Gentle January

As winter settles and the big meals, festive noises and glitter fade, January can feel a little flat and grey (blue even!). In nature, this month is designed for a slower pace and quiet recalibration. So instead of focusing frenetically on New Year’s resolutions, perhaps we can step more gently and deliberately into intentions. 

We live in a world that is becoming louder, faster, more competitive and forceful every day. Gentleness, by contrast, whispers softly to us. It can be easily mistaken for weakness or fragility, but it’s actually a superpower! A strength that softens edges, a steady and powerful element of resilience. 

If we are attentive, we can spot gentleness in the smallest moments: making a morning cuppa without clattering your spoon, speaking to yourself the way you would talk to a friend, giving that driver who cut you off the benefit of the doubt (they might be lost or rushing to something important, perhaps having a particularly bad day). 

Gentleness is in:

• the pause before we react when we are tired and irritable
• the way we permit ourselves to rest without guilt
• the sigh allowing our shoulders to drop
• the steady hand on the volume dial when life becomes too loud

It invites presence rather than pressure, curiosity rather than criticism.

When the world feels unsettling, and our nervous system is overstimulated, gentleness offers a different frequency. It is not about pretending everything is fine; it is about meeting ourselves and others with a softer touch.

Gentleness ripples around us. Showing up in how we greet the day, how we listen. It softens conversations and strengthens relationships. We should have it in our self-care kit, just like we have WD-40 in our toolbox, ready to use in any circumstance.

So, coming back to our January intentions, perhaps the bravest thing we can do is bring more gentleness in the world, to each other and especially to ourselves.

If this resonates with you and you are not sure where to start, I have created something simple but nourishing for the month ahead. Gentle January is a 7-day journey designed to help you ease into the new year with small daily practices and mindful pauses that fit into real life—an invitation to explore what gentleness might look like for you in 2026.

Individually and collectively, let’s create space for gentleness this New Year and dare to be the change you want to see in your organisation, family, community and life!

Gentle January 2026: Special Guided Edition

A soft beginning. A steady start. A kinder way into the new year.

7 Guided Days of Gentleness: Starts 7th January 2026 

Gentle January is an invitation to step into the new year with softness and presence, creating space for what matters, without overwhelm. This year, you don’t have to do it alone. Alongside the course, you are invited into two check-in circles on the 14^th and 19^th of January for companionship, calm and gentle accountability.

This unique 7-day online course explores seven facets of gentleness and how they show up in life.

Click here to preview the course and sign up 👉 Gentle January 2026

Get in touch: [email protected] – 07947 319 362

Mathilde Barbier