At the start of 2025, I didn’t set any traditional resolutions or goals.
Instead, I created two lists: Fun Ideas and Mantras. I wanted the year to feel light and flexible – more about (enjoyable) rhythms and activities than checkboxes and outcomes.
So, how’s it going a few months in?
Fun Ideas
Have pumpkin pie (or some other dessert) for breakfast. Done. Knocked this one out January 1st when I had leftover peanut butter cheesecake for breakfast. This was inspired by Kelsey at Rising*Shining – and wow, all these years I’ve been missing out on one of the true joys of adulthood. I’ve also realized I ate dessert for breakfast almost daily in Paris. No regrets.- Organize a progressive supper with friends. Still pondering this one. I love the idea, but the logistics are tricky. Not all our friend groups overlap and some live too far away to make it feasible. TBD.
Try Dr. Pepper for the first time. Done. Meh. Won’t need to have it again.- Don’t wear clothes that are too tight or are otherwise uncomfortable. So far, so good. I won’t cross this off until the end of the year but thus far it has been an intensely satisfying (comfortable) shift.
- Watch The Court Jester. Such low-hanging fruit, yet…still unpicked. I will get to it!
Buy cuticle cream. Done. I went with cuticle oil. It hasn’t been life-changing, but at least I’m trying.- Buy a new, thick, oversized yoga mat for the basement. Not done, even though Nicole told me exactly what to order. I have zero excuses.
- Do a deep declutter of the house each quarter. So far, so good. Can’t cross this off until the end of the year.
Do something fun with my blog.Between FIGs and guest posts, this one feels like a solid Done.
Meet a blogger in real life.Done! Suzanne!! In Paris!!! And I have at least three more tentative meetups planned for 2025!!!! Pinch me.
Frame the art we purchased in Barcelona and Portugal.Done. Bonus? I’ve displayed them even though “frame” was the idea, so I’m awarding myself some gold stars for going above and beyond.- Go to the movie theatre as a family. Haven’t done this yet. I will make sure it happens.
- Buy and put up outside lights for Christmas 2025. Too early. This is a November/December thing. I’m setting the bar extremely low.
- Walk daily in April and October. Halfway there. April = Done. Waiting to tackle October.
- Send at least one piece of “snail mail” each month. I have a perfect record so far and I plan to keep it going.
Create a Happy Song playlist.Done(ish). Turns out I don’t like listening to the same songs for months. I obsess over a track, play it on repeat, and then move on. My “Liked Songs” playlist has become my rotating Happy Song list. Works for me!- Eat chocolate-mint flavoured gelato (or artisanal ice cream). Waiting for sunshine!
Grow out my hair.Done. Just a tiny trim so far in 2025 and I plan to keep it that way.
Leave encouraging (anonymous) notes in library books when I return them.Done(ish). I did it a few times, but called it quits once it started feeling tedious. (Permission granted; see below.)- Spend a few hours working at my favourite coffee shop at least once each month. Again, a perfect record so far. Can’t cross this off until the end of the year but I’m feeling optimistic.
Mantras
These aren’t rules, just tweaks to my mindset.
- Let it be easy. I’m trying!
- Lean in. Embrace. (People, the current moment. All of it.) I think so?
- Choose the bigger life. Yes!
- Gratitude, not guilt. Getting better at this.
- Rest is part of the process. I’ve had some excellent naps so far in 2025.
- Is this still fun? Possibly my favourite mantra. A great gut check.
- The scroll can wait. Some days are better than others.
- Celebrate “good enough”. I still need this reminder.
- Taking a nap is a job well done. See above.
- It’s okay to say No. Sometimes I find it too easy to say No – it’s a balance between “Choose the bigger life” and “Rest is part of the process.“
Your turn.
- You’re forced to have dessert for breakfast tomorrow – what would you choose?
- Do you have a list of goals for 2025?
- What’s on your current fun list?
- Is there a mantra or mindset you want to carry into the rest of the year?
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mbmom11
No one would ever force me to have dessert for breakfast- I would happily enjoy it! Cheesecake sounds good- creamy and not too sweet. But it would probably be chocolate chip cookies, with milk. Or maybe a chocolate cake with whipped cream in the middle? Also with milk – I use drinking milk as a veil of nutrition to disguise a sweet as a meal.
No real year goals – survival mode enabled- but I hope to continue some of the practices I chose for lLent. Mailing snail mail and going to a weekday Mass once a week. Failed the latter already, but I’m doing former.
No fun planned. No mantra but survival. But maybe I should put down the phone and tackle my to do list occasionally. It’s so easy to put things off when I’m stressed, but I feel good when I do get something crossed off.
Elisabeth
Cheesecake is just…the best! Yum. I only have it a handful of times a year and that makes it so special.
Some seasons of life are all about survival. It’s an exhausting, hard place to be but I think it also empowers us to let go of things that don’t really matter and that can be so helpful as we move through certain seasons…hopefully into less difficult ones. You’re on my mind, friend <3
Snail mail is so fun. If you send me your address via e-mail, I can send a little note your way!
Birchie
Oh no I’m being forced to have dessert for breakfast!!! Woe is me. I’ve been known to have a nibble of a baked good first thing in the morning., and it’s lovely. Either a piece of cheesecake or a frosted brownie would really fit the bill.
I’m very excited to start tearing into a list of fun stuff that is contingent on good weather, which hopefully we are solidly in now. Oh wait, it’s going to rain all weekend. But still! It’s coming. I’m less than two weeks away from a 10 day California trip. I am under a lot of stress with work right now, so it’s on me to make sure that I’m still scheduling the fun stuff in with it.
Elisabeth
I know. Life is hard. I’m glad I’m not the only one with cheesecake on my mind 🙂
I can’t wait to hear all about your trip. Yes I’m insanely jealous about all the fun bloggers meetings but, still, I am excited!!
Ugh. I know work has just been the worst lately. I hope the fun things bring a bit of joy to an otherwise unpleasant stretch of time.
Jenny
I love this idea for your year! I never really did get around to making a list of 2025 goals, although I meant to. Maybe I should have done what you did, and make a different kind of list. Hmm…
Dessert for breakfast, you say? Well- I don’t eat dessert in real life, other than my keto chocolate squares (boy, does that sound sad.) So I’m really trying to think of what dessert I would choose. Let’s go with chocolate cake!
Elisabeth
Um, I think RUNNING AN ULTRA is basically the only goal needed, Jenny. And you crossed that off the list before May.
Chocolate cake. I have a feeling Nicole would very much approve of this choice.
Nicole MacPherson
Oooh you know mint chocolate anything is my favourite!
I am with you on the clothes thing. No more! I refuse! Michelle had said to me that it’s so empowering to have clothes that fit and she is 100% right. I think about this all the time. It IS empowering! The clothes should fit US not the other way around!
Your nails are FIRE.
I really love all your mantras! I don’t have a fun list per se but my whole life is one big hobby these days, so…I guess I do? Oh! I know what I did that was fun! I vowed every weekend in April to eat cake, and I did!
Elisabeth
I do love mint chocolate. Can you believe John HATES it. Like would do anything possible to avoid ever consuming it again. It’s SO GOOD. *shakes head in despair and utter confusion* On the bright side, this means there is simply more for me.
It is such a subtle shift – it’s not like I was always wearing horribly uncomfortable clothes before, but now I just do a slightly more engaged effort to avoid anything too tight, that rides down, or fits in an uncomfortable way. Life is far too short for uncomfortable clothes.
I love that colour! And it’s under $5!
You squeeze every ounce of joy out of life and it is contagious. I very much approve of your April cake challenge!
Katy @PracticalWalk
This is a cool idea instead of goals. I was inspired by moneysavingmom.com and decided to do monthly goals instead of yearly this year. It’s worked really well as I didn’t know what this year would look like, so taking it a month at a time has been good.
Elisabeth
I did something similar a few years ago where I left a goal open for each quarter of the year. That way I could add things that made sense given the current trajectory of my year! It was a small change from my normal goal-setting technique, but it made a big difference.
That said, I’m not sure if/when I’ll go back to formal goals? I really like having a list of fun things instead!
Colleen Martin
I could help you check off two of those things – come visit me and I’ll give you mint chocolate chip ice cream 🙂
Elisabeth
Colleen – this is SO tempting. Every time I see a picture of the Ice Cream Cottage I start drooling. I am confident it would be the best mint chocolate chip ice cream I would have ever had; throw in some awesome blogging company and…road trip this summer???
Suzanne
LOVE your nail polish in that photo!
And yay for meeting bloggers in person!!!! I still cannot believe we pulled off a Paris meet up. I think I may get to meet some bloggers in person as well this year and I’m PUMPED.
Let’s see. Cheesecake is what pops immediately to mind when considering my dessert breakfast. YUM.
Elisabeth
It’s Sally Hansen in Drop the Beet; it’s ~$3!!!
Paris! We met in Paris. That only problem is it was about a million hours too few together. Next time, a proper days-long visit, okay?
Cheesecake is just the best. Plus, cream cheese has so much protein. And if you have a fruit-topped cheesecake it’s practically breakfast already. Right?
Lisa's Yarns
You are doing great on your list of fun endeavors! I am doing this as well. Some of my items are things I know we will do but I figure I get credit for honoring traditions I’ve established (examples are going to the Pumpkin Carving display at the zoo and going to the Grinch at the children’s theatre). It’s been fun to cross things off my bingo card!
Dessert for breakfast. I would probably have a cookie for breakfast. There aren’t many GF desserts that I really love TBH. I know you are use regular recipes and swap out GF flour but they are usually disappointing…
My mantra for the year so far seems to be “there will be a time after this” which is kind of depressing, but it’s a helpful mantra.
Central Calif. Artist Jana
Does a first class stamp from the US work when mailing a letter to Canada?
I LOVE dessert for breakfast but this doesn’t fit with trying to not become diabetic. I’d live on dark chocolate with mint if there were no consequences.
My goals list is continuous; cross off something, add six more. Painting the little bathroom is becoming a permanent fixture on that list, but at least now I have the paint samples taped to the walls to see how they look in different lights. I’m not seeking perfection—just don’t want to accidentally choose something that looks really wrong.
Yesterday I pulled a stack of skirts from my closet—some are over 20 years old, and others just won’t stay up in spite of beefing up the elastic. I really like and still wear almost all of them, but just have too many clothes. I’m putting them where I can still get to them if I change my mind, which has happened. (Please, Elisabeth, come to California and make these things go away for me!!) I don’t care a whit about fashion, fads, trends, current styles; I choose styles that fit my body shape and colors that float my boat.