New Year's (anti)resolutions

Two weeks into 2025, and here I am talking about New Year's reflections and resolutions. Sounds like I'm a bit late to the party! Yet this timing feels deliberate, almost as if it’s a natural outcome of my mindful rebooting phase, even if it wasn't something I consciously planned.

A while ago, I came across an article exploring how stress has become the default state of modern life. Sure, it’s not a new idea, but the author articulated something that had been on my mind. Even when we’re doing everything "right"—yoga, meditation, exercise, eating well—stress remains the baseline for so many of us.

Why is this? A big part of it, I think, is that we live in an environment constantly bombarding us with new information, notifications, and updates. This can't be healthy. On one hand, it’s incredible to have so much knowledge at our fingertips. It can literally inspire wonder. But on the other hand, is it really serving us?

Take the personal development space, for instance: there's immense pressure to constantly learn more, upgrade your life, and become a better version of yourself. While the intentions behind this push are often good, it’s not sustainable. Also, too much knowledge can lead to inaction.

Over the past few weeks, my feed has been filled with New Year’s content—resolutions, workshops, and strategies for becoming a "new you." Yet we all know how often these efforts fail. I realized I didn’t want to contribute another blog post that adds to the sea of noise and potentially increases overwhelm.

Many of us have come to believe that the solutions to our problems—or our dissatisfaction—lie in acquiring more information. And since there’s so much out there potentially available to us, the fear of missing out drives us to jump from one video, book, or event to another, always feeling like we should do more. Don’t get me wrong—there’s a lot of good content and opportunities out there, and I love learning. But at some point, we need to pause, decide what to retain and implement, and view the rest as just noise keeping us overstimulated and stuck.

It seems fitting that I recently came across the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown, which delves into these ideas. The universe has a way of delivering timely messages, doesn’t it? I started reading it a few days ago and plan to share a review next month. Would you prefer a video review (for my upcoming YouTube channel, which will see the light one day—I promise!), a written one, or both?

As for my own resolutions, I’ve decided to focus on building solid foundations before adding anything new: more sleep, morning sunlight exposure, mindful eating, deep breaths, managing my ulcerative colitis and hormonal imbalances, and deepening my yoga practice. I’ve also started a new job, a significant change that requires adjustment! I’m giving myself permission to ease into these challenges at my own pace, without adding unnecessary stress to my baseline.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Does this resonate with you? Do you feel like this direction for my content could serve you well? If you think someone else might benefit from these reflections, please share this post with them. Many of us could use a gentle rebooting.

PS My New Year's celebrations included a few days at Lake Maggiore, Italy. That week felt like a mindful pause between 2024 and 2025, just what I needed. It was all about nutritious, delicious food, walks along the lake to nurture a blue mind state, lots of yoga and reading.

How did you choose to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025?