The Year to Break Barriers
Tiny Actions, Big Changes: Make 2025 Your Year of Growth
The New Year is just around the corner. We are looking forward to having a blast. We want to squeeze in a bit more in the last few days. Some of us would have taken off from work as leaves expire as the year ends.
Whatever the reason, the objective is common – to have a good time.
After slogging and working hard, everyone deserves a break. Some downtime to relax, to put our feet up (and bask in the winter sun, if we have the privilege), or to let our hair down. But remember, after January 10, when the euphoria of the New Year will have died down, we will find ourselves doing the same things, thinking the same way, doing the same work, and probably questioning the monotony of life.
Today, I woke up (from the same side of the bed as I have been doing—for years), went to the washroom, brushed my teeth, took a shower, got ready, ate, and took the same route (with the same thoughts) to work that I have been taking for years. Once in the office, I opened my laptop, put my neck in deep work (that I have been doing—for years), took a coffee break, and gossiped with colleagues. In the evening, I will head back home, following the same route, listening to the same radio channel (and probably with the same thoughts). Once at home, I will relax, eat, plonk myself on the sofa, binge-watch Netflix, and will go to bed.
Only to wake up the next morning to follow the same routine—again.
Nothing changes unless we consciously want to change and ACT.
Ask yourself:
What’s that I want to change in the New Year?
How 2025 could be better (or different) than 2024?
But before, go back in time to the last week of December 2023 and retrace your thoughts, if you can.
What were your plans for 2024 and how did you fare?
Are there any learnings that can help you plan better in 2025?
If you want to make 2025 a year when you broke shackles and got over your self-limiting beliefs, here’s what you can try:
Identify three fetters that you want to break
Write down, why you think they are stopping you from growing
Write down what will change once you have broken those barriers
Figure out how you will measure that you have broken those shackles
Celebrate your progress—no matter how tiny it seems. Each step forward is a victory
Now, make weekly, monthly, and quarterly plans to overcome those hurdles. The most important part is to pre-define what would success mean at the end of each quarter and eventually at the end of the year.
Here’s a story I read recently:
I visited Matthew, the owner of Lucy’s Flour Shop a little while back. As I nibbled on an enormous chocolate chip cookie I began to tell him a story.
A few years back on a bitterly cold December evening, there was a visitation at the funeral home across the street from his bakery.
The people, bundled up in coats, scarves, and blankets were lined up around the building waiting to hug the family of the deceased.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a man showed up and began giving away hot coffee to the people outside. People who entered the funeral home with coffee in their hands whispered of a mysterious man handing out free coffee, and how much they appreciated it.
I looked at Matthew and said, “I have a suspicion that you were that man. Is that right?”
Matthew very humbly replied, “Yes, I felt so bad for them and wanted to do something, but all I could do was make coffee, so I made coffee.”
I responded that he blessed so many people that night by helping them warm up and by showing there’s good in the world. He added a positive note to a devastating situation.
I paused, then added, “That visitation was for my sixteen-year-old son. Thank you for being so kind.”
That conversation has stuck in my head since then:
“All I could do was make coffee, so I made coffee.”
Sometimes we feel so helpless that everything seems beyond our control. In times like these, the story reminds us to do whatever little we can, even if it is making a coffee.
Let’s do our bit. No matter how tiny progress looks, let’s keep moving.
Progress isn’t about giant leaps; it’s about consistent steps.
Share one shackle you plan to break this year—let’s inspire and grow together!
Quote of the Week
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Rumi
Thank you for reading. If you found this valuable, please like and share. See you next Friday!
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Past Editions
20 Dec. | Break Free: Stop Letting Distractions Steal Your Life
13 Dec. | Don’t Die Before Your Death
06 Dec. | Lessons on Starting a New Habit/Task