A Gentle Reminder to Give Yourself Grace

When Renelly and I started Midday Society, we made a promise that our friendship would always come first. We have ambitions on where we want to take Midday Society - and where we dream it can take us. But our friendship exists on its own.

That was the basis of our conversation when we decided that if we had to pause Midday Society indefinitely, that was ok. We needed to support each other first. Our corporate jobs needed to take priority - and that was also ok.

Giving yourself grace may be difficult, but we want to offer you some tips to help you remember it’s sometimes the right thing to do:

1. Talk it out
   1. I’ve been guilty of thinking I can do everything. But none of us can.
   2. Sometimes, saying things out loud is enough to help put things in perspective.
   3. Call a friend, talk to your dog, or our plants, or your laundry. It doesn’t matter what the other end hears, it matters most what you get to say. 
2. Think about the worst case scenario
   1. For two naturally optimistic people, Renelly and I have a knack for thinking about the worst possible outcome before allowing ourselves to work back from there. 
   2. Naming the worst case scenario allows us to understand our fear and takes some of the sting out of the unknown. 
   3. Naming it allows us to problem solve against that worst case scenario. Often things aren’t the worst, and even if they are, we know how we want to approach it should they occur.
   4. Sometimes, naming the worst scenario can help ease tension in the present.
3. Not planning can be a plan
   1. If something feels too big to tackle, it’s ok if you don’t right away.
   2. If you can’t set time aside to make a plan, that’s ok. Set some time to think about when you CAN think about it.
   3. Put some time on the calendar in the future. Give yourself grace and allow yourself to forget whatever it is until your calendar reminds you. Push it if you need to. Forget it until you believe you have the mental capacity to take on the task.
4. Talk it out - again
   1. When you’re ready to actively put energy into your topic, find your friend, your dog, your plants, or your laundry - talk it out.
   2. Listen to what you have to say.
5. Build momentum 
   1. Make whatever it is feel so small, it almost seems silly.
   2. Allowing yourself to start small or even commit to less will help you start the momentum up again.

Appreciate the grace you’ve given yourself - take what you need from these tips, take a deep breath, and dive back in.