2025 put me through the wringer. It started in January, when I lost my grandfather. Then, in August, I lost my grandmother. At the same time, my husband was struggling with severe anxiety that began to unravel our home life. By December, I was worn down, irritable, angry and lacking patience. It wasn’t who I am. It wasn’t who I wanted to be.

I wanted to take control. I didn’t want to be a victim of this low season in my life. The problem was that my physical and mental energy were sapped. Big changes felt impossible, yet I knew I couldn’t stay in this holding pattern. Out of the chaos, The Goodness Gain project was born.

Identifying a Misalignment

The Goodness Gain project is all about defining your values and truths and aligning your life choices to those ideas. When I reflect on the tough seasons of my life, I recognize a similar theme: I wasn’t living by my personal guiding principles.

I find that when times get tough, the first step in gaining realignment is to clearly define my values and truths. Over time, values and priorities can change, so I recently went through this exercise again. Writing down my values forced me to address my feelings and frustrations. I realized I hadn’t been taking care of myself. My mental, physical and emotional health needed attention.

A Path to Gaining Goodness

After my values exercise, I made a pact to spend twelve months searching for goodness in my everyday life. That would entail educating myself, developing new habits and adapting my daily choices to align with my values.

Could I reframe my thinking to find joy during our bedtime routine, instead of feeling overwhelmed? Did I have time in my day to stop, look to God and pray? Would I continue to live in a cycle of constant overstimulation, or was it possible to calm my nervous system? These are the questions I hope to answer in the next 12 months.

Here are some of the specific outcomes I hope to achieve:

• build small habits that stick
• find joy in simple things
• prioritze my physical and emotional health
• build community
• serve others
• expand my faith
• declutter physical and mental spaces
• practice daily gratitude

The Goodness Gain project is not a self-help strategy; it’s a path to more intentional, peaceful living.

How Can Small Habits Change Your Life?

I’m a firm believer that small changes in what we do and how we think can transform our lives. Sometimes change can feel overwhelming, so we choose to stay comfortable in a bad circumstance. When it feels like we’re at rock bottom, even taking one step up often feels impossible.

The beauty of microhabits is that they seem more attainable. They offer a place to start when that first step feels so hard. Smiling at yourself in the mirror first thing in the morning can get positive chemicals working in your brain. Taking a deep breath when you step out of bed can calm your nervous system before your day even begins. When you do these things over and over again, they become habits. And those habits can transform your life.

The Subjective Nature of Goodness

Webster’s dictionary defines goodness as “the quality or state of being good”. But what is good to me may not be good to you. That’s why The Goodness Gain is a personal journey. Yours won’t look like mine, because we likely have different values, priorities and lifestyles. But the premise remains the same. The ultimate goal is to identify your values and truths, align choices and gain goodness through intentionally practiced habits.

Start by asking yourself: “What does goodness look like to me?” Is it slow days and plenty of time for reflection and thought? Or, is it high productivity that results in goals being reached and obstacles being overcome? Do you prioritize traveling the world? Or would you rather spend your days building a comfortable home base for your family?

Maybe you’re not sure what goodness means to you. That’s ok, too. We’re all learning, changing and growing. The Goodness Gain is all about finding joy in small, everyday habits that align with your values.

Let your Goodness Gain journey begin!