My One Word for 2026: Eagle

There’s an ancient fable by Aesop from the first century, “The Eagle and the Crow.” It tells the story of a surprising encounter in the sky. The only bird bold enough to challenge an eagle isn’t another predator—it’s a crow. The crow lands on the eagle’s back and begins pecking at its neck.

What’s striking is not the crow’s audacity, but the eagle’s response.

The eagle doesn’t retaliate. It doesn’t waste energy fighting or trying to shake the crow loose. Instead, it does what only an eagle can do: it spreads its wings and rises. Higher and higher it climbs into the heavens. As the air thins, the crow struggles to breathe. Eventually, unable to survive at that altitude, the crow lets go and falls away.

That image has stayed with me.

My One Word for 2026 is Eagle.

This year, I want to live like the eagle. I want to truly learn to rise instead of react. To ascend instead of engage.

The crows in life don’t always come in the form of people. Sometimes they show up as negative circumstances, self-doubt, fear, distractions, or even the weight of past failures. They ride along. They peck at me, drilling into my brain and soul. They try to weigh me down and slow my climb.

But like the eagle, my goal should be to keep ascending.

The crows of life may come along for the ride. They may peck as I climb. And instead of letting that pull me down, my hope is to let it push me higher. In time, they’ll fall away. And even if they don’t, I’ll keep flying, refusing to let them determine my altitude.

This year, my goal is not to be distracted. My goal is to keep my eyes lifted, my focus fixed on what’s above, and my wings stretched toward continual growth and purpose.

For the past few years, I’ve paired my One Word with a song to help anchor the word in my heart and carry it with me throughout the year. For 2026, that song is “Eagle” by Third Day.

Each one echoes the same truth: when the pressure mounts, the answer isn’t to fight harder at the same level—it’s to rise.

Here’s to a year of flying higher and be an Eagle.