20 Questions for 2026
Resetting your agency
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Friends,
Every December, I try to slow down enough to look at the year with a clear head. It helps me understand what shaped me, what I allowed, and what I want to change. This year needed that pause more than any I can remember. The world continues to move fast. Work changed again. Have you seen it in your work? New tools, new names - it’s a firehose! Expectations of everyone rise in every single direction. Many of us stayed busy without feeling anchored. Sometimes we even lose who we are.
I felt that more this year than ever before. A long illness forced me to stop. I had weeks where I drifted between recovery and responsibility and ownership. It was uncomfortable. It also gave me a clearer sense of what matters. I wrote a book during this time. It was my biggest investment. It took patience that I did not always have, and I returned to it again and again because I knew it would shape what I can offer next year.
The thing that steadied me the most was people. My wife, who carried so much during the toughest moments. My daughters, who reminded me why long-term investment in people matters. The friends and family who checked in and nudged me forward. The conversations with readers who shared their own struggles with drift, distraction, and the pace of change. These moments shaped my year more than anything else. As you can guess, I very much believe in people.
I also spent the entire year immersed in AI. It showed me how easily we outsource thought. How quickly skills fade when we move on autopilot. How distractions multiply. How work dissolves into tasks we did not choose. It also reminded me of something simple. You can lose your agency without noticing. You wake up one day and realise you reacted your way through the year instead of choosing your way through it.
This is why I believe agency is the real currency of 2026. And that’s why I believe in SuperSkills.
Not productivity. Not speed.
Agency.
My definition is that it’s the ability to decide who you are becoming. It’s the ability to stop drift before it sets in - the ability to choose where your time, attention, and energy go. If next year is going to feel different, it needs more than goals. It needs a reset of control. A clear line between the noise around you and the direction you want to take.
Below are twenty questions that help you reclaim that sense of ownership. These questions are simple, direct, and emotionally honest. They work because they get to the heart of what shapes a year. If you give them time, they will move you closer to the centre of your life.
This is your reset:
The 20 Questions for 2026
(If you want something a bit more traditional, check out my list from last year)
1. What did I pretend not to notice this year?
2. Who did I become when life got hard?
3. What truth about myself am I finally ready to face?
4. Where did I drift farthest from who I want to be?
5. What do I need to walk away from, without delay?
6. What did I sacrifice that I should take back?
7. What stayed the same for too long?
8. What did I learn the hard way?
9. What habit quietly shaped my life this year?
10. What emotion kept returning that I need to understand?
11. What did I want more than anything, yet did not pursue?
12. What conversation have I avoided for months?
13. What version of me am I done carrying?
14. What small decision would make my life lighter?
15. Which boundary will protect my future self?
16. Who filled my life with energy, and who took it?
17. What did I stop doing that I want to return to?
18. What would my January look like if I was brave?
19. What am I most afraid to admit out loud?
20. What do I want next year to feel like?
Next year, we might need to think differently. 2026 will not reward speed. It will reward clarity. It will reward the courage to choose what matters and leave everything else behind. It will reward those who take a step back. It will reward those with calm. The noise will continue. The pace will rise again. But your agency is still yours. Your choices still belong to you. You get to decide the direction of your life.
If you want a clean start, use these questions over the next few weeks. Work through them slowly. Share them with someone you trust. Sit with your family if that keeps you accountable. They will help you understand where you are, what you want to change, and what you want to feel next year. They will help you reclaim the year ahead rather than inherit it.
As always, thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting this journey. Writing this newsletter is a labour of love, but my intention is that you find benefit in what I do. If not, then i’m doing something wrong. I welcome feedback, positive and constructive criticism.
Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,
Rahim Hirji Author, SuperSkills (2026) | Keynote Speaker | Advisor
Building human capability for the AI era.
PS. I haven’t given a TED talk, but if I did, I wish it was like this:
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