💁‍♂️ Introduction

The truth is, 2025 was a year of structural refactoring, and like any major refactor, it broke things before it fixed them. It was a year defined by Reinvention, but reinvention is just a fancy word for “painful growth”.

🧭 1. The Cost of the Shift: From SaaS Collector to System Architect

The most profound shift this year wasn’t just using AI—it was changing how I work. But I took the long way around.

🧩 The Detour: The Trap of “Easy Tools”

For the first half of the year, I was a “SaaS Collector”. I prided myself on using the latest Web AI tools, hoarding prompts in Notion, and feeling productive. But it was a false prosperity. Anyone can pay $20 for a subscription. If my workflow is the same as everyone else’s, I have no moat.

🛠️ The Awakening: Local & Organic

The breakthrough came when I realized that true leverage comes from custom, organic workflows running locally.

• The Shift: I moved from web chats to the Command Line (CLI). I stopped treating Cursor as just a code editor and started using it as a Workflow Manager.
• The Cost: This wasn’t free. My average bedtime in 2025 was 01:30 AM. I spent countless nights debugging MCP servers (Model Context Protocols) and fighting with broken Python scripts.
• The Result: I built Life-OS and Writer Agent. These aren’t just tools; they are my digital extensions.

⚖️ 2. The Strategic Pivot: The Diplomat’s Dilemma

At work, the theme was “Navigating Chaos”. The decision to initiate a strategic relocation of our Center wasn’t just a logistical move; it was a collision between Frontline Reality and Headquarters Strategy.

• The Defense: I fought hard to stay at our current hub. Not because I loved the location, but because I believed in the “Brussels Effect”. To influence EU digital policy, you must be at the table where the rules are written.
• The Dilemma: I felt like a diplomat who sees the nuance on the ground, while the capital sees only the macro-risk. Headquarters prioritizing Risk Aversion over Value Capture.
• The Pivot: I had to accept that “Foreign Policy is made at home”. I switched from defending the location to defending the capability. I crafted a new strategic narrative to ensure that even if the physical office moves, our core function remains intact.

🧘 3. The Life Anchor: Finding Peace in the Mess

Q4 2025 threw the kitchen sink at me. The move to Tervuren wasn’t just a “logistical task”. It was €1,700 in moving fees, endless boxes, and a hostile landlord.

But this is where the Stoic Fortress became real. It wasn’t about being emotionless; it was about having a protocol for the pain.

• The Ritual: Zhanzhuang (Standing Meditation). That 30 minutes at noon was my sanctuary. Inside the stance, there was only breath and gravity.
• The Partnership: The highlight of the year was redefining my relationship with Feynman. We moved to a “Sunshine Contract”. I stopped being the policeman and started being the partner. We coded together, swam together, and faced the rain together.

🚀 4. 2026: The Flywheel Effect

I enter 2026 tired, but stronger. The “Unfinished Business” of 2025—the Life-OS architecture, the Writer Agent—are no longer burdens. They are Assets.

• My Moat: A local, agentic workflow that runs while I sleep.
• My Anchor: A stoic practice that holds when the world shakes.
• My Tribe: A family that has weathered the storm and come out closer.

My word for 2025 was Reinvention. My word for 2026 is Compounding.

📚 Glossary & Notes

• MCP (Model Context Protocol): A standard that allows AI models to safely access your local data.
• Life-OS: My personal system for organizing life using the “Jonny Decimal” indexing method.
• The Center: My primary workplace and strategic hub.
• Zhanzhuang: A Chinese martial arts form of standing meditation.