The Year of Rising Wild – A Different Way to Begin

Image Credit: A Dazzle of Zebra painted by Jonathon Truss

As we stand at the threshold of a new year, many of us feel the familiar pull to do better – to set resolutions, fix what feels unfinished, or gather ourselves for another sprint forward. But what if the beginning of 2026 asked something quieter of us?

As this year came into view for me, a different image appeared: three zebras – painted, expressive, alive with movement and intention. Zebra stripes are nature’s ultimate camouflage. Individually distinct, yet collectively disorienting, they protect by confusing predators, merging into a living pattern of black and white.

Artist Jonathan Truss captures this phenomenon with striking sensitivity, placing the viewer in the position of a lioness confronted with the impossible task of singling out her prey. It is a moment where science meets spectacle – and where instinct meets restraint.

This painting has accompanied me through the first days of 2026. I am naming 2026 The Year of Rising Wild – not as a slogan or ambition, but as a way of beginning, of becoming.

Not wild as in chaotic. Wild as in true.

As a coach who walks alongside creative leaders, particularly in seasons of uncertainty, as this year began, uncertainty took on a far deeper meaning. The tragedy of the Crans-Montana fire on 1 January 2026 – young lives lost far before they were ever meant to be – has left a quiet ache in our collective heart.

Moments like these do more than shock us. They unsettle our nervous systems, our sense of safety, and our assumptions about time and fairness. Even those watching from a distance may notice their breath shorten, their sleep shift, their optimism thin.

Perhaps because of this, I am starting 2026 more gently than I expected – but not more passively. I am a devoted wife, a fiercely loving mother of three teenagers, and much of my attention is turned toward quietly steadying and encouraging my children as they learn, once again, to face the real world. I am helping them remember that courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of safety they carry into the world. I want them to move forward with curiosity and resilience, knowing that when they look back, I am here. Watching. Ready. A steady ground to return to.

This is how resilience is built – not through pressure or emotional armour, but through relationship. Through the deep, embodied knowing that love is close, reliable, and strong. Like the lioness in the painting, strength here is not in pursuit, but in presence. This is the kind of leadership our world needs more of right now: steady, relational, and rooted in love rather than fear.

Rising Through Mind, Body, and Spirit

If 2025 taught me the gift of metacognition – awareness of thought – then 2026 invites something more integrated.

Rising wild means learning to listen deeply to:

• The mind, with its clarity, perspective, and curiosity
• The body, with its grounded intelligence and subtle signals
• The spirit, with its quiet sense of meaning and direction

Like the three zebras in the painting, these intelligences move together – distinct, yet inseparable. When one is ignored, the whole loses coherence.

What would change if, this year, you trusted your body as much as your mind?
If you treated your inner signals as data, not distractions? This is how I am choosing to live and lead now – not from urgency, but from alignment.

From Awareness to Aliveness

Rising wild is not about striving upward or pushing harder.

It is about standing rooted and responsive.
About choosing alignment over expectation.
About trusting inner knowing alongside external expertise.

In my work as a coach, I see this again and again: when people reconnect with their embodied wisdom, something softens – and something vital comes alive. Decisions become clearer. Energy returns. Leadership becomes more human.

To live wild, in this sense, is to live life more completely – honest, integrated, and alive.

A Different Way to Begin

Before the year gathers speed, you too might pause and ask yourself:

• What part of me is asking to be heard again?
• Where am I tired of pushing — and ready to listen?
• What would a true beginning feel like in my body?

Beginning gently is not a failure of courage.
It is often the bravest place to start.

An Invitation

If something in you is stirring as you read this, I invite you to listen.

Perhaps 2026 is your year to rise wild –  to reconnect with your inner wisdom, your embodied knowing, and your truest self. If you sense that this year is asking for a different kind of conversation – one rooted in clarity, compassion, and wholeness – I would love to walk alongside you.
No agenda. No fixing. Just a spacious, thoughtful dialogue to see what wants to emerge.

You do not need a perfect plan to begin well.
You need only enough honesty to listen.

Welcome to The Year of Rising Wild.

Choosing the Right Support

It feels important to say this clearly: if you or someone you love has been impacted by trauma, shock, or loss, seeking professional support is not a sign of weakness. It is an act of care. Trauma lives not only in memory, but in the body — and healing was never meant to be a solitary path.

Psychotherapists are trained to help people process and heal from trauma, grief, and psychological distress, restoring a sense of safety and stability. Coaching, by contrast, offers support once that foundation is in place — helping people reconnect with their strengths, regain clarity, and move forward with intention. These approaches are not in competition; they are complementary, and many people benefit from both at different times.

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I’m Sarah Cretegny, a Personal and Business Development Coach and Collaboration Catalyst. I create brave spaces where creative leaders and their teams – especially those committed to meaningful impact – can reconnect with who they truly are, so they can lead with greater clarity, courage, and purpose, even in uncertain times, and create sustainable impact.

I’m particularly effective when time is limited and the stakes are high. I draw on evidence-based coaching approaches, strengths expertise, and my lived experience of balancing leadership, family life, and international living. I’m deeply passionate about partnering with people to coach their wild, because the world needs more authentic leadership now more than ever.

I live in Lausanne, Switzerland and coach globally. www.coachyourwild.com