Reflections on 2025: 11 Things to Carry (or Implement) Into the New Year

It’s that time of the year when I take time out to reflect on the past 12 months and decide what practices and habits I’ll carry into the new year. Turning our past experiences into wisdom allows us to sift out what didn’t work for us and continue implementing what did.  This reflective exercise also helps me to create new goals for 2026.

11Things to Carry Into 2026: The Practices and Habits That Serve Me

1. Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

A daily gratitude practice is one of the most empowering practices I continue to use. Every morning, I challenge myself to write down 10 blessings. This practice not only helps elevate my emotions, but it serves as a wonderful reminder of how blessed I actually am.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude has the following transformational benefits:

• Reduces negative emotions: Your day runs smoothly when you’re in a positive state of being.

• Boosts resilience: You are less likely to react with anger or frustration when faced with challenges.

• Improved sleep patterns: You get a good night’s rest!

• Healthier relationships: You appreciate deeper connections that resonate with your values.

• Better workplace productivity: You’re in a position to make better decisions and feel more proactive when working.

• Enhances the law of attraction: You’ll attract more good things.

2. Meditation

My meditation practice changed quite drastically this year when I stepped it up to 4-5 hours daily. The benefits have been huge – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s changed my view on the world and how to manage my business, relationships, personal growth, and transformation.

Your meditation practice can:

• Calm your mind and bring clarity.

• Reduce stress and anxiety.

• Boost your immune system.

• Empower yourself to rewire your brain.

• Elevate your emotions.

• Boost your overall state of being.

3. Exercise

I’m blessed to be living on a farm surrounded by nature. This means I get to walk in a natural environment that supports my well-being. My other favourite exercise is a 30-minute yoga and tai chi routine I do every morning before I start my work day.

Some of the benefits of exercise include:

• Boost mood and mental health.

• Improved cardiovascular health.

• Less anxiety and depression.

• More energy.

• Reduced risks of diseases and illnesses.

• Pain management.

• Better sleep patterns.

4. Choosing to See Beyond the Illusion

It’s too easy to get caught up in the dramas we read in the news and on social media. While I do feel the chaos of our world, especially now more than ever before, I keep reminding myself to look beyond the illusion. This empowers me to see the bigger picture and to keep focusing on what’s important to me and my well-being.

Choosing to see beyond the illusion allows you to:

• Expose the superficial appearances of people and circumstances, and look deeper at what’s really going on.

• Understand that everything is a perception – yours or another's – and that it doesn’t have to be your reality.

• Recognise the underlying truth and choose a more authentic view on life.

• Move beyond societal conditioning and live your truth.

• Detach from beliefs and material attachments that don’t serve you, liberating you to pursue your dreams and visions.

5. Showing Kindness and Compassion with Healthy Boundaries

Everyone is struggling, some of us more than others. Showing kindness and compassion for a person’s journey is important, but equally so are healthy boundaries. When you don’t have healthy boundaries, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of people-pleasing, fixing, or rescuing because you falsely think these are acts of kindness.  

You can demonstrate kindness and compassion in the following ways:

• Practicing active listening when supporting someone going through hard times.

• Spending quality time with family and friends who are lonely.

• Donating to worthy causes.

• Helping your neighbour with chores when they’re battling. 

• Giving someone a much-needed bear hug!

6. Turning Past Experiences Into Wisdom

How often do you carry the burdens of past experiences and feel guilt, shame, anger, resentment, and bitterness? Some of us choose to take these feelings with us everywhere we go, not realising that this baggage is what’s holding us back from living an amazing life. Turning your past experiences into wisdom empowers you to let go and be the person you’re meant to be.

Reflecting on past experiences and turning them into wisdom has many benefits:

• Enhanced self-awareness.

• Improved mental health.

• Better emotional regulation.

• Personal growth and transformation.

• Better decision-making that aligns with your core values.

• Living a meaningful and fulfilling life.

7. Reflective Journaling

Intensifying my meditation practice has encouraged me to do reflective journaling most days. Writing in my journal helps me explore uncomfortable emotions, destructive thought patterns, celebrate successes no matter how small, and gain wisdom from my personal experiences. Reflective journaling empowers me to overcome challenges as I become a better version of myself.

Reflective journaling is a wonderful tool for:

• Exploring emotions and feelings: You understand triggers and find ways to enhance elevated emotions.

• Discovering what’s not working: You identify behaviours and habits that no longer serve you and choose ones that do.

• Removing conditioning that’s not yours: You discover that most of your thoughts are driven by limiting beliefs installed by parents, society, and other influences during your childhood.

• Creating a new future: You can capture all your dreams and visions and start creating a goal to help you manifest the future you want.

8. Living a Meaningful Life

If you’re still searching for your soul purpose, keep doing it. After many years of deep inner work and personal growth, I found my life purpose. This is my passion, and it gives my life direction and meaning. It’s by no means been an easy journey, and I strive every day to grow my work as a healer. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Living a meaningful life gives you:

• A reason to get up every day.

• A deep sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

• Empowerment.

• A positive state of well-being and a joyful existence.

• Stronger connections with others.

• Joy knowing that you’re serving the greater good.

9. Faith and Trust

Having faith in a Higher Power allows me to get on with my daily life knowing that I’m in safe hands! What this unseen higher power looks like, I can’t tell you, but I’ve had enough experiences to know that there is something bigger than me and that it’s divine. Choosing trust is an active decision to be guided by this higher power as I navigate life.

When you have faith and trust, you can expect the following:

• Inner peace.

• Less fear and more love.

• Stronger relationships.

• Clarity on what actions to take.

• Resilience during challenges, loss, or suffering.

10. Playfulness

The past five years haven’t been easy, and I’ve had to face things I hope I never need to meet again. Fun and laughter went out the window, and everything became serious and, at times, downright scary and sad. However, 2025 has opened up my quest to bring playfulness and non-seriousness back into my life. The journey continues!

Here are some reasons why playfulness is essential:

• It reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.

• It boosts creativity and problem-solving.

• It empowers change.

• It improves physical health.

• It enhances deeper connections.

• It boosts brain health.

• It enhances vitality.

11. Being an Agent of Change

My key role as a transformational life coach is to facilitate change in other people’s lives. I’m passionate about empowering individuals to become better versions of themselves. I love helping them overcome challenges while discovering the beautiful and unique beings they are. Being an agent of change allows me to lead individuals to their unique gifts and talents. It’s rewarding work.

You can be an agent of change by:

• Sharing empowering information: A past client of mine always hands out self-improvement books to friends or family who could benefit from such information.

• Guide people to their worthiness: Outsiders can often see what someone doesn't know they have themselves. You can support them in finding their worthiness and truth by introducing them to self-empowerment tools and techniques.

• Cultivating emotional intelligence: Understanding another’s feelings and reactions allows you to help them find better ways to navigate difficult situations.

• Creating a safe space: Most people want to be heard and acknowledged. Creating a safe space for them allows individuals to voice their fears and concerns while allowing you facilitate change in a caring and supportive environment.

Final Thoughts

The abovementioned practices and habits are nothing new and have become part of my lifestyle. The more I evolve and grow, the deeper these practices become. I can't imagine a day going by without me doing my meditation, journaling, exercising, or facilitating change in someone's life.

Reflecting on my experiences in 2025, good and bad, lets me identify what I want to continue doing in the new year. I see the above practices and habits as vehicles for enhancing my life while supporting others in their quest for a meaningful and wholehearted life. What will you carry into 2026?