Yearly, we’re informed that progress has to look a sure approach.
New yr. New you. Reinvent every part. Repair what feels unfinished. Turn out to be another person by pressure of will and calendar timing.
That narrative has by no means absolutely served us. And on this season, it feels particularly out of step with the place we really are.
So, as we step into 2026, I wish to be clear about what we’re selecting at The Curvy Fashionista.
Our theme for 2026 is ASCEND.
Why ASCEND, and Why Now
ASCEND will not be about transformation.
It’s about elevation.
Transformation means that who you’re will not be sufficient but. That it’s worthwhile to be reshaped, corrected, or refined earlier than you’re allowed to take up house.
Elevation begins from a distinct place fully. It assumes price. It honors progress with out erasing identification. It permits you to rise with out shrinking first.
For plus measurement folks, that distinction issues.
A lot of the messaging directed at us has been rooted in fixing. Repair your physique. Repair your confidence. Repair your habits. Repair your self, then you possibly can stay.
ASCEND rejects that premise utterly.
What ASCEND Means to Me (And Why I Selected It)
ASCEND is about rising with intention, and that distinction issues to me deeply.
After every part I’ve unpacked, healed, launched, and forgiven, I knew I didn’t wish to enter one other yr chasing targets that weren’t rooted in who I really am now. I’ve completed the decision cycle earlier than. Set the targets. Pushed more durable. Tried to self-discipline myself into turning into somebody I assumed I needs to be.
What I’ve realized, and what I shared in my piece about selecting a theme for the brand new yr, is that themes provide you with course with out punishment. They permit progress with out the fixed feeling that you’re behind or failing.
ASCEND got here to me not as a purpose, however as a sense.
I’m not focused on transferring ahead in ways in which require me to desert myself within the course of. I don’t need urgency to be the motivator. I don’t need chaos to masquerade as momentum. I would like readability. I would like alignment. I would like progress that feels expansive, not exhausting.
For me, ASCEND means selecting elevation over reinvention.
It means:
- Elevating my confidence with out apologizing for taking over house
- Elevating my management with out performing respectability or shrinking to be palatable
- Elevating pleasure, relaxation, and visibility on the similar time, with out treating relaxation like a reward I’ve to earn
ASCEND will not be loud for the sake of being seen. I’ve completed loud. I’ve completed fixed movement. I’ve completed proving.
This season feels totally different.
ASCEND feels regular. Grounded. Assured.
It’s the sort of progress that comes from realizing who I’m, trusting what I’ve realized, and believing that I don’t have to contort myself, overextend, or self-sacrifice to maneuver ahead.
Selecting ASCEND as our 2026 theme is me practising precisely what I encourage others to do. Selecting a guideline as an alternative of a guidelines. Selecting intention over depth. Selecting a course I can return to when issues really feel unclear.
ASCEND provides me that anchor. And it provides our group language for progress that doesn’t require erasure.
Why We Are Leaving Transformation Behind
Right here’s the factor. Analysis persistently exhibits that change rooted in disgrace and self-criticism will not be sustainable.
In response to the American Psychological Affiliation, conduct change pushed by inner motivation and self-compassion is way simpler than change pushed by strain or guilt.
Transformation tradition depends on urgency. On before-and-after considering. On the concept that you’re solely invaluable when you arrive elsewhere.
ASCEND doesn’t ask you to reach.
It asks you to rise.
Elevation Is Not About Doing Extra
One of many largest misconceptions about progress is that it requires fixed movement.
ASCEND challenges that.
Elevation can appear like relaxation.
It could possibly appear like boundaries.
It could possibly appear like saying no with readability and with out guilt.
Harvard Enterprise Evaluate has proven that sustainable management is constructed by way of reflection, not relentless growth. Leaders who pause to reassess are simpler and extra resilient over time.
ASCEND honors that fact.
What ASCEND Seems Like Throughout TCF in 2026
ASCEND isn’t just a phrase. It’s a lens. And I’m not selecting a theme simply to call it and transfer on.
ASCEND goes to information what we publish, what we prioritize, and the way we serve.
In 2026, you will notice ASCEND present up by way of:
- Model content material that helps confidence, not concealment
- Wellness conversations rooted in respect, not disgrace
- Extra visibility for plus measurement leaders, creators, and voices
- Group areas that really feel actual, not performative
That is about constructing platforms that final, not chasing moments that fade.
A Observe on Visibility and Energy
ASCEND additionally means I’m completed ready for permission.
Permission to be seen.
Permission to guide.
Permission to take up house precisely as I’m.
For a very long time, visibility for plus measurement folks got here with situations. Be assured, however not too assured. Be seen, however not disruptive. Take up house, however be sure you are nonetheless palatable.
I’ve lived that rigidity personally, and I’ve watched our group navigate it for years.
What I do know now’s this. Visibility will not be one thing we earn by behaving properly sufficient. It’s energy. And energy grows once we cease asking for approval and begin standing firmly in who we’re.
ASCEND provides me language to maneuver in a different way.
It jogs my memory that I don’t want to melt my presence to be revered. I don’t want to clarify my price earlier than getting into management. I don’t have to make myself smaller to make others snug.
Analysis round identity-based motivation exhibits that persons are extra prone to maintain progress and management when their actions affirm who they already are, somewhat than who they suppose they need to grow to be.
That issues deeply for plus measurement folks, as a result of a lot of the world has informed us our our bodies disqualify us from authority.
ASCEND rejects that.
Visibility will not be a reward on the finish of the journey. It’s a part of the journey. Energy will not be one thing we borrow. It’s one thing we declare.
And this yr, I’m selecting to maneuver like I already belong.
Why This Issues to Me
ASCEND honors what I’ve lived by way of. It honors what TCF has navigated. And it provides us language for the place we’re going subsequent with out pretending the journey behind us didn’t matter.
I’m not asking anybody to reinvent themselves this yr.
I’m inviting you to rise.
This Is an Invitation
ASCEND will not be a mandate. It’s an invite.
An invite to:
- Rise with out urgency
- Develop with out erasure
- Lead with out apology
- Relaxation with out guilt
You don’t want to rework to belong right here.
You might be already worthy of elevation.
Transferring Ahead Collectively
As we step into 2026, my hope is straightforward.
That we select intention over depth.
That we select alignment over efficiency.
That we select elevation with out abandoning ourselves alongside the way in which.
ASCEND is the language we are going to use this yr to remind ourselves of what’s doable once we cease making an attempt to grow to be another person and begin rising as we’re.
There’s room for you right here.
And we’re simply getting began.
