It’s a new year which means a new opportunity to dust off those old resolutions, update, and try again. While last year’s resolutions did not go as planned, I believe I fulfilled 2024’s intention: to feel fulfilled, secure, accomplished, and complete. With that said, 2025 poses similar challenges to years past. Every resolution looks like the one before it, but why? Obviously, I’m seeking to achieve something greater than the tasks, so what is it?

The recent social media trend of what’s in and what’s out for 2025 seems to speak to me. So here’s mine:

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Grace and Adaptation: I am hard on myself. Growing up, if something was not done right, then it was wrong. That was in dance, piano, and grades. There was no room for mistakes. Fast forward to now. Even though I’ve made many strides in dismantling this mentality, the rigidity to accept criticism or even small change is hard for me. With three kids who are observing and copying how I handle things, I believe it’s time to officially address learning to adapt and giving myself grace when the odds are not in my favor.

Enjoying the Moment: One thing I realized last year was that I frequently stress about future events that would not only affect my productivity (doom scrolling), but my interactions with friends and family. I’d notice my attention start to wander off to upcoming situations while talking to people rather than enjoy and appreciate the conversation we’re having. So this year, I want to stay in the moment and enjoy the experience wholly.

Baby Steps: Being a perfectionist, I tend to procrastinate. Not because of laziness, but because I don’t want to be “wrong.” This leads to rushing through a task or complete overwhelm of the activity and I just shut down. To alleviate this, I have established 30-day challenges to get one meaningful thing done a day. So if everything falls apart, I did at least one thing that I can proudly cross off my to-do list. Right now, I’m completing a 30-day declutter challenge; purging and deep cleaning the house into do-able bite-sized chunks. I’m happy to report that this process is way more enjoyable than before.

Sleeping Early: OMG, this resolution has been the bane of my existence for YEARS. However, each year this goal proves to be necessary. We know that a good night’s rest contributes to improved attention, mood, cognition, resiliency, the list goes on. But for some reason, I ignore all these benefits and resume my night-owl living. But the kids need more of my time, attention, and patience and less of me being tired, agitated, and rushing. I just achieved my first day breaking in this new habit and I must say, I got a lot done. I really hope it sticks, for everyone’s sake.

Moving with Intent: When scrolling social media, I saw a word search for 2025 stating that the first 3 words you see are your intentions for the new year. I wasn’t trying to look for a word, but I found “purpose” and since then, I have seen that word everywhere. So fine, it’s my 2025 word. But in truth, I see it as a sign to move with intent. For one reason or another, I felt like half of the year I was phoning it in or just going through the motions. I hated that I couldn’t recall what I did over the weekend with family when someone asked me because I knew my mind was somewhere else.

So as I step into this new year, I wish to move with purpose, remain present, be productive, and adapt as needed.

 Cheers to you all and may you crush your goals this year.