Welcome 2025 with intention, close 2024 with gratitude
My favorite, nourishing ways to ring in the new year.
Happy (almost) New Year, everyone. Scroll down to see all the resources I recommend for saying goodbye to the past year and hello to a new one.
Stepping into 2025 is a strange one for me. Longtime readers know I relish January and take my Quiet Month seriously — and I plan to do the same this year.
But I’m entering 2025 with a heavy heart. I lost my grandfather and brother in 2024; I delivered two eulogies this year for close family members, a feat I hope to never repeat.
Yet, through my grief and processing after suddenly losing my brother Chris, gratitude was the biggest emotion that surfaced and carried me through. I have so much love in my life. I am seen and cared for. My close relationships — especially those with my brother, sister, mother, and closest friends — are clear reflections to me that I am living life in the way that’s right for me. Underneath the sadness and searching, that peace is giving me a deep comfort and fulfillment.
This core feeling is possible because, for the large part, the choices I make and priorities I set in my outer life reflect those I yearn for in my inner life. Constantly closing the divide between wanting and doing is what I write about here. I love sharing the progress I make along the way with all of you, and encouraging you to bridge those gaps in your own life.
And getting a reminder of life’s fragility has only reinforced that for me going into 2025. In life, each of us are given windows to pursue the things we most desire, open doors and pathways in between things that require our full attention, such as grief, illnesses, loved ones who need us near.
I have a window in 2025 and I will not waste it. I’m entering my 5th year as a freelancer, but I may not be one forever; I want to take advantage of my flexibility and try nomad life internationally for 6-12 months. Soy salvadoreña, and I want to become more fluent in Spanish and further embrace my culture. I am building my vision for 2025 that centers around these things. It requires a lot of risk, work, and planning on my part. I’m ready to take it on.
If I have any wisdom to share with you from a hard year, it’s this: Don’t wait to do what you most want to do. Don’t let fear hold you back from what your heart is screaming for. Say what you need to say now. And always remember that real, lasting change is possible.
Start today. Be brave today. Make your art today.
New Year resources I recommend
My short CSBC podcast episode from the end of 2022 is still a perfect listen for New Year planning:
Fill out Susannah Conway’s free workbooks, Unravel Your Year and Find Your Word. A word of caution that these notebooks are big, so pick and choose which sections most speak to you and go ahead and take time throughout January to work through them. I find them incredibly centering.
Here’s
’s guide to finding your word of the year.
Read through your journal from the past year, and highlight/take note of topics that come up over and over again. Those are clues to your heart’s desires in 2025. Don’t sleep on them for another year.
Do a Tarot pull and journal for the New Year. Today is the new moon in Capricorn, a perfect time to set intentions.
I’m taking this workshop on pulling cards for the year ahead today at 11:30amCT if you want to join.
Here’s a New Year spread from Biddy Tarot, or try the Celtic Cross spread. For those who want to keep it simple, you could just pull three cards representing your past, present, and future.
Mark the key dates for love in 2025 in your calendar from Chani Nicholas. Everybody say love!
Write a letter to your future self with FutureMe.org.
Align your priorities with Fran Hauser’s Four-Square Model. She calls this her boundary-setting tool, and it’s great for people who feel overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities, or who only have a half hour to dedicate to New Year intention setting.
Work through ’s 2025 intentions document, or use the accountability version with a buddy.
Go sober. I’m thinking I’ll start the year with a 60-day minimum goal (you can read about my six months alcohol-free too). I highly suggest Ruby Warrington’s book Sober Curious, and the 100-Day Sober Curious Reset journal.
Keep track of the best thing that happened each week for a year. Write it down on Sunday, throw the scrap of paper in a jar, and read them all on January 1, 2025. I’ll be going through all my 2024 highlights tonight.
Learn about a bunch of different ways to start working out via CSBC podcast guest and Swole Woman Casey Johnston.
Do an intentional camera roll cleanout. For the first time this year, I went through all of the phone pictures/videos I took this year and deleted ones I didn’t want to keep. Do this for ten minutes a day and save yourself a whole lot of headache and storage space later. Plus, I’m printing out my favorites, so I actually have photos from the last five years up in my home. I’m going to try to make this a monthly habit this year.
Take an hour to lie on your bed and listen to your favorite songs from the past year. Let the memories flood you, reflect on them, and dive into whatever emotions come up. Here’s mine:
How are you celebrating 2024 and honing in on 2025? Tell me in the comments!