New Year, New Brew
Exploring Over Coffee | Episode 34
Let's brew new energy for your year, without the pressure. In this episode, Alexis shares refreshing activities and reflections to help you explore joyful living in 2026.
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Here's What You'll Explore
Why you don't need to change to live joyfully
Mindful activities for brewing positivity
Journaling prompts to craft your new year, new brew
Episode Chapters
00:00 Welcome
02:18 Pour in a Fresh Perspective
06:07 Adventure Guidebook Activities
09:08 Journal Prompts
10:35 Thanks for Listening & Subscribe
Note: Episode chapters may shift slightly on RSS.com and other podcast listening platforms due to ad length.
Café Bookshelf Rec
If you buy this book, you support me and independent bookstores on Bookshop.com.
Other Episodes Mentioned
Journal your joys! Use your 31-day lined digital journal to track your daily joys. Pair this episode with the New Year, New Brew episode of Exploring Over Coffee for more insights and motivation to fuel your joyful living.
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Hello friends. Happy New Year. I'm so excited to sit down with you for our first official coffee chat of 2026. I'm wishing you a peaceful and positive start to the new year. I'm Alexis Renae, your host of Exploring Over Coffee.
Today, we're gathering inspiration for your new year, new brew with gentle intentions, rituals, and reflections. This is a cozy guide for savoring presence, wellness, and gratitude. I'm so ready to dive in with you and get exploring, so get your warm beverage of choice to settle in for our conversation. I'm enjoying a warm mug of nettle tea.
Once you're ready to explore, let's dive in to discover your new year, new brew. I know that the new year is a time for cultivating intentions and gathering resources for living well. To help you get started, I gathered some inspiration that you can use to pour joyful energy into your new year.
The new year often has so much hustle and bustle attached to it, right? Setting new expectations for your energy and output always seems to be attached to becoming something new, reinventing yourself. It's a wonderful thing to brew new energy for your life, but it's not something that has to happen under pressure.
You don't have to change to start exploring your year. I actually saw this quote from We The Urban on Instagram, and it really resonated with my 2026 intention for Joyful Living. The quote says, "You don't have to wait for everything to be perfect, to be happy, to start to choose joy to live your life." I really appreciate that quote, because it is a solid reminder going into the new year.
You know, it it, it reminds you to give yourself the freedom to live the joys that you're waiting for. This is your life, so it's time to head out and explore.
So now let's find new ways to pour in a fresh perspective for this new brew, this new way you're spicing up your life in the year. Blend creativity with gratitude to savor all the joys in your life, large and small. To explore your life joyfully, it takes pouring in a fresh perspective.
For instance, for my life, a fresh perspective has brought a whole new approach to my wellness. I've been recovering from the effects of a viral illness for almost two years now, and it has affected lots of things in my life. My ability to exercise the way that I used to, uh, the types of self- care that I enjoy because I can't handle a lot of, um, scents these days.
I can't handle a lot of sweet smells, and it has even affected my ability to drink coffee for the time being. Oh, what I would do for a cup of coffee. I hope that I can enjoy some very soon. It has taken a lot of out-of-the-box thinking to figure out how to live the lifestyle that Exploring Over Coffee champions, you know, making life an adventure, exploring everyday experiences, to make life brighter and even, you know, sipping those rich blends of coffee over soothing conversation. It has taken time to figure out how to explore everyday adventures in my world. But I am very proud to say that I am actually more empowered now to embrace the joyful living inspiration that I brew up for you, for my community.
I have rediscovered the joy of movement, trying practices like Qigong and ballet over lunch breaks at home. Uh, exercise I've learned can be relaxing and fun, and it doesn't have to be as serious and intense as the more, um, power-packed weightlifting strength lifting routines that I used to do in the past.
Also, over the past year and a half of recovery, I have sampled all sorts of restorative practices from supporting my lymphatic drainage to strengthening vagal tone and calming the parasympathetic nervous system. Just little rituals that I never even realized can have a profound impact on the body, like enjoying a puzzle in the evening or humming along to the radio.
They actually do a lot for calming the parasympathetic nervous system and soothing the vagus nerve. So yeah, I look forward to exploring these other types of wellness and self-care from that lens, that perspective. I look forward to sharing that with you in the future. Uh, but yeah,
I share these tidbits of my journey in my life to emphasize that all it takes to start brewing a new way of life and living joyfully is fresh appreciation for those little experiences that you have in your day. Those little routine things that you do, a relaxing hobby, a little afternoon stretch, and a comforting warm beverage become so much more meaningful when you pour appreciation into your mindset.
So with all of this new energy that we have cultivated, let's turn to our adventure guidebook and open it up for ideas to explore joyful living in your new way of life. Take little steps toward living well, living joyfully, bring new energy to your personal activities, your downtime, and even your self-talk.
Journaling from the perspective of joy. That's something that I'm looking forward to doing more often this year. You know, what are those things that lit you up every day? Journal from a place of celebrating yourself, a place of tracking things that you're grateful for, the abundance in your life.
You can do a journal entry day in the life of living in your joy. Really manifest that for yourself. What does it look like to live life to the fullest while embracing those little tidbits of joy? Really think that through and then head out and explore with that motivation in mind.
Say yes to fun opportunities that cross your path.
You know, when you have the choice between saying yes or saying no, when you have the choice between doing something that you usually do or doing something new, go out on a limb, get a little adventurous, and try that new thing. Say yes to new opportunities because you never know where it can take you.
Another thing you can do is try joyful journaling prompts and activities for self-reflection, and I actually created a Joy Journal printable for one line a day, reflections on your personal joys. It's in our podcast Substack newsletter, where I share weekly posts and resources for brewing positivity and everyday adventure ideas that you can explore.
I put a link to the Substack Club so that you can download the journal and subscribe to the newsletter. Um, that's in the episode description of today's conversation.
Live your joy. Set intentions to start a new hobby, learn something new. Connect with your community, or refuel your energy. Weekly commitment to joyful living goes a long way from making life brighter.
What's on our Cafe bookshelf? I am recommending Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. Read about her experience saying yes to fresh opportunities for an entire year. It's a very motivating read that left me feeling all sorts of inspired to pursue life with this intention. If you're interested in buying the book, you can use my affiliate link to get the book on bookshop, because there you get to support independent bookstores with your purchase journal, your new year, new brew.
Here are some prompts to explore in your weekly writing session. What do you want to brew more of this year? Joy, rest, peace, adventure, connection. What is one small, daily or weekly ritual that could support your new brew? Write yourself a brew statement for the year.
A short intention that you can come back to for whenever you need grounding. So, for example, my brew statement is, "I am brewing a life that feels warm, spacious, and true to me." Save us some more Exploring Over Coffee conversations to ground your new year. Listen to our New Year, New Dreams podcast episode for ideas to step into your dream life.
There are lots of mindful prompts and visualization activities to set the tone for your year. Another episode that's great for getting into your spirit for your new way of life is the Soft Living Podcast episode, because there are 20 easy ideas for embracing softer living, right? It gives you that fresh appreciation for little luxuries in your day.
A new way to employ mindfulness into your daily routine.
I hope that our conversation has stirred up new energy and inspiration for your New Year Brew. Remember that we have the power to create positivity, cultivate joy, and blend adventure into our daily experiences.
Thank you so much for listening. If you loved this episode, share it with a friend to help Exploring Over Coffee grow, and make sure that you subscribe to our newsletter club on Substack. Thank you so much to Darren J. Media for creating our new podcast theme song.
I'm sending you warm wishes for a wonderful week ahead. Until next time, remember to brew positivity and make life and adventure.
Production Information
Exploring Over Coffee is created and produced by Alexis Renae.
Theme song produced by Darren J Media. Reach out for collabs on audio and music projects.
Follow Exploring Over Coffee on Instagram.
Explore More Winter
Read the New Year, New Brew post for all the episodes in this episode.
Episode 34: Brew new energy for your year, without the pressure.