The end of the year is not just a date on the calendar; it is an invitation to pause, breathe, and look back. Before writing a list of New Year’s resolutions, there is something essential that we often forget to do: review the path we have traveled. Because 2025, with its lights and shadows, has also been part of who we are today.
Reflecting does not mean judging ourselves harshly, but observing with honesty. What things turned out better than expected? What challenges put us to the test? What versions of ourselves did we have to step into in order to keep going? Every experience, even the difficult ones, carries a lesson that deserves to be acknowledged.
A good exercise to close the year is to divide it into areas: work, relationships, personal well-being, emotional growth, and leisure. Ask yourself what has changed in each one. Perhaps you didn’t achieve all the goals you set in January, but maybe you developed new skills, gained clarity, or learned to set boundaries. That is progress too.
It is important to let go of the idea that a year is only worthwhile if specific goals were achieved. Sometimes the greatest accomplishment is having endured, having taken care of yourself, or having known when to say “enough.” Recognizing this allows us to begin the new year from a place of self-respect rather than extreme self-demand.
Once this reflection is done, New Year’s resolutions take on a different meaning. They stop being an endless list of “I must” and become conscious intentions instead. Rather than promising radical changes, we can aim for small but sustainable habits: taking better care of ourselves, listening more to our bodies, prioritizing what makes us feel good, or daring to take that step we have been postponing for so long.
It is also a good time to ask ourselves what we want to attract in 2026: more calm, stability, joy, abundance, love, or confidence. Resolutions are not only about actions, but also about energy. From which emotion do we want to live the coming year?
Closing 2025 with gratitude, even for what didn’t turn out as we hoped, frees us from unnecessary burdens. And starting 2026 with resolutions aligned with our reality and our values brings us much closer to fulfilling them.
Because it’s not about starting from zero, but about starting with awareness.
