Rosalía and shapeshifting your way into 2026

"There’s two different types of confidence. One that is based on the belief that you’re gonna be successful". The other is where it's at

I’ve been listening to Rosalía’s Lux on repeat for the past few weeks. The mix of 13 (sorry but r u kidding me) different languages and so many different styles of music woven into one record are the ultimate reminder that there are no rules when it comes to what you create, and the best work is created outside of conventional boundaries.

So often we apply guardrails to our own work unnecessarily. Whether it’s an identity thing “I’m a copywriter so I couldn’t possibly be a great designer as well” or the omnipresent advice to stay in your lane, we put ourselves in neat boxes because they are ostensibly easier to market, easier to sell. Niche down! You have 2 seconds to catch a stranger’s attention in a video, so make it easy for them to understand, ok? This has accelerated in the attention economy and led to creative stagnation.

In a recent interview with the New York Times Popcast, Rosalía dives into her process of bringing the album to life which she described as approaching like a research project.

The interviewers point out that this is a departure from her previous work to which Rosalia replies

“Everything is in constant movement. I am always in constant change. Why then my sound shouldn’t change with me? It doesn’t make sense to stay stuck to what I did before. It doesn’t mean I don’t love previous projects or have love for it. But no, it’s what’s next.”

“I don’t relate to many labels or isms. I just try to be a musician the best I can and push the experimentation…You are always changing. If you accept a label or identity there’s a rigidness in that… Words have such power. They are like spells. You need to be aware of which words you chose and how you use them.”

This reminder is so powerful because although we know that the only certain thing in life is change, we love to cling to solid versions of ourselves and our work. It feels safer than evolving publicly into what’s next.

We all need to evolve our skills, ways of operating, and professional identities over our lifetimes (loved this related post from Remi & Bella on the death of the job title), so why not embed this experimentation in driving growth in new directions into your practice? Double down on the fact that your work is always evolving. Embrace the fact that next year has the possibility look wildly different to last and let go of whatever you want to park in 2025.

When you finally get a couple of hours to reflect on this year and plan for 2026, ask yourself what stories are you telling yourself about your work that no longer serve you? What labels are you still using to describe yourself that no longer fit into the version of yourself and your work that you want to grow next year? What are you excellent at that you simply don’t want to do anymore?

“There’s two different types of confidence. One that is based on the belief that you’re gonna be successful. You’re as much as you need to to do what you have to do. Well there’s another confidence that is the lack of fear of failure. A surrender. It’s the first time I made an album from this place of this is what I need to say.” - Rosalía

In case you hadn’t guessed, I’m taking a huge dollop of inspiration from Rosalía into 2026. We are the same age (33) and I recognise a sense of “why didn’t I just do what I actually wanted to all this time?” in this album that I’ve felt this year too. It’s liberating and I’d love to order more of this power and conviction as I age, plz.

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I’ve been deep in creating the new Creative Growth Strategy Sprint I’m running in January. I was hesitant to run a “group thing” before because of the connotations I have of what a group programme looks/feels like (bit internet coach-y, generally a bit icky). But then I realised that’s complete BS and that facilitating work like this can look literally any way.

It’s going to be such a vibe to start the year with a group of other creatives and freelancers all on the same page in terms of thinking outside the blueprints and playbooks when it comes to what they are building and how they are growing.

As a group we will each finish the sprint:

🌀with a clear vision of what successful growth means to you to you this year
🌀with a message that feels unmistakably yours and unites everything you do
🌀with a growth strategy that connects the dots between here and your version of success
🌀knowing how social media can be one growth tool, not the centre of gravity of your entire business
🌀connected to a new group of smart, curious people building worlds alongside yours

There’s one spot left if you want to join us (eeeek)! There will be more Rosalía references involved, if that shapes your decision at all.

Chat soooon

Matilda

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📨 Broken Growth is an almost weekly newsletter, exploring how to grow better not bigger, written by freelance strategist and fractional marketing leader Matilda Lucy. . Email hey@matildalucy.com for more deets about working together <3 Now booking projects for Feb 26 onwards.