From Shedding to Rising, From Root to Run
The Word for the Year: RUN
By Al Bala — The Motivation Guy
There are years when the work is loud—public wins, visible momentum, measurable progress.
And then there are years when the real work happens beneath the surface.
2025 was that kind of year.
A Snake year—symbolically speaking—where the assignment was not to add more, but to release what no longer fit. A year of shedding, refining, detoxing, and telling ourselves the truth. A year where pressure exposed what was fragile, and friction revealed what was real.
The snake doesn’t grow by collecting.
It grows by shedding.
And in many ways, that’s what 2025 demanded: to outgrow an old skin—old habits, old assumptions, old fears, old patterns of thinking—and let them split so a new version of us could breathe.
The Snake Year: The Power of Shedding
Shedding is not weakness. Shedding is wisdom.
It is the courage to admit:
“This may have worked in the last season, but it will not carry me into the next one.”
We shed habits that were quietly draining our health.
We shed distractions that were stealing our focus.
We shed relationships that were misaligned with our calling.
We shed the need to be understood by people who were never assigned to our journey. And perhaps the most important thing we shed was illusion—especially the illusion that growth should always feel comfortable.
Because the truth is: shedding is uncomfortable by design. It is the moment we accept that we cannot step into a bigger life while clinging to a smaller identity.
The Venom Lesson: Turning Pain Into Power
The snake also carries another symbol that matters as we close one year and enter the next:
Venom.
Venom represents the sting of life: disappointment, betrayal, delay, loss, rejection, unfair criticism, unanswered prayers, outcomes that didn’t match our effort.
And here is what makes 2025 a pivotal year: it forced a choice.
You can let venom poison you— or you can alchemize it.
Venom, when transformed, becomes medicine.
That’s not poetic talk. That’s leadership. That’s maturity. That’s spiritual strength.
When we alchemize venom, we do not deny pain. We convert it.
We turn offense into clarity.
We turn disappointment into discernment.
We turn betrayal into boundaries.
We turn delay into discipline.
We turn loss into legacy.
2025’s sting was not sent to destroy you.
It was allowed to refine you.
And refinement is expensive—but it produces the kind of strength that cannot be faked.
The Shift: 2026 Arrives Like the Horse
Now we step into 2026, and the energy changes.
The Horse represents motion, stamina, courage, freedom, and forward advance. It is not subtle. It is not hidden. It does not slither. It runs.
The Horse doesn’t spend its life trying to convince anyone.
It simply moves—strong, steady, and sure.
If 2025 was internal purification, 2026 is external execution.
If 2025 was the year you listened, 2026 is the year you lead.
If 2025 was shedding, 2026 is rising.
And that brings us to the word that will define this year:
RUN
Not frantic running.
Not anxious striving.
Not hustle as a substitute for identity.
This is a different kind of run:
A disciplined run.
A faith-based run.
A purpose-driven run.
A run with direction.
Because speed without direction is just exhaustion.
From Root to Run
Here is the key distinction for 2026:
Before anything runs far, it must be rooted deep.
A tree that grows tall without roots becomes a disaster waiting for wind. And a person who accelerates without grounding becomes a brand of burnout.
So the message is not “run faster.”
It is: root deeper—then run stronger.
Root in faith before you run in influence.
Root in character before you run in opportunity.
Root in health before you run in ambition.
Root in clarity before you run in transition.
This is where many people fail. They want the fruit of momentum without the discipline of grounding.
But 2026 will reward the rooted.
The Motivation Equation for 2026
Every year has a theme. Every season has a law.
And this year, I’m anchoring it to what I call The Motivation Equation—the internal architecture that turns intention into traction.
Here it is in its simplest form:
Clarity creates Focus.
Focus creates Momentum.
Momentum creates Legacy.
That is the equation.
And when you apply it to the Snake-to-Horse shift, it becomes very practical:
- Clarity is what you gained in 2025—through shedding, detoxing, refining, and telling the truth.
- Focus is what you choose in 2026—by eliminating distractions and committing to the priorities that actually move the needle.
- Momentum is what happens when focus becomes consistent action.
- Legacy is the fruit that comes from sustained momentum aligned with purpose.
This is why 2026 is the year of RUN.
When clarity is real, focus gets sharp.
When focus gets sharp, action gets simpler.
When action gets simpler, consistency gets easier.
And when consistency becomes your lifestyle, momentum becomes inevitable.
Run by Faith. Run for an Eternal Purpose.
One of the most powerful phrases I’ve seen is this:
“Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of faith is to see what we believe.”
That’s a RUN statement.
Because faith doesn’t wait until it feels safe. Faith moves when it is called.
In 2026, we run by faith—not because we have all the answers, but because we have a clear assignment.
And we run for an eternal purpose—not just short-term applause, not just temporary results, not just ego wins.
When your purpose is eternal, your pace becomes sustainable.
When your purpose is eternal, you stop negotiating with distractions.
When your purpose is eternal, you endure.
The 2026 Run Commitments
If RUN is your word, make it more than a slogan. Make it a system.
Here are seven commitments I’m carrying into 2026—feel free to adopt them as your own:
1) Run with a calendar, not a mood.
Consistency beats intensity. Put the run on the schedule.
2) Run with simplicity.
Complexity kills momentum. Choose fewer priorities and execute relentlessly.
3) Run with clean fuel.
Your energy is your leadership. Sleep, nutrition, movement, and recovery are not optional.
4) Run with your “why” in front of you.
Purpose is not inspiration. Purpose is direction. Keep it visible every day.
5) Run with standards.
Standards protect you when motivation dips. Decide what you do “no matter what.”
6) Run with the right herd.
Horses don’t thrive alone. Your environment will either multiply your momentum or drain it.
7) Run through resistance.
Resistance is not a stop sign. Often it’s confirmation you’re near breakthrough.
A Final Word for the New Year
2026 will not reward talk. It will reward traction.
This is the year you stop rehearsing your potential and start producing your proof.
Snake season helped you shed what was false.
Horse season is here to carry what is true.
So run.
Run with endurance.
Run with humility.
Run with clarity.
Run with focus.
Run by faith.
Run for an eternal purpose.
And when the year tests you—as every year will—remember:
The venom was never meant to end you.
It was meant to refine you.
It was meant to awaken you.
Now you rise.
Now you run.
Welcome to 2026.
Al Bala — The Motivation Guy
EN 
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