motivation

MY 2025 YEAR END REVIEW

/ OrganizedWithJoy / Leave a comment

Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I wanted to review my 2025 year with you. The end of the year is a great time to reflect and celebrate your successes, evaluate what you could do differently, and think about some habits you want to continue on into the new year. I always love using paper planners and this year my planner had a spot for keeping track of routines, values, and goals. So it was easy to evaluate how this year went for me. I loved this planner so much that I ended up purchasing the exact same planner for 2026.

One of the first pages in this planner is a spot to write out your values. There was also a list of common values you could circle to guide you for the year. In this section there was a “more” column and a “less” column. Under more I wrote: quietness, walking, reading, whole foods, and creativity. I was actually shocked at how effective it is to write down your values heading into a new year. I have been wanting to add the habit of reading into my routines for years and it wasn’t until this year that I was truly successful! At the end of the summer I added the routine of reading almost every evening, and that routine has continued! I also wanted to walk more this year and I started the habit of walking in the mornings this year. I have also generally been taking more walks throughout this year! I do feel like I could do a better job at quietness. As I mentioned last week, I am taking some time away from Instagram over the next couple of weeks to give myself more margin for quietness. I have been getting on every few days to answer DMs and I’m also working with a brand to create a Reel, but otherwise not scrolling or staying on for hours. 

The last two things were whole foods – which I decided to create a mostly ingredient pantry at the beginning of the year to achieve this. I would say I did okay in this regard. I definitely still purchase crackers and other packaged foods, but I do think creating the ingredient pantry has helped and moving into the new year I would like to continue to focus on this goal. Lastly was creativity, and I truly believe that doing the no buy year helped with making space for creativity. I did several home projects with DIYs and I also had to get creative at times to make what I had on hand work instead of purchasing something new.

In my “less” column I had sugar, social media, and shopping. I definitely was successful with less shopping! Doing the no buy year really curbed my shopping throughout the year. I feel like I could still work on the less sugar goal. I don’t eat a lot of refined sugar, but I do make desserts regularly for my family. I make them homemade and sweeten them with maple syrup or dates, but I want to cut back on eating desserts generally. And with social media I am off of Facebook and TikTok completely and even after just a few days off of Instagram I would like to implement strict rules for myself with regards to how long I can be on the app daily.

Another spot in the planner that was insightful to me is to look at was my top 5 goals for the year. Mine were: 1. Fix issues with the house, 2. Regular walking, 3. Continue daily Bible reading, 4. Continue workout routine, and 5. Read more! I would say I did an amazing job hitting these goals this year! I will say, we still have some issues we need to deal with regarding our home. I did get a new front door, which was on the list, but I still have a long list to get through which will have to roll over into next year. I would like to come up with a plan to get these things accomplished because it’s definitely something that I keep putting off! I really dislike research, which fixing home issues requires. Everything else on this list I feel very proud to say I achieved these goals! I look forward to filling out my plans for 2026 over the next week!

I would love to hear from you in the comments! Did you write down your goals for this year? Do you make resolutions? A vision board? A word for the year? How did you do on accomplishing your goals for this year? What goals or ideas do you have for the upcoming new year?

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

IMPLEMENTING SOFT DISCIPLINE

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In a recent Instagram post I shared a quote that said, “growth only happens outside of your comfort zone.” I am someone who likes structure and routines. I realize that at times having rigid routines can stifle my ability to get out of my comfort zone. Finding ways to stick with my healthy habits while also leaving room for flexibility made me think about living with soft discipline. I think this idea of soft discipline also lends itself to living a more intentional lifestyle – honoring those moments when we need a slower pace because of how we are feeling physically or because of the seasons, or when we should lean into a time when we have higher energy. When we create rigid routines for ourselves, this doesn’t leave room for this energy shift.

So, what is soft discipline? It is having structure in life, but with compassion instead of rigidity. Contrary to traditional discipline, which can seem to focus on self-punishment and an all or nothing mindset, soft discipline is daily doing what matters with self tenderness. It focuses more on our spiritual intuition and is rooted in intentional living. Instead of being harsh or demanding with yourself to “stay on track,” soft discipline allows you to pay attention to your energy, what season you are in, and your inner guidance.

I think oftentimes we struggle with sustaining self-discipline because we are not compassionate with ourselves when it comes to our goals. Especially in western cultures, there is a high value on productivity which can lead to perfectionism and burnout. The nature of discipline leads us to battle with ourselves as though we have an inner drill sergeant calling out what we must do. But unfortunately sometimes this inner voice can create a mindset of shame and self-criticism, which leads to a lack of motivation or shut down instead of motivating us to follow through.

The core principles for executing soft discipline is having a gentle structure, focusing on micro movements, having compassionate accountability, allowing for energy-led planning, and celebrating progress over perfection. 

First, soft discipline includes creating a flexible framework for your day instead of a rigid schedule. Having routines is good, but it is also good to give yourself grace within those routines. Focusing on rituals over routines can help to change your mindset towards a more compassionate routine. For instance, if you view your morning walk as a ritual – where you get to pay attention to your five senses, you get to clear your head, you get to move your body – this will make it feel more like a ritual you don’t want to miss rather than a task you must do to check off your to do list. Lastly, it can help to create anchor points in your day – having morning rituals, midday breaks, and evening resets.

Next, soft discipline includes focusing on micro movements. These would be actions that have the potential to build on other actions. Sometimes when we start small it gives us the momentum we need. Allow yourself to just do 5 minutes for a task. This will often lead to the energy and momentum you need to keep going. Focus on the momentum and not the mastery or completion of a task. Soft discipline also includes compassionate accountability. Talk to yourself as you would talk to a friend. Replace punishment with curiosity and ask yourself: “What do I need right now?” instead of “Why can’t I get this done?”

Another principle of soft discipline is to allow for energy-led planning. I have to admit that I am so bad at this. I spent many years not honoring what my body was capable of doing and would over-commit and just push through. I am getting better at this, but it does not come easy to me. I am more of a pull up my boot straps and get it done type person. We must learn to pay attention to our intuition and our inner rhythms. We all have days where we don’t feel as energetic, and days where we have lots of energy. Honor your energy levels, slow down when you need to, and lean into productivity on days where you have lots of energy. If possible, align your tasks with your energy levels.

Lastly, soft discipline focuses on celebrating progress over perfection. So often we want to see big changes or big progress – especially when we are focusing on a specific goal. But it can be so helpful to start small, and celebrate along the way. When we celebrate our follow-through, even if it was not perfect, it can help to build our self-trust giving us that feeling of pride in our accomplishments.

Creating a life around soft discipline feels more peaceful, intentional, and sustainable. You begin to follow through more often because you are aligning to your energy and giving yourself grace. Soft discipline gives you the mindset of choosing yourself, kindly and gently, over and over again with each choice you make instead of the mindset of the drill sergeant just checking things off your to-do list. This doesn’t mean soft discipline is easy, all discipline is work, so we must have that expectation. But living with a more compassionate approach to discipline will reframe your outlook to viewing discipline as devotion to yourself – to your future self, your peace, and your purpose in life!

This is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

WHEN THINGS DON’T GO AS PLANNED

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I thought I would talk about when things don’t go as planned. I decided to share on this topic as it was on the forefront of my mind the other day when lots of things did not go as planned that day. My new workout routine took longer than expected, I was not able to accomplish the task that I have been trying to get off my to do list for weeks, and then a stomach ache derailed my afternoon!

I used to be the type of person who really did not like it when plans changed or things didn’t go as I expected them to go. I’m not sure when it was that I finally learned that if I hold my expectations loosely, life is a lot more enjoyable. It reduced stress and anxiety, and just made me a happier person in general. It wasn’t easy for me to get to that place since my personality is someone who likes structure, consistency, and routines. But honestly, raising 3 kids and two dogs, and having a husband who arguably has an opposite personality, has trained me to be flexible. Weirdly, as a kid I was very much a go with the flow laid back type. I think it was maybe in high school that I really started to become someone who liked the structure more.

One thing I did want to share with regards to things not going as planned, is how it affects relationships. Holding our expectations loosely will help in our relationships. If we cling to our expectations, it can cause strife and frustration in our relationships, which can ultimately lead to resentment. When we are open to things going differently than planned, we have a much more laid back approach to life and those curve balls don’t affect us as much. We are willing to pivot and move forward with the new plans or the new path.

A trick that I use for myself is to look for the silver linings in the plans changing. Instead of focusing on all the reasons it sucks that things didn’t go as planned, focus on the reasons it was good that plans changed. It’s never fun to not feel good like when I got a stomach ache the other day, but I did think to myself that maybe my body needed more rest. I was grateful that my life is flexible enough right now to take an afternoon nap and let my body heal. Shifting our focus to the positive is always helpful!

When things don’t go as planned it can also provide us an opportunity to reevaluate the plans in the first place! This could be a great opportunity to evaluate how you are spending your time and do an audit. Are there things you are doing that have a low impact in the long run? Could you devote more time to more high impact activities? Meaning, are there things that you could focus on to better achieve your goals or that line up better with your values and true priorities? Of course there are everyday life things that need to get done, but this could be a good time to evaluate what’s important!

Ultimately I think it would benefit us to view when things don’t go as planned as a positive thing. Maybe this is just me, but when you are running late or you get stuck behind a slow car, or stopped by a train, or anything that slows you down towards your goal for that moment – do you ever think that you are being protected from something? Maybe this is just my morbid way of thinking, but instead of getting annoyed I think to myself maybe I was protected from getting into an accident! We have a choice every day to view things from a positive lens, or a negative one. I know for some people it doesn’t come as naturally to view things positively. I fully recognize that I have always been a glass half full sort of person, so perhaps it is easier for me. But I do think we all have the choice on how we will view every situation we encounter. And I think it is always better to view things from a positive mindset.

Here is the Day in the Life YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.


DESIRING CHANGE

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Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I wanted to talk about desiring change in life. I thought this was an appropriate topic since recently I have been changing things up around my home. Also, I think a lot of people use the new year as an excuse to change things up – either in their lives, or in their environment. For me this new year I have desired change now more than I have in past years. I mentioned that I am doing a no buy year this year, and I am doing an additional challenge each month this year. In January I have been doing dry January and abstaining from alcohol. Along with my no buy year, I am being more intentional about the food I purchase and focusing more on whole foods and cooking from scratch. So far things are going amazingly well, but I do recognize we are only 3 weeks into the new year so things may get more challenging as the year proceeds. But I’m already seeing some wonderful benefits from the changes I have made, which I will talk about next Thursday as I plan to debrief about my no buy year at the end of each month.

So, with all of this change, it got me thinking about why we would pursue change in life. At first I was just thinking about my desire to rearrange my furniture and remove things from my spaces. I have heard that it is good to change things up in our physical spaces, but the more I thought about it I realized that it is just another manifestation of my desire for change. While change is an inevitable part of life, sometimes we choose change. Desiring change is most likely a symptom of a desire for personal growth, dissatisfaction with career or life in general, or a realization that our current lifestyle does not align with our values or aspirations. 

In addition, upon doing a quick Google search about desiring change, a theme that came up was desiring change could be a trauma response. If we have past trauma that is unresolved, or we are in the midst of current trauma, naturally we want an escape from that. We may use our external environment, which we have control over, to change things up as a way of searching for peace and to calm our anxiety. I really think this is only a temporary fix, and if we don’t find healing for our trauma we will continue in this cycle of trying to find the “perfect” set up in our homes, the “perfect” amount of stuff. We are really searching for internal peace, but using our external environment to try to achieve that.

Often we desire change, and may take some steps towards change, but don’t have follow through or sustained change in habits. Breaking old habits and/or adopting new ones is not easy. It takes persistence, patience, and resilience. We must be prepared to face setbacks, discouragement, or criticism along the way – making it difficult to stay the course. While change is difficult, I have found so often it is more rewarding than I anticipated. It is worth pursuing change with tenacity if you find you really need a change in life.

While change is not easy, we can embrace it and navigate it successfully. The first step is self awareness. Recognizing you want or need a change in life isn’t always easy to acknowledge. But acknowledging it, and taking some time to self reflect and accept why you need or want a change is helpful in embracing the change effectively. Once we have acknowledged the need for change, we can begin to make a plan to execute the change. We must come up with detailed actions we plan to take in order to achieve the goal. While admittedly this year I have made a lot of changes at once, typically it is better to focus on small gradual changes as this more often will lead to sustainable change and make the transition less overwhelming. Also, when we focus on small changes we will have that immediate gratification of seeing the small wins which will propel us to keep going.

Having a positive mindset in this time of change will also help us to be successful. Reminding ourselves daily why we have incorporated this new habit, or ditched old negative habits will keep us on course. Surrounding ourselves with people – friends or mentors – who will encourage us on our journey will also help. I joined a Discord group with other people who are doing a no buy year and it’s encouraging to see their wins and to just have that camaraderie with others who are working towards similar goals. Practicing self compassion when you do fail is so important. It is easy to throw our hands in the air and give up completely when we fail, but we must view failure just as a learning experience instead of a reason to give up. We must view it as an opportunity to grow in reliance and confidence.

Lastly, we must take action. Maybe this is obvious, but so many times in my life I stayed in the planning and preparation phase. I once heard an author describe this as circling the runway instead of landing the plane. While planning and preparation are absolutely important, real change happens when we start taking steps towards the goal, even if it is baby steps. We must remain consistent. And as I have said many times before – progress over perfection. Keep taking those steps forward, recognizing that you will not always do things perfectly. 

Well friends, I hope this chat encouraged or inspired you in some way! Please let me know your thoughts on my thoughts down in the comments! 

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.