Entering 2026 With Intention: Integration Before Execution

Editorial Column by Danielle McCulley  

The start of a new year often comes with pressure to declare what’s next. New goals.  New habits. New momentum.  

But before I could think about moving forward, 2025 asked me to do something else first.  

Integrate.  

Using truth as a compass paired with having enough flexibility to keep learning as understanding deepens has become increasingly important to me. That means open dialogue, honest conversations, and the belief that we’re better off when we’re willing to face hard things with clarity and respect. I’m not against anyone. I want strong communities, strong people, and  the kind of freedom that grows out of trust and integrity.  

What 2025 taught me is that believing in those things isn’t enough if you don’t have the capacity to live them fully.  

Last year was not about survival for me... it was about stepping out of it. There was difficulty, yes, but there was also a steady calmness underneath it. I didn’t rush. I didn’t panic. I  didn’t force answers. Instead, I slowed down enough to reflect, to heal, to breathe (sometimes I  would literally forget), and to return back to myself.  

My body, however, was still catching up.  

Sometimes we don’t feel the cost of survival while we’re in it. We feel it later when things finally quiet down enough for our nervous system to exhale. That’s what 2025 became for me: a year of recovery, regulation, and reconnection. A year of strengthening the vessel that carries the mission.  

In the middle of this all, something came full circle. During the first episode of my podcast, Matt Reisetter mentioned a phrase that stuck with me: characterological soundness.  A few weeks ago, he shared the full framework it came from. DICE + 1, developed by his  college professor, Mark W. McCloskey.  

D- Dynamic determination.  

I - Intellectual flexibility.  

C- Characterological soundness.  

E- Emotional well-being.  

+1 - And partnership.  

What stood out was emotional well-being. Not as a luxury, but as a requirement.  Without a regulated nervous system and a cared-for body, even the strongest values struggle to translate into sustainable service. You can know what’s right and still be too depleted to live it well.  

That realization changed how I look at moving forward.  

As 2026 begins, I’m not interested in rushing. I’m interested in execution that flows from alignment, not adrenaline. From trust, not urgency. From truth used as a compass, not a weapon.  

If there’s one thing I learned last year, it’s this: we can’t build what we hope for in our communities if we abandon ourselves in the process. Integration has to come before execution. The vessel matters as much as the vision.  

2025 strengthened the foundation.  

2026 is where the building continues... from center.  

Side note: I launched a YouTube podcast last year called Dani Hudson Uncensored.  Episode 1 — “Laying the Foundation: Leadership, Faith, and Character” ended up doing exactly what the title promised. I just didn’t know it at the time.