The real transformation happens when you open a fresh page, choose a handful of habits that matter to you, and commit to noticing them day after day. I recently did this with two friends over coffee, and what unfolded felt less like a productivity exercise and more like a gentle act of intention-setting. If you'd like to build your own version of that ritual, here's where to start.
Last December, I was standing in front of a wall of bottles, paralyzed. Not because I don't like wine. I do. I was paralyzed because the entire experience was designed to make me feel small. The sommelier energy, the gatekeeping language, the implied message that if I couldn't name the terroir, I didn't deserve a good bottle. So I did what I always did: grabbed the same safe choice, went home, and told myself I'd "branch out next time."