2025 is here, friend, and you can roll your eyes all you want, but the “new year, new me” feels are in the air. Every other Instagram post is reminding me that where I put my time, energy, and money for the next 365 days will shape the rest of my life. My to-do list includes picking a word of the year, journaling my personal & professional goals, and purchasing a fresh new planner (on top of planning a party for an *almost* four-year-old and another 825 regularly programmed tasks).
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And while I really, truly am here for all ^^that^^, I’m heading into 2025 excited for the potential and possibility – not of finding or creating the “new me”…but the real me. Consider this my official resignation from lofty resolutions that leave me feeling pressured and ultimately disappointed. Nobaaaaady has time for that.
This year I’m simply, solely, solemnly swearing to double down on being authentically, unapologetically ME. A woman who likes what she sees in the mirror, not who looks impressive to strangers scrolling through her social squares. Someone who searches inward for her passions & priorities & purpose & praise. A person who sets boundaries, protects her peace, trusts her gut, and stays true to her principles.
Unlike other resolutions that require checking boxes or recording progress, our real self is just some intention & intuition & implementation away. And here’ the best part – when the aspiration is to be our real selves…we’re closer than we think. In fact, she’s already in there, willing and ready to show the world what’s up. She’s just buried beneath some expectations, excuses, insecurities, and maybe even a bit of fear.
You can still make tangible, track-able, gloat-worthy goals. You can still promise to move your body regularly, go on one date night a month, scroll less, eat more home-cooked, whole-food meals, read [X] number of books, or start flossing. But as you set the standards for 2025, make reaching your real, true, authentic, best self the motivation behind it all.
Towards the end of last year, I asked myself…If you could be anything, who would you want to be? What does that version of you feel like? How would the real you spend you bandwidth, brainpower, and bank account?…and my ambitions for the new year were born. None of these goals are eccentric or extraordinary, but after nearly two weeks of putting them into practice, I can already say that 2025 is gonna be a good one.
Virtual vision boards
For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to make a vision board for the year. From clarity to motivation, subconscious programming, and the law of attraction, I know there’s power in seeing your aspirations in image form in front of you every day, but the whole magazine cutouts & glitter & glue just wasn’t gonna happen. Then I got a great idea (that I’m a little embarrassed to admit I only recently thought of)…what if I made a virtual vision board and used it as my phone’s lock screen!? Not only did I have so much fun creating it, butttttttt I also ran out of room, so I made one for my computer background too. Here’s how they turned out:
From becoming a mom of two to a thriving homestead, a more playful marriage, starting a podcast, being featured in a magazine, building a “clean” capsule closet (more on that in a minute), prioritizing time outside, completing a few house projects, continuing to focus on health basics, and nurturing my creativity…it’s all there. And somehow the people, places, objects, and experiences – they all feel significantly more attainable now that I can see them every day.
I find myself asking “what would it take to get [there]?” regularly and pushing myself to be more creative and expand my options for how I arrive at my goals. There’s a sense of excitement & opportunity & purpose & self-worth & hope every time I catch a glimpse of my dream life laid out in front of me. If I would have known a vision board could 1) be virtual, 2) come together this easily, and 3) be this powerful, I would have started making them a long time ago. Now I can’t wait to see and share what actually comes to fruition this year
VIRTUAL VISION BOARD HOW-TO
If you type “how to make a vision board” into Pinterest or Google, you will likely get significantly more detailed information than what I’m about to share. [This] is how I, someone who’s not a manifestation expert or life coach or self-help guru, did it, and not only enjoyed the whole process but also how it turned out.
1. Start by brainstorming what you want your future to look and feel like (PS – your “future” could be the upcoming year, the next 5-10 years…totally up to you). Take into account relationship desires, your ideal career and income, travel dreams, material wants, core values, self-care goals, and the mantras or affirmations that align with them all.
2. Download images that represent or resonate with your goals. I went to Pinterest and typed in whatever I was looking for followed by the word “aesthetic” – “mother of two aesthetic”, “thriving garden aesthetic”, “happy couple aesthetic”, etc., and chose the images I liked best. To download from Pinterest, simply tap the three little dots at the bottom right of the photo you want, then click “download image” to save.
3. Once you’ve collected all your images, it’s time to piece them together. I used a template inside Canva (there are both free and paid versions), but there are also some really great phone wallpaper and computer background templates for just a few dollars on Etsy too. If you want to get nerdy about picture placement or the words you choose…girl, get after it!…there are multiple resources on the world wide web that dive deeper. I personally put what I consider my “biggest” dreams towards the center and worked my way out, but do whatever looks and feels best to you. Depending on how this year’s vision board plays out, I may get a bit more strategic in upcoming years.
4. Spend a little time (even just a minute) every day reflecting on your vision board, remembering what you’re working towards, and romanticizing the excitement, thrill, or even nervousness those images bring. I’ve been surprised at how a few simple images can give me such a jolt of encouragement and inspiration every time I take a peek at my phone.
Daily gratitude practice
Look up “benefits of a daily gratitude practice” and you’ll see that jotting down just a few things you’re thankful for every day is right up there with exercise, eating healthy, hydrating, and even taking a sauna! Promises of improved mood, better sleep, reduced stress, stronger relationships, increased resilience, even lower inflammation were all reasons I couldn’t say no to adding this free & easy practice into my regular routine this year.
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While you can get as fancy and formal (or not) as you want, I’ve chosen to use the notes app in my phone to record five things I’m grateful for each day. I like that it’s always accessible, I can include a few fun emojis, and it’s simple to scroll back on a week’s or month’s worth of gratitudes for a quick dose of dopamine. Here’s how it’s going so far:
After about two weeks of this practice, I’m not necessarily seeing signs of “better sleep” or “lower inflammation”, but I am already a believer in the benefits of taking time to identify and track the things I’m thankful for. These are my insights:
The dividends are in the details. The more detailed and descriptive you can be, the better. Rather than just writing “Sloan” every day, forcing myself to get specific is proving to have a more uplifting and lasting effect. “Sloan wanting to be rocked to sleep”, “the way Sloan yells our mealtime prayer”, or “Sloan’s long & dark eyelashes” allows me to see, hear, and feel the things I’m thankful for on a much deeper level.
Positivity appreciates. Have you heard of the “red car theory”? This concept implies that if you’re thinking of buying a red car you might start to see and become more aware of red cars. Aka – the things you give your time and attention to become more noticeable. Even though nothing big has changed since 2025 started, I’m recognizing and discovering more beauty and abundance all around me, and it’s 10000000% due to this gratitude practice.
Pausing is powerful (& maybe the whole point). This practice requires two pauses – one to realize the gratitude-worthy thing and the second to record it. Documenting five gratitudes a day means ten tiny breaks in my busy, bustling life. For some this may be a reason not to pick up this practice…for me, the momentary rest and relief have proven to be the best part.
Limiting social media use
If my goals this year include finding & nurturing & coming home to the real me, bringing my vision board to life, and experiencing a growing number of reasons for gratitude all around me, then I can’t have my face in my phone. Period. While I’ve tried multiple tools that track or restrict how much time I spend on my phone or in certain apps, I hadn’t found one that worked for me.
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Then I learned that apple phones (and fingers crossed, android too) have the ability to set time limits for any app you like. I decided to give it a try and not only was it ridiculously easy to set up, but I love everything about how it works.
APP TIMER HOW-TO (ON IPHONE)
1. Go to the “settings” app on your phone and click on “screen time”, then “app limits”.
2. Tap on “add limit” then choose the apps you want to restrict your time on. (I’m personally applying this to Pinterest and Instagram as they’re the ones I find myself mindlessly scrolling most often.)
3. Choose how long you want to allow yourself to be on the app each day. You can set a different limit for each app and even customize it by days of the week.
4. If you want to be super hard core, you can go back to “screen time” and choose to “lock screen time settings”. You’re then prompted to set a password to get back into the app if/when you reach your time limit.
I’ve honestly surprised myself by *overall* following the time limit, and I think it’s because of these few features my brain just really likes –
A five-minute warning. When there are five minutes left in your time limit, a notification pops up to alert you. I find myself using that warning as I reminder for why I’m in the app in the first place and to stay on track and finish up what I was doing.
The realistic options. Once you reach the time limit, the screen whites out and you can either hit “ok” to exit the app or hit “ignore”. If you tap “ignore”, there are options to add one minute (which I’ve surprisingly taken advantage of more times that you’d think), fifteen minutes (which I’ve basically banned myself from choosing), or “ignore for the day” (which I’ve used a few times in Pinterest when I’m in the kitchen and need access to a recipe or two).
The grayed out icon. After reaching the time limit and clicking “ok”, the app gets grayed out on your home screen. You can still go back in the app (after being prompted to choose between the options for adding time described above), but there’s something about the app looking unclickable that deters me from even trying.
As my days get busier and life gets more beautiful, I’m naturally spending less and less time on social media. But having a concrete barrier around a goal like “scroll less” means I can enjoy the information, inspiration, and connection the apps provide in a time frame I feel good about with zero guilt. I look at reaching the app time limit as my phone giving me permission to put it out of mind, and the benefits have been undeniable.
Daily photo flashback & refresh
If you’re like me, then one of your phone’s primary functions is to quickly capture and keep life’s perfect moments in picture and video form. Add in screen shots of recipes, instructions, and I-need-to-remember-to-buy-this items, and your photos app is liiiiiiikely filled to the brim with memories and memos.
When you type a date (i.e. “January 9”) into the photos app search bar, every image taken on that day from past years will pop up. In an attempt to clean out my photos app and get a little nostalgic & sentimental in the process, I’m taking a few minutes every day to find that date’s photos, then trash the screen shots I no longer need, watch videos of baby Sloan (and inevitably send a few to Bob followed by a few teary-eyed emojis), delete duplicates, and organize what I am keeping into albums.
This is proving to be another easy but effective practice to arrange and appreciate a significant part of life. Maya Angelou said, “you can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been”. It’s empowering to take a quick peek back every day, realize how everything really has played out perfectly, and trust that the same will happen in the year(s) to come.
Create a “clean” capsule closet
Ten years ago I was diagnosed with endometriosis. Five years ago I learned that birth control wasn’t actually helping, aaaaaaand I went on a journey to holistically manage my pain, have better periods, and improve my likelihood of fertility. A big part of this process was eliminating chemicals from what I put in, on, and around my body, and my very first step was switching to an all natural skincare routine (I still swear by all things Primally Pure and you can use code DRDAVIS10 for 10% off at checkout!). Over the years I’ve overhauled my makeup, hair & body care, dental hygiene, kitchen tools, and house cleaning products too.
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Between my desire for ease and simplicity in this season and a body that feels like it’s finally settling in, I’m using this opportunity to not only create a capsule closet, but also take the next step in toxin-free living and shift to only buying clothing made out of more natural fabrics. Many of the clothes we wear nowadays contain PFA’s phthalates, BPS, flare retardants, lead, chlorine, and more, and these chemicals sitting on the skin all day can have a lasting effect on our health and hormones.
Because overhauling my wardrobe in one fell swoop would be both expensive and overwhelming, I’m intentionally choosing cleaner fabrics like cotton, wool, linen, hemp, and tencel (and buying organic as much as possible) only when items wear out or wants come up. From socks to sweaters, these items are typically a little more expensive and harder to find, but this is a “less is more”, quality over quantity approach to clothing. My favorite brands so far include Quince, Everlane, Colorful Standard, Jungmaven, and Sezane.
Every purchase I’ve made towards a cleaner capsule closet feels practical, intentional, and like it serves a bigger purpose. It’s about having good clothes that last. It’s about my health. It’s about looking good on the outside &&& feeling good on the inside every day. Because I’m not one to purchase a lot of clothes, I don’t expect to have a completely new, all natural wardrobe by the end of 2025, but this will be the year that every clothing purchase I make follows these standards.
Bring on 2025, baby!
With every new year I find myself loosening my grip on the “should’s” and basing my days and dreams around what my body, mind, heart, and soul *really* want instead. Maybe being unemployed for almost two months has given me a little more flexibility and freedom to explore what ^^that^^ looks like further. Maybe motherhood has shown me what matters most. Orrrrrr maybe my prefrontal cortex is finally in full form.
I won’t be so bold as to say 2025 is going to be “my year”, but being solid in the “why” behind my goals and allowing a little flexibility and creativity in the “how”, I know it’s going to be one of progress, expansion, evolution, and growth…the year I settle into myself. And yes, I believe even habits & hacks & health practices as small as [this] will play a big role in how I get there. Mmmmmmm…it’s gonna be s’good.
Happy New Year, friend! Let me know in the comments what intentions you’re setting and goals you’re goin’ for in 2025. I really do hope it’s my, your, OUR best year yet.
– Amanda
Disclaimer: The content provided here does not constitute medical advice, nor is it a substitute for personalized healthcare. I’m a doctor, but I’m not your doctor. If you have concerns about a medical condition, diagnosis, or treatment, you should consult with a licensed healthcare professional.
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