01.13 A Year of Expansion...

Happy New Year... again! I wanted to start this year by diving deeper into how I plan on making 2025 MY YEAR... and maybe give you some tips too!

What I’m Having

I am having a lot of electrolytes and tea. While this is not a revelation by any means, I think water gets really boring in the winter, so I like adding electrolytes like Ultima or LMNT to my water… make it sexy. Tea has been, and will always be, my go-to in the evenings for winding down. 

Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T.

R I am honestly only recommending this because my Airpods broke, but I think walking without headphones is a good way to unplug (literally) from the rest of the world and tune into oneself. Every morning, for the past year, I go outside for 10 minutes, usually before the sun rises, and listen to my surroundings; the crunch a leaf makes as I walk to get coffee, a revving car waiting for the light to switch, the wind twirling around bushes and trees… simple sounds that help ground me for the day. And because my headphones have recently given up on me, I’ve been finding that in my afternoon walks, while unwillingly unplugged, I can recognize, absorb, and let go of the thoughts in my head that accumulate throughout the day.

E I’ve been enjoying eating my own home-cooked meals. TBH, I feel like I didn’t have too many meals at home during the Holidays… or at least ones made in our kitchen. I want to start posting my recipes and creations online, but I’m a little nervous to do so! Let me know if I should.

P I am practicing Mel Robbins 5 Second Rule. The 5 Second Rule,not the one related to fallen food on the floor, is an overriding of that mental chatter that prevents us from getting sh**t done, with a countdown of five, four, three, two one — and jumping into action. Although I was already somewhat using this tool, I have been intentionally practicing it after listening to The Skinny Confidential’s episode with Mel. This countdown is such a simple tool, and as someone who procrastinates likes it’s my job, I can say with 100% certainty this works.

O Okay, I used to do this everyday in undergrad, but I am recently starting back up my 12:3:30 grind (12 incline, 3 mph, 30 minutes). I love this so much, especially in the winter to get my steps in and move my body. It’s also a time where I get my Youtube fix of the day without feeling like I’m rotting away in my apartment. 

R I was given two books this holiday, Ikigai by Hector Garcia, and The 40 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, both of which I’ve wanted to read for a while. This year, I am really stepping into reading more as a way to learn and expand my mind, so I think these two books are a perfect start in doing so! I am only a few pages into Ikigai and already loving it; there is a tranquility and simplicity about it that makes me want to know more. 

T I’m treating myself to coffee. Yes, I know that seems mundane and even odd for me to say, considering I used to down three energy drinks a day, but since August, I decided to lower my caffeine intake and only consume caffeine through tea or matcha. I’ve noticed such a difference in my mental and physical well-being; I have more energy, fewer crashes and headaches, and I feel less anxious and burnt out. My gut also feels so much better after ditching the canned caffeine. However, in hopes of beating jet lag, I am neeeeeding some good Greek espresso… or instant coffee. 

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How to Make 2025 MY Year

2025 is a big year for me. It is officially the first year I won’t be in school… ok well I am working at a school right now… and I’m currently taking prerequisite courses for nursing school… but you get the point. This year, and any thereafter, I have the freedom to do what I want, live where I want, and expand my world in any way I’m pulled to. 

I figured since it’s the beginning of a new year, I’ll share some tools and tips I’m using to make 2025 MY year.

Word of the Year:

First and foremost, I chose my word of the year; a word that I carry on through my journey and intentionally come to reflect on every day. Last year my word was PRESENT, because in the past I would tend to blow over the small magical moments that make life worth living, and I would also live in my head, stressing over what I have to do an hour from then, a week, and even dwelling on moments that already passed. I made it my mission to come back to myself and remember my word, and while I am still working on being present every day, I feel so much more connected to myself and others around me. 

My word for 2025 is EXPANSION. With 2024 being a year of looking inward, I want to carry this place of groundedness and presentness with expansion. 

How can I expand? 

I am leading this year with more openness to opportunities, curiosities, and experiences that I may have been more hesitant to meet in prior years. This does not mean I am filling my schedule to do more or having to give up my non-negotiables or things that fuel my mind and body, but rather just be open and limitless to the possibilities of what can happen, now that I am in such a present place. 

Goal Setting:

The new year is such a great time to set new goals, but it’s important to create goals that align with who you want to be and how you want to show up for yourself and others. In the past, my family and I would all sit around a table and write down our New Year's Resolutions, and more often than not, my goals did not reflect on who I actually wanted to become, but instead on how I thought I should be — get bigger boobs, grow 5 inches, get prettier… Goals are meant to be uplifting and empowering; we are bettering ourselves, not changing them. 

As someone who gets easily overwhelmed by a long list, I like to break-up my goals in bite-sized, digestible buckets. I started this year by taking the first page of my planner as a place to write down my goals: at the top of the page I wrote 3-5 BIG GOALS, goals like completing my Power Pilates Certification and passing all my prerequisites for nursing school. Under this list, I divided the page into five sections, or “buckets”: mental health, physical health, relationships, self-love, and career. In each bucket I tried to put 3-5 things I want to achieve or improve on this coming year. When writing down any goal, big or small, I always remind myself that this goal is for me and me only! How on earth can I, or anyone else, improve or know ourselves if we are constantly chasing something that doesn't align with us? For example, I put go on dates with different people in my relationship bucket, and I really hope that my happily married parents don’t have that listed as their own goal. 

Revisit:

In order to achieve any goal set for this year, revisit them every day. Put pen to paper and write down goals, manifestations, thoughts, and whatever else; the physical act of writing something out improves memory retention and encoding skills. Encoding is the biological process where our brain’s hippocampus analyzes the things we perceive. So, by writing down goals, tasks, etc., one has to rethink that mental picture before putting it to paper, and thus really “searing” that idea into your brain. Another bonus of writing out goals and ideas is having a physical way to look at them. In my planner, I dedicated the first three pages to laying out my 2025 goals, manifestations, and non-negotiables so that when I open it to jot something down or look at my schedule, I have to flip through them before getting to a new page.

Setting Daily Non-negotiables:

Think of your non-negotiables as a base for how you want to carry out each day. What are things you absolutely must do in order to feel and present as your best self? Whether it’s ensuring that all the dishes are put away before bed or hitting 10,000 steps each day, define what you absolutely won’t compromise on. Non-negotiables are meant, and only meant for the person which creates them; if forcing a step in your routine actually causes burnt-out rather than energy, remove it from the list of “must-dos”. I love using my non-negotiables as a way to thrive. Even when I’ve had an “unproductive” day, I know that I completed my list of “must-dos” and done my part in helping me feel my best. 

Currently, my non-negotiables are:

10k steps a day (minimum)

Daily intentional movement (15 – 45 min)

2L water (hydrate!)

“Book-end” routines (completing my morning and evening routines)

Daily journal ( jot down one word +)

These 5 things ensure that I can end the day knowing I did my part for myself. Most importantly, these non-negotiables are individual and collective commitments I've made to myself. I’m committed to these 5 things each day to better myself for the present and future and be able to reflect on the past with pride.

Routines are Powerful:

Routines are more than a checklist; they are a way to keep you on track and give you momentum toward your goals. As Medium journalist Gregory D. Welch puts simply, “The thing about routines is that they don’t require us to predict how we will feel in the future but instead ask us to determine how we’ll act despite how we might feel. There’s real strength in that.” Similar to setting non-negotiables, routines are meant to motivate, not drag us down — they are individual. The right routine is meant to strengthen our mental health, alleviate anxiety, and propel us into becoming our best selves. 

A routine is something we GET to do, not HAVE to, so don’t create a set of tasks that don’t serve you. For example, I wake up every morning at 7:00 am and immediately drink 32 oz of water, no matter where I am or what the circumstances are. Then I go outside and walk around for just 10 minutes so I can realign my circadian cycle. The checklist goes on, but no matter where I am, my morning routine will always be done; it is simple and effective for me. Like my non-negotiables, if I don’t complete my entire morning routine, I will not have a productive day — simple as that. For others, they may be able to skip a step if it’s not possible to do it at that moment, but I truly feel a difference in my day when I do and don’t complete my entire morning routine. My routine is so sacred to me, and I am so proud that I have one that fuels me every morning. I wake up every morning excited because I know what my morning will look like and how it will make me feel. 

Currently, I am trying to do the same with my evening routine. In an ideal world, my wind-down routine starts with me getting into comfy clothes, washing my face, and doing a slow skincare routine. I then journal/jot down a few ideas that need to be released from my head. I’ll plug my phone in, OUTSIDE my room (never phone in room!), and stow it away so I am not even tempted to turn it on when I wake up. There are other steps involved, but the point is that I am moving through a checklist that is meant to calm me down and prepare me for sleep. 

Together, I like to call my routines, the “Book-ends” of my day — if I don’t do them, I will fall apart (ok ik that is dramatic).

All in all, I am so excited to jump into 2025 with clearness in my mind, groundedness within, and a readiness to expand!