25 Things 2025 Taught Me (Whether I Was Ready or Not)

As 2025 comes to a close, I’m realizing I remember far less about what I checked off and far more about what I felt. The quiet moments. The clunky ones. The days where nothing dramatic happened but something small shifted anyway.

This year reminded me that growth doesn’t always arrive with fireworks or a LinkedIn announcement. Sometimes it shows up as a pause. A boundary. A deep breath taken five seconds sooner than last time.

None of these lessons arrived fully formed. They snuck in during ordinary days, awkward conversations, walks taken when I didn’t feel like walking. Here are 25 things 2025 taught me, many of which I’m still practicing:

1. Appreciate the small things

Turns out the best moments aren’t always the ones you photograph. Sometimes they’re just quiet enough to notice if you don’t rush past them.

2. Take walks

Walking became my cheapest, most reliable form of therapy. Forward motion without urgency is still forward motion.

3. Take risks

Almost everything worthwhile started with a knot in my stomach and a “well… here goes nothing.”

4. Take naps

I finally stopped treating rest like a moral failure. My body was right all along..

5. Spend time in nature

Nature doesn’t ask me to optimize or improve,

just to show up and look around. What a relief.

6. Make room for yourself

I learned that I am allowed to take up space.

My needs matter too.

7. Remember birthdays

A text. A call. A note. Tiny things that say,

“I see you. You matter.”

8. Make other people look good

It turns out generosity is incredibly energizing.

Also: wildly underrated.

9. Express yourself

Unsaid things don’t disappear, they just get heavier. Saying them out loud lightened the load.

10. Know when to stop talking

Listening more changed the room.

And occasionally saved me from myself.

11. Bring a host present

Small gestures carried more meaning than I realized. Thoughtfulness goes a long way.

12. Challenge yourself

Growth didn’t ask politely. It nudged,

then shoved, then waited patiently for me to catch up.

13. Believe in yourself

Self-doubt still showed up.

I just stopped letting it run the meeting.

14. Accept failure as a good thing

Failure didn’t mean I was off track.

Sometimes it meant I was finally trying.

15. Do not be afraid to start things

Starting messy beats waiting forever.

Momentum is more forgiving than perfection.

16. Do not be afraid to finish things

Finishing brought closure and a quiet sense of pride. Like exhaling after holding your breath longer than you realized.

17. Do not be afraid to quit things

that no longer work

Letting go hurt less than staying stuck.

That surprised me.

18. Try new things

New experiences cracked open old assumptions

about who I am and what I like.

19. Say goodbye to things you do not need

Clutter (physical and emotional) turns out

to be heavier than I thought.

20. Listen closely

People tell you who they are all the time.

You just have to be present enough to hear them.

21. Feel deeply

Feeling everything, even the hard emotions,

made life fuller. Messier, yes, but fuller.

22. Cheer on others’ successes

Joy grows when it’s shared.

23. Ask for help when you need it

Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

24. Be the friend you want to have

Showing up with kindness and honesty

mattered more than being perfect.

25. Tell more stories

Stories helped me understand myself and feel less alone.

2025 taught me that a meaningful life is built through small, intentional choices made every day. Not everything needs to be figured out at once. Sometimes it is enough to pause, reflect, and keep moving forward with a little more compassion for yourself and others.

May you move into the next year a little lighter, a little braver, and a little more kind, to yourself most of all.