What to focus on to transform your business and life in 2025

5 ideas to chew on to thrive this year | SOLO

Every year, how to approach the new year gets more overwhelming. There are countless tips and tricks for how to be the best version of you in the year ahead; there’s always a new trend to study and implement.

The thing is, everybody is in a different place in their life. You could be someone who’s trying to start something new, like a new career path or passion project, or a move to a new city. Or you could be someone who’s just trying to maintain the momentum they’ve already started this past year. Then, you could be someone in the in-between, just trying to shake things up a little bit to stay challenged and engaged without turning your world upside down.

There is no wrong place to be and there is no wrong time to be where you are. But you need to be aware of where you’re standing so that you can dictate if you’re going in the direction you want to be going in. It’s your responsibility to keep it moving.

So rather than jumping on the latest way to create your vision board, or make your list of resolutions, take a breath. I have some ideas that you can chew on that will prime your brain for however you choose to proceed with your goal setting practice, vision board party, or journaling session.

Today, I want to simplify how you approach and view this year of opportunity that is all yours, should you choose to move through it. And the best part? These ideas apply to anyone in any stage of their life in this moment, and you can go back to them at anytime to refocus.

1. Set your intention

At the beginning of 2024, my intention was set through a word of the year that I chose, release. It was my first time trying this, it was written down on my desk for me to look at every day as well as my vision board. When I look back at all of the experiences in which I chose to lead with this intention, I noticed how successful I really was in doing so. There was no strategy or concrete action plan for me to feel this accomplishment. In my own way and in my own timing, I took that word and let it be the theme of my year. With this simple choice, I have never felt such exponential and fulfilling growth in my professional and personal life.

Ask yourself, what intention do you want to guide you through the year ahead? What aligned action through this intention will you be able to take? What intention or idea brings you closer to yourself?

It’s minimal effort, takes the pressure off, all while allowing for the possibility of the most amount of growth. Chew on it!

2. Don’t let your love of the game make you choke

If you have something to be excited about, whether it’s your career, a romantic relationship, an upcoming trip abroad, or any other opportunity, it’s easy to fall in love with it or get very attached to it. It’s a short and slippery slope before you end up making it part of your identity.

You must be ok with this job, person, or opportunity being an external part of your being. It doesn’t define you. The more you identify yourself with it, the more imbalance and turbulence it creates in your life. You end up repelling the thing even more and placing yourself in a higher position to lose it. It is possible to have too much of a ‘good’ thing.

Allow your love for one aspect of your life to pour into the other aspects, because everything is intertwined and connected. Keep it balanced by applying your thought process or action steps from one area to another, and see how much more regulated you feel.

3. Celebrate your small wins more than your big ones

I believe that celebrating small wins are detrimental in making any kind of progress, personally or professionally. If you only work towards the one big thing that always feels so far away without tracking or acknowledging how far of a distance you’ve already traveled, what kind of journey is that?

When you’re trying to start a new habit or make any kind of change in your life, it stems from a subconscious belief you’ve already established for yourself years and years ago. That belief resists the change you’re trying to make. That belief turns into a thought, which is known as the chatterbox in your brain. You know, the one telling you that you can’t, you suck, you’re not good enough, you don’t matter.

When you choose to override that belief and feed your mind a new thought, that turns into a new belief, which promotes further action that brings you closer to that change. Given how many thoughts that go through our minds in a single day alone, subconscious and conscious, making the active choice to change just one of them is something worth celebrating — because that one active choice is the biggest step forward toward the change in your life you’re seeking.

Who cares about the big win? All a big win is is a result of the small ones stacked on top of each other. Celebrate those as you go…it’s more fun.

4. Set the versatile goal with a side dish of boundaries

It’s liberating to discover what it truly is that you want to work towards and achieve. But just because you’ve figured this out, it doesn't necessarily mean that you’re going to get exactly ‘it’ and on your terms. When you make the commitment to this goal, you also must commit to the versatility that comes with the goal. Loosen up the timeline, be willing to make sacrifices, and anticipate surprises along the way. Follow the groove of your goal and dance with it.

Know that whatever it is you’re trying to achieve and say yes to, requires you to say no to something else. It can be a challenge for most of us to say no to things in a world full of distraction, chaos, and turmoil. But you committed to your goal, and if the alternative is going to take away even an ounce of what you need to get there, it’s a no. Set the boundary with the goal beside it and say it with your chest.

5. The only wrong decision is indecision

The most successful people in the world never overthink a choice they need to make. They know that no matter what decision they go with, growth comes with it. They know that it’s just another stepping stone, another chapter in the book. They keep it moving. And so do you.

Putting something off until tomorrow, pondering over if you should do the thing, and giving the choices available to you the power are all acts under the umbrella of fear and procrastination. You have the power to make the decision; it is the only way. Stand up and act like it.

Indecision is the culprit of stagnation. The one thing we all have in common is that 2025 is not our year of stagnation. It is our year of movement forward. Indecision is your way of not only not moving, but also getting left behind.

Cheers,
Angelina