Moodboards and checklists are not on the itinerary this year.
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2024 was a rough year for me, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Personally and professionally, the year felt like a challenge, more so than in past years, that tested my resolve and belief in my values. But I survived and made it, as did many of us who had a lukewarm year. So, with a new year upon us, you’d think that this would be the time to refresh, recharge, and restart with a new set of resolutions and goals to achieve for 2025. But this year, I choose to do something simpler, and arguably more radical: be just okay.
IT’S OK I’M OK
For time immemorial, New Year’s has often been associated with New Year’s resolutions. This is especially prevalent during the period after Christmas and before New Year’s, which is unofficially known as your planning stage to reinvent yourself and manifest all the Ws for yourself. Whether it be learning a new hobby, exercising more, building a new wardrobe, or what have you, resolutions come in a variety of forms. New year, new era, after all.
But it also needs to be said that New Year’s resolutions have also taken on a different meaning, one driven more by social media trends and social pressure to go one step above rather than coming from a genuine place of motivation. Wanting to improve and have a good life for yourself should not be driven by what you see on social media or what the new hotness is when it comes to curated social media personalities.
While there’s nothing wrong with working on those 2024 vision, mood, and manifestation boards, I’ve decided to put those down and instead focus on the simple goal of wanting to be okay. What exactly does that mean? It means many things to many people and to know what it means to be okay with yourself requires honest conversations grounded on genuineness and compassion. For me, my idea of being “just okay” is being content with myself and living in a constant state of chill.
This doesn’t mean I won’t welcome big moves or changes in my life or be aimless, but modern society, especially with the rise of doing things for the plot culture among Gen Z, has turned what should be a good thing on personal achievements into a pressure and drama filled journey to be the main character of your story. For social media algorithms, being “just okay” won’t cut it. You need to have ambition and go big and bold. But what’s wrong with wanting to be just okay?
THE GUY WHO IS GOING TO BE OKAY
We owe it to ourselves to give ourselves what we need regardless of what form it comes in. This 2025, there’s no need to write lists or make vision boards when I reorient my mind, goals, and priorities towards what makes me happy and content.
I came to this realization because frankly, having to think about the theme of every new season of my life is tiring, and can quickly delve into regurgitation of what the TikTok FYP is telling me. Why should I go through the struggle of making resolutions that I won’t follow anyways or break my brain on how to one-up myself when I can just focus on the simple things that have a profound impact on me?
2024 was a trip, so what I want for myself in 2025 is a level of content grounded in self-satisfaction. This year, there are no big moves or reinventions on the radar, but focusing on being okay with myself. As long as I feel good about myself, then I think I’m doing a good job.
Don’t let social media trends and the pressure to outdo one another as if life was a competition to remain relevant tell you otherwise—there’s nothing wrong with keeping your goals simple and there’s no need to be armed to the teeth with resolutions. You write your plot, after all, so why should there be an expectation that the story should have high-stakes and reckless drama that does no good to your body and spirit?
New Year’s often means a new set of resolutions. But it needs to be said that there can be a lot of pressure associated with it to the point where it doesn’t feel authentic anymore. Being the best doesn’t always have to be the goal every year, you can keep it simple by focusing on what matters. Ultimately, it’s you who will guide you to what makes you feel okay, and changing the mindset to what’s geared and driven towards a genuine place from your heart can do you wonders. So, it’s okay if you just want to be okay this year, because we know we all deserve it.
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