Have a prosperous New Year…

Joy Roxborough explores what it means to be prosperous, and shares steps you can take to make 2026 a prosperous one

I don’t know about you, but it feels to me as if it were only yesterday that we were exchanging the good wishes: “Have a prosperous New Year!” But, after a tumultuous few years – a tumultuous few decades even – I’m beginning to ask: what exactly is prosperity?

Various dictionary definitions link prosperity to its most literal meaning: i.e. a state of being successful which is also linked to money. The Cambridge Dictionary states it most directly as being ‘the state of being successful and having a lot of money’.

Now, I wouldn’t mind having a lot of money and, if any of you readers wish to give me a sizeable late Christmas gift to kickstart my prosperity in 2026, I will not refuse it! But perhaps it is time to reassess the prosperity mantra as we start our journey into 2026. I decided to get some help with this by talking to some friends. Based on their views, here are a few areas we may want to focus on when seeking prosperity in 2026.

1) Prioritise your physical and mental health

I have heard it said many times this year that the majority of us seem to wear busyness as a badge of honour. Often, because we are so busy, we end up depending too much on ready meals, which is invariably junk food; we don’t get adequate rest; we don’t exercise; and we fail to build leisure into our lives. This takes a toll on our physical and mental health when stress hormones build up in our bodies. We may not be able to banish busy schedules, but we can mitigate them by learning to say no to some things. Think of it this way: if we ruin our physical and mental health through self-neglect, on account of busyness, we will eventually be unable to maintain those furious hamster-wheel schedules anyway. So, in 2026, may we all prosper and be in health (3 John 1:2) and speak it over our loved ones.

2) Keep relationships alive. My mini survey highlighted the importance of good relationships as a key aspect of prosperity. Prosperity in this area includes having one person you can call anytime and know that person will help you. Your need could be as simple as having the person pray for you or with you, and having the person pray immediately. In order to have such people in our lives, we must actively cultivate good friendships, since we are not going to be willing to reach out for help to people we hardly know. Neither will they be willing to make themselves available beyond narrow limits to people they hardly know. The Bible tells us that if we want to have friends, then we need to be friendly ourselves (Proverbs 18:24 KJV).

Relationships with people around us are crucial, but even more important is our relationship with God. Respondents to my mini survey said prosperity began with focusing on our spiritual well-being through our relationship with Jesus; being grounded in God’s grace for making wise choices; and focusing on spiritual growth, as well as church and family unity.

So, let’s make our relationships top priority as we seek prosperity in 2026, without failing to nurture horizontal relationships with each other or our vertical relationship with God.

3) Pursue love, joy and peace. Galatians 5:22 says it all. Constituting parts of the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy and peace come from developing our relationship with God. So, as we adhere to the idea of nurturing our relationship with God, further benefits – starting with love, joy and peace – are likely to be afforded us. The Bible says we are to expect trouble in this world (John 16:33) but, when all is said and done, I am sure we want our lives to prosper with the blessings of love, joy and peace – even in the midst of troubles. In 2026, let’s focus on loving others and loving ourselves (Matthew 22:39); being joyful (Psalm 5:11) and being peaceful within ourselves (Philippians 4:4–7) and with others (Hebrews 12:14 and Romans 12:18).

4) Fulfil personal ambitions. One respondent suggested that prosperity is the fulfilment of personal ambitions that may have been lying dormant, possibly through lack of confidence, fear and doubts. Prosperity involves moving out of one’s comfort zone and venturing out in faith, confidence and conviction to achieve whatever that ambition is. It could be writing a book; learning a new skill; starting a business; pursuing a degree or a college course; learning to drive; going on an expedition; going out to meet new people.

If we then get money on top, count it a bonus.

JOY ROXBOROUGH
Creative industry professional, writer and entrepreneur
joyroxborough@yahoo.com