As we have just stepped into 2025, many of us will be thinking about new year resolutions. Time for a fresh start! We have finally left 2024 behind and can focus on what we would like to achieve, what we could do better, and hopefully, how we are going to improve on the past 12 months.

While it is great to set some goals for the new year, it would be very difficult to do so unless we have a starting point. Indeed, to best plan a journey, we need at least two key things: the destination of course but, first and foremost, the starting point.

Once we have established where we would like to be by this time next year, we need to work backwards to identify the steps we will need to take to reach our goals. Knowing where you are heading is essential, but carefully considering the steps you need to take to get there is unavoidable. It is not sufficient to decide you want to be in a new, better paid job. How are you going to go about it? Would you just wait for a new position to open up in your existing company? Rely on job sites? Research a course to improve your skills? Reach out on LinkedIn? Look into setting up your own business? You get the idea, depending on how much you want your situation to change, there will be many stepping stones to jump on before accessing the other side.

Let’s explore the whole process to set you up for the best year!

Where have you been and where are you going?

First, the audit

So, before we embark on goal setting for the year ahead, it is key to dedicate some time looking at the year that has just ended so that we have a strong benchmark.

The following questions can help us audit the year just gone:

- What went well and what did not go so well?

- Are there behaviours, activities, habits you want to avoid moving forward?

- Which behaviours, activities, habits helped that you would like to bring into 2025?

- What did you learn about yourself?

Take some time to answer those questions for key areas of your life, such as:

- Personal life (think family, love, relationships)

- Social life & Friendship

- Health (think physical but also mental health) & Wellbeing

- Career & Professional development

- Physical environment (think about where you live and work)

- Learning & Creativity (think about great reads, courses, personal development even)

- Financial health

- Happiness & relaxation

If you think about any other categories that are important to you, do add those to the list.

You need time to assess what went well, what didn’t, what was missing or too much for you in the past year so that you put yourself in a better position to set goals for the new year.

Change begins with a wish, a dream, with hope… but it does not will not happen without action.

So, you know where you have been but where are you heading to?

Now that you know where you are coming from, it should be easier to set some goals for the year ahead.

Going back to the categories listed above, think about how much it would mean to you if, by this time next year, you could confidently tick those new goals off.

Is there a specific area of your life you really need to focus on? Could 2025 be the year you make it happen? If so, how? What would you need to do, learn, change, implement to achieve your goal?

Change is hard, and we naturally resist it. But as a friend of mine recently told me: “If you do not change anything, it will just be another year. Not a New year.”

We know that persisting with the same habits and behaviours will bring the same results. Yet, even if we set off to change things, we will, at times, slip back into our old, deeply rooted practices. Because it is simply easier. Not so much effort required. Our brains are hard-wired to keep us safe. What keeps us safe is routine, repetitive actions we are so familiar with that we can proceed with our eyes shut.

But if it is a New year you are truly after, here are some tips that could get you off to a good and promising start!

Sometimes, we need to be reminded of the good stuff…

Off to a promising start!

This may not be what you necessarily wanted to hear but research is telling us that the following habits will undoubtedly help create change in your life if you stick with those.

One key thing to bear in mind is that a good day starts the night before! So, when you get home tonight, try and implement at least one thing on the list below. Change something every day and watch your life improve steadily over the next few days, weeks, months.

1. Switch off your phone at least an hour before bed. It will enable your brain to switch off, give you time to talk to your loved ones and help induce relaxation for better sleep.

2. Avoid food at least 3 hours before bed. Your body needs to rest, digest, recover prior to settling for the night. If you keep on eating, your body will need to keep on working and processing. Repeatedly eating too close to bed time can lead to obesity and sleep disorder.

3. Look into your wardrobe and prepare your outfit for the next day. This will save you time you probably will not have on getting up.

4. Try and go to bed at the same time every night. This will help regulate your body clock.

Set your alarm earlier for a better start to your day!

5. Allow for 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night to give your brain a good chance to perform its usual tidying up process which involves the removal of toxins and waste accumulated during the day. Sleep also improves memory recall and consolidation which influences the dream process. All in all, sleep enables the brain to restore and repair itself.

6. Set your alarm a little earlier than necessary and breathe! We know that the first 30 minutes after we wake up will determine how the rest of the day unfolds. So, instead of starting up in panic mode, allow for a little extra time. You may not want to jump out of bed instantly and that’s fine. Instead, inhale and exhale slowly and have a good stretch. This will help loosen up those tight muscles and even produce an endorphin rush that will set your mood for a good day ahead.

7. Think about the one thing you want to achieve today. Just one thing! And make sure you do complete that task by the evening. This will enhance the feeling of achievement which, in turn, will help raise your confidence level. And last but not least…

Keep your body moving. It was not designed for sedentarism.

8. Do something hard! This may not be what you want to hear but by doing something uncomfortable every day, you will start seeing changes in your life. We are hard-wired for comfort, for an easier ride and for safety. Our brain’s main job is to keep us safe. So, unconsciously, you brain will always lead you towards the easier option first. But startling your brain can lead to significant personal growth, so here is what you can do to help!

o Start your day by turning your shower to a cold setting for the last 15 seconds. This will strain your body and send it into “survival mode”. It will increase blood flow circulation, reduce inflammation and even strengthen your nervous system. Building your cold shower time up to 1 to 2 minutes a day will provide optimal benefits. According to late Dr Mosley’s podcast “Just One Thing” - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000v83f - “one study found that having 30-second cold showers every morning for 60 days could decrease the number of sick days by 30%.” That is remarkable result and a great way to help you embrace discomfort.

o Walk or cycle to work if possible. If not, park your car further away or get off public transport one stop earlier than usual to get extra steps in. We know that we should take on average 10,000 steps a day but doubling can really boost your sleep, mood and energy levels.

o Go for the stairs! Always opt for the option that is going to help your body to move more. Our body was not design for a sedentary lifestyle. Inactivity puts us at risk of most chronic disorders, from obesity, heart failure and asthma to stroke, osteoporosis, neurological dysfunction and a variety of cancers. We also think about cognitive decline as a sign of aging but it is in fact a consequence of sedentarism. So please, keep on moving!

o Meditate and breathe instead of scrolling. Scrolling mindlessly increases stress. And stress is contagious. Meditation, time in nature, journaling, gratitude all help reduce levels of cortisol and put you in “Rest and Recover” mode.

o Journal to build self-awareness; carry a small pad with you and keep track of your habits to identify patterns in your daily routine. This will guide you to act upon negative practices and create sustainable change.

These habits won’t cost you a penny, yet the rewards could be priceless.

So, let me recap! To implement sustainable changes, you need a detailed road map. This means you will have to identify the starting point, the destination, as well as the necessary stepping stones along the way.

Start by auditing the past year to extract the best, the worst, the 'don't want anymore,' and the 'do want. Think about what you do want and what the necessary steps are to reach your goals. These must be tiny steps so be as precise and detailed as can be.

Most changes don’t happen overnight; instead, they occur one tiny step at a time. All you need to do is keep walking, chipping away at the negatives to build up the positives. Whether you are aiming for better eating, sleeping and exercise habits, better relationships, confidence, clearer thinking and financial freedom, I will be with you every step of the way. Because, like you, I am determined to change my life in 2025. Time to move on. I hope you will not stay put either because remember…

“The first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”

(JP Morgan)

8 tips to get you off to the best start!

8 ways to detox for a better New Year!

20 today!