You spend a lot of time encouraging everyone else. Your customers. Your team. Your family. Even total strangers on social media.

Today, it’s your turn.

Before the year gets away from you, give yourself a gift that costs nothing and can pay off all year long: write a letter to yourself to read this time next year.

Not a to-do list. Not a strategic plan. A pep talk.

Think of it as sitting down with the future you, looking them in the eye, and saying, “Here is what mattered. Here is what I dream for you. And here is why you’re stronger than you remember.”

Here is how to do it in a way that actually supports you as a business owner, not just adds one more thing to feel guilty about.

We’re fast approaching the time of year when it can feel like you’re running a marathon on a tightrope. Customers need attention. Promotions are queued up to be launched (or designed). Your inventory is giving you nightmares, and you have huge goals for the end of the year.

And you’re supposed to stay cheerful, strategic, and somehow well-rested through it all.

But the problem isn’t your big aspirations for 2026, nor does the problem lie in trying to solve the things you can’t control.

It’s your habits.