Attitudes & Affirmations for 2025
Thoughts on slowing down, being well, and staying present.
I spent New Year's Eve watching Andy and Anderson live at the ball drop from the comfort of my couch recovering from my very first root canal. To my relief, I did not resemble Alfalfa from The Little Rascals and was relatively pain-free– but I was still craving rest.
The holiday season is always a doozy for me. I get swept up in the rush to get presents for loved ones, preparing special meals and signature drinks, and the added crunch to wrap up work-related tasks before some much-needed time off. The haste and pace make it hard to be present and still when there’s so much happening.
By January 1st, I’m craving routine and eager to find some ease again. While resolutions are not really my thing, I do like to take time to intentionally reflect on ways I want to spend my time this year and what I want to feel like. Oftentimes it feels like resolutions are ways to reinvent ourselves entirely, when really I just want to be more me. Instead of shapeshifting into someone I’m not, I want to embrace who I am and do so with kindness. With the help of some adorable and awe-inspring Instagram posts, I found just the words for the ways in which I wish to spend 2025.
So, without further ado, here are my affirmations and attitudes for 2025 ✨
Attitude: Slowing Down (for real)
When I was in college I interned at a retreat center for women with cancer, called Mary’s Place by the Sea, and spent a whole summer immersed in this very special space of healing. I have so many fond memories of my time there and learned many lessons. One of which happened when I was invited to sit in on some of the support group chats held by the social worker at the time. I remember she started a session with a guided meditation and read a passage that said something akin to, “Your to-do list will never be done, so give yourself permission to stop worrying about it.” She gave examples of how the laundry will continue to pile up daily, and how inevitable it is to need to run errands, do dishes, or get back to that friend you’ve been meaning to. Some of these are unavoidable, but we don’t need to be consumed by the thought of them every waking moment of our lives.
Slowing down and not obsessing over our mental or literal to-do lists allows us to be more present. This presence calms down our nervous system and gives us space to experience pleasant emotions instead of rushing from one thing to the next. We can’t do it all, all the time, and that’s OK. Embracing a slower pace is just what the health and wellness coach ordered, or whatever that saying is.
Attitude: Health is Wealth
This month marks eleven years since I completed treatment for leukemia, and the 'health is wealth' mentality continues to hold its weight. With every passing year, I have immense gratitude for my health and remission status and know that while I don’t have control over everything, taking steps to maintain and improve my health is worthwhile. This year, health looks like digging deeper to find tools and practices that consistently nourish my mind and body. Lately, that’s been using my red light therapy device (obsessed!) and squeezing in 30 minutes of morning yoga in my PJs. It’s also getting in daily walks with Ruby– even when the cold, whipping wind burns my face– and making warming, veggie-filled soups to recover from the arctic temps. I’ve also made more of an effort to avoid alcohol, instead prioritizing fun mocktails (at a girls lunch recently, I ordered a mocktail and all the girls agreed mine was better than their cocktails!!). Finally, it’s remembering that the shelf of supplements in my kitchen is not for aesthetic purposes and I actually would benefit from taking those daily (not only when I remember).
Health looks a lot less prescriptive this year. I’m leaning into my intuition more, trying to listen to my body’s needs rather than the “shoulds” that creep into my thoughts. Tending health and well-being takes effort and energy, it’s a pursuit for longevity and joy, not perfection.
Affirmation: “Beautiful People Do Not Just Happen”
I stumbled upon this Elisabeth Kubler-Ross quote and tears immediately filled my eyes. I could not love it more. Some of the dearest people in my life can be described in this way, and honestly, I hope that others would describe me this way too.
I recently spoke with one of these lovely friends and we both shared how connection is so hard to find these days. It’s easy to show up on a surface level and get caught up in talking about your latest Amazon purchases, binge-watches, or let’s be real, complaining about the day-to-day inconveniences we all experience. It’s harder to be vulnerable, meet others with authentic emotion, and connect over these messy parts of our humanity. But when we do, it’s always worth it. I’m committing to making more of an effort this year to usher in connections, mindfully sharing my experiences with others, and discovering how many beautiful people are around me (like, my dear readers).
Attitude: Sleep > Everything
Quality sleep can make or break my day. When I visited Italy last year, my friends were genuinely concerned that my sleep schedule would be an issue with our travel plans– luckily for them, we had so many activities planned that I barely slept! I genuinely feel so much better mentally when I get good quality sleep (at least 8 hours) and notice that my mood suffers when I sleep less. Prioritizing even longer sleep durations is especially important for me during these cold months meant for retreat and hibernation. Of course, I’m willing to sacrifice my precious eight (plus) hours for an occasional evening of fun and socialization. Still, there’s no reason for me to be up until 11 pm on a weeknight doomscrolling. It is simply not worth it! So, I’m committing myself to a 10 pm bedtime for the foreseeable future.
I am an Oura ring person (2.5 years strong!), so I take my sleep scores very seriously. Last night, I got a whopping 8 hours and 53 minutes of slumber, which put my sleep score at 92 (!!). While I am not pro-obsessing-over-wearable data, I do find this marker to be enough positive reinforcement to keep me sticking with my bedtime routine.
Affirmation: Anxiety and Uncertainty are OK
Anxiety is my default mode and it’s taken many years of fine-tuning through therapy, mindfulness, and biofeedback to not be consumed by it. Most of the time, I can move through my days with ease, allowing anxiety exist in the background. That doesn’t mean I have zero anxiety (who does?!) but it’s gotten much more manageable now that I can use methods like cognitive diffusion and reframing practices to challenge my anxious, often catastrophic, thoughts. Plus, exercise, sleep, and nourishing my body do wonders for my anxious brain. Still, I have my moments of “freaking out” which usually consist of non-stop rumination and some degree of panic which are typically triggered by some degree of uncertainty about the future. In these moments of heightened anxiety, I struggle with realizing that everything is going to be okay. Uncertainty is hard. Allowing it to be hard—without being hard on myself—is the level of acceptance I’m working toward.
Those are my attitudes and affirmations for 2025. I would love to hear from you, my beautiful readers, what are yours? Share them in the comments and let’s generate more conversations over on this small corner of the internet.
xoxo
Nicole