Transition into 2025 with Intention
Beginning a new year provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. If we use social media and advertisers’ messaging as a gauge, it would seem the main things we regret are weight gain and not having acquired the right “stuff,” while the main goals they say we should set include gadgets, subscriptions, and purchases to correct these shortcomings.
What if, for 2025, we express gratitude for everything that happened to us and for us in 2024, including the challenges? For some of us, there were more unwelcome challenges than we could have imagined. For others, perhaps not so many, and life felt pretty fulfilling. Whatever your circumstances, an exercise in true reflection may be helpful.
How did you spend your time in 2024? How did you spend your money? What causes did you support? What made you feel like a meaningful, contributing member of society? What made you feel like you could have done better? How many people did you lift up with kind words or actions? How many people did you put down, even if only in your thoughts?
I recently completed a deeper examination of the past year than I ever have before, and it was an incredibly insightful exercise. This particular suggestion came courtesy of a Mel Robbins podcast episode outlining how to conduct a year-end audit of your life. It involved me looking back through the pictures on my phone and looking at the appointments in my calendar from 2024. Doing this helped to remind me, month-by-month, how I spent my time, what resonated with me the most, and when I experienced the most joy.
What I learned helped me set a more meaningful course for 2025 in ways that go far beyond weight loss and material purchases. However, even in those categories, deciding to get outside and hike more often will contribute to a healthier body and mind. Deciding to focus my purchasing power on local artisans, producers, and small-business retailers will support my fellow community members in meaningful ways. These are also important to me.
Whether or not you are someone who sets goals each new year, you may benefit from a deeper examination of the past year to move through 2025 with greater intentionality and insight.
Here are the seven questions I used for my year-end audit:
What were the highlights of this past year?
What were the most difficult parts of the past year?
What did you learn about yourself this past year?
What will you stop doing in the coming year?
What will you start doing in the coming year?
What will you continue doing in the coming year?
What can you do today to take the first step in that set of directions?
May you recognize every blessing that has come your way, every opportunity you took to lift up your family and your community, including perfect strangers, and every way in which you have been a beautiful light in this world. Where there is room for improvement, may you seek that path with kindness toward yourself and generosity toward others. Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy, productive new year!
