A Simple Way to Make 2025 Your B*tch

I used to be the kind of person who obsessed over self-improvement while closing down the pub every night. I tempered every good habit with a hearty dose of #PoorLifeChoices and wondered why everything was so hard.

Looking back (ooh, is that foreshadowing? It might be foreshadowing), I realize I can chalk up all that wheel-spinning to one thing above all else—a flat-out refusal to review my life. To pause and reflect on how far I’d come, what I was proud of and what I wanted to do differently.

Let’s be honest. Reviewing sounds boring as hell. I was going to title this post “Do You Review?” until I read it on my screen and died of disinterest.

But guess what happens when you refuse to review?

You end up doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. And we all know that madness will land you in the loony bin. Or, if you’re extra accident-prone, the back of a Roman police car.

The truth is, reviews aren’t just corporate drudgery, nor are they some new-age call to ponder the meaning of life; they’re actually a necessary tool for growth. And when done annually, they become the whiffle ball bat that allows you to knock your next year out of the park.¹

Here’s Why You Should Perform An Annual Review

The best thing the self-development world has taught me is that you should celebrate everything. Celebrate waking up, celebrate no extra delivery fee on DoorDash items for 15 minutes after you place your order, celebrate that people are willing to read your thoughts about marriage proposals involving cheese platters.

Looking back at your year through this lens, you’ll realize you’ve accomplished far more than you’ve given yourself credit for. Small victories matter—they’re the building blocks to your major accomplishments—and an annual reflection lets you capture those moments. I can’t think of a single better reason for champagne² on a Tuesday, can you?

Hunting for things to celebrate helps you cultivate gratitude. And expressing gratitude for what you have is how you call in more of the good stuff. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle that has no downside.

Celebrating tiny wins = more gratitude = wondering how you got so lucky that THIS is your life.

Obviously, an honest review will reveal some hard knocks, too. Reflecting on these setbacks doesn’t mean dwelling on failure or berating yourself for rekindling with your felonious, philandering ex. (Too specific)? It’s about extracting the lessons. What did you learn from that challenging work dynamic? Did that relationship reboot teach you that your picker is broken? This is good information! These insights can now shape how you approach the future (and possibly lead you to adopt celibacy—a boring yet decidedly less toxic life choice).

Simply put, you can’t learn the lessons if you don’t pause to observe what they are. And, as my romantic life is evidence of, if you don’t learn them, you are doomed to repeat them.

Another thing an annual review will teach you is resilience. In the future, when things start heading south in that way that reminds you of “that one time,” you can respond differently—and fingers crossed—for the better.

Once you’ve armed yourself against potential red flags, you might want to reassess your priorities. Odds are good that what you thought you wanted at the start of this year is not what you want now. As you evolve, so do your core values. For this reason, the path to living in alignment with them must be adjusted once in a while, too.

Now that you’re clear on your priorities and values, you can set goals with thoughtful intention. Instead of blindly chasing what you think you “should” want or expecting to achieve success any which way, you can chart a strategic path based on what you’ve learned about yourself. I don’t know about you, but if reviewing can help me get to awesome faster, I’ll set aside an afternoon for that.

Review, But Make it Fun

Bring Snacks

Grab a notebook and a tasty beverage; this is some serious spelunking we’re undertaking. Since you’re going to be here a while, you may as well make it a party. I’ll bring the cheese platter.

Scroll Through Last Year’s Calendar

The best place to start is by reviewing each month of last year and jotting down the significant events. Once you’ve done this, circle the best moments. I like to think of this as a highlight reel I can mentally flip through whenever I need a pick-me-up or when I’m 90 and have lost my last marble.

Ask Questions

The next part can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. If you’re an overachiever, download the Annual Review Workbook containing all the questions you’ll ever need to dissect yourself with Sherlock Holmes-style precision.

If that sounds too intense, simply choose from the prompts below or make up your own:

• What am I most proud of accomplishing this year?
• What were my hardest challenges, and how did I face them?
• What was the biggest personal risk I took?
• The best thing I discovered about myself was . . .
• What made my life/business FUN this year?

Celebrate

Big or small, give yourself credit wherever it’s due. Buy yourself a treat or take yourself on a date. Make it a thing. You deserve it.

Envision the Future

Use what you’ve learned to dream big dreams for the year ahead. What do you want to create, change or embrace? Write it down. Make a commitment to an accountability buddy. Or heck, spend some time mapping out an actual game plan to get from here to there. Go nuts.

Final Thoughts

While writing this post, I realized that I do some type of review on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. I also reflect on my new moon intentions when the first and third quarter moons are in the same astrological sign to see if I’m making progress.

Upon review, I might be batshit.

But the good news is, you don’t need to be like me to get benefits out of reflecting and reviewing. Even one review per year will be massively illuminating if you’re used to doing zero. Just know that the more data you gather, the less your successes will feel like throwing spaghetti at the wall, and the more you’ll feel like the dom of your life.

If you’re into that sorta thing. 😉

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