Prepping for 2025 by Blowing Up Balloons and Doing Other Stuff Too

It is almost NYE so obviously we are making lists and plans and resolutions, duh…

We are getting ready to swing the door shut on 2024 and swing it shut I will…but not before I think a lot about it. Cheers to the inevitable introspection and analysis of the current year, along with the plans of the new year to come!

I was kind of surprised that Pew Research found only three in ten Americans makes a resolution because much like Molly, I love a resolution. I love a list and a goal and a fresh start no matter the time of year. I’m turning 40 in 2025 (gulp.) and I am so excited to leave some things in 2024 and hyper manifest some other, wonderful things in the new year where I’ll embark on a new decade. I have found I’m much more successful in resolution keeping when I only make a few and make them super manageable. Here’s what I’m thinking…

What I’m Leaving in 2024

-Not Being My Own BFF: Repeat after me, “I am my own favorite girl (or guy or they!)” I am treating myself the way I treat others I love and being nicer to myself in the process.

-Imposter Syndrome, Hopefully: 2024 had its share of work-related challenges and sometimes it is hard to zap that little voice that screams, “IMPOSTER!” in my brain.

-Being a YES Person for the Sake of Saying YES: Sometimes we have to say yes, sometimes we want to say yes, and sometimes we should say no. I’ve worked hard the last few years to cool it on the people pleasing and draw boundaries when I need to.

What I’m Bringing into 2025

-Being in the Moment: Setting timers on social media, removing certain apps from my phone, and learning to be calm in the moment are BIG focuses for my new year. I want to be on my phone less and in my current moment more. I have realized I have trained myself to immediately respond to every text or notification when I don’t even need to. Stop it, former Yes Person.

-Embarking on Adventure: In my personal life, I love solo time and want to take myself on more dates to do new things and find more adventures for my family. Workwise, I want to try new things to diversify my revenue streams and connect with journalists, current/potential clients, and other PR pros in new ways. It feels like there’s a new networking group or freelancing platform every day so I’m setting aside time to really invest in ones that will move my professional needle.

-F-U-N: Like I said, 2024 had some tough moments and big personal challenges. Like real big. I am ready for more fun and believe that I am worthy of unbridled joy. It sounds schmaltzy but in the past I’ve bookmarked fun things for when I’m 20 pounds lighter or $20 richer or whatever. Burn the fancy candle, eat the expensive chocolates, and enjoy the moment. Do the fun things now and stop being so afraid to look silly.

-Continued Growth: I love a self-improvement book or podcast and finding new ways to become the best, most centered, most rad version of myself. More of this in 2025! I want to work on being reactionary and more mindful. Ok, therapized kween!

So what are my plans to ring in the (hopefully) glorious new year? As my kids have gotten a little older, and started staying up until midnight with us, we’ve developed a fun tradition of seeing my parents during the day and then settling in to the evening with a “snack table dinner” of apps and dips (dips and sauces are LIFE) while watching movies and setting our intentions for the year ahead.

For a few years now we’ve blown up 12 balloons, labeled them by hour, and put a question in each. I write things like, “What was a moment this year that made you laugh so hard you cried?” or “What’s one new thing you want to learn about in the new year?” We tape them around our kitchen entryway, popping one each hour and answering the question inside. It’s a fun way to reflect on the year and I love hearing what my kids’ answers are. We also prep our gratitude jar for the year ahead. It is just a big mason jar and a stack of post its and my whole family writes down little things we are grateful for throughout the year. We read them on NYE right before midnight and it is another fun way to reflect on the good things from the year that was.

As the dial winds down on another year it is all too easy to think of what you didn’t accomplish or the things you wished had happened. But maybe we can all take a moment on NYE to really think about the wins of the year - I did yoga with horses! I went skiing for the first time and I was bad at it but I did it! I co-founded this gorgeous Substack that brings me so much joy and hope! - and pat ourselves on the back that no matter how challenging, we took some time this year to do fun things, new things, and winning things.

What are you leaving behind as 2025 rolls in and how are you celebrating?

You know what we are not leaving behind? Y-o-u. Don’t leave us in 2024 either, please! Make sure you subscribe to keep the good times rolling and please consider sharing our work with others as we grow toward big goals in the new year and offer fresh content. We love you so much!