Walking Into 2026 Without Losing Myself - Ernest Usher

2025 tried me. Heavy. Relationships ended. Therapy began. Trauma showed up uninvited and overstayed its welcome. Life applied pressure in ways that don’t make for cute Instagram captions. But here’s the part that matters most: I didn’t lose myself. I didn’t lose my value. I didn’t shrink. I didn’t disappear. I evolved.

Somewhere in the middle of the mess, I made a decision to show up for me. Not the polished version. Not the “I’m fine” version. The real one. I let my real friends and real family speak life into me when my own voice got tired. I stopped isolating. I stopped pretending I could muscle my way through everything alone. Strength isn’t silence. Strength is choosing healing.

Therapy changed the game. Not because it magically fixed everything—but because it reminded me of who I already was. Therapy helped me separate my circumstances from my identity. What happened to me is not who I am. What I’ve been through doesn’t get to rewrite my purpose. Therapy helped me embrace who I’m becoming instead of letting pain define who I should be.

And here’s the truth going into 2026: therapy is not weakness. It’s maintenance. It’s clarity. It’s alignment. It’s a mirror that says, “You’re not broken—you’re becoming.” But therapy alone isn’t the finish line. You have to do the work after the sessions end. You have to build, reflect, unlearn, and choose yourself daily. Purpose requires participation.

So if you’re stepping into 2026 feeling bruised but breathing, hear this clearly: don’t lose sight of who you are. Don’t let a season convince you that you’re less than. You have value. You have purpose. You have reason. You have potential. Those four together don’t lead to survival—they lead to destiny.

And destiny isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you walk into. Now it’s your time.

Happy New Year, enjoy 2026 healed and set free.