Welcome to 2025! It’s the New Year. What have you done with your 8 days of NEW everything? If you’re like most of us, the truth is your life probably doesn’t look that drastically different than it did before the count down last week. Maybe you had a celebration of sorts to mark the occasion, I personally set my New Years intentions, did my vision board, and got together with my witchy sisters to ring in the new year. Confession time, I will take any excuse to celebrate and create intentions. I love envisioning the next year, and taking the time to craft what needs to be done in order to attain how I want things to look and feel.
With New Year’s in mind, I heard something from my pastor this week that rocked me in the best way. “The greatest enemy of great, is good”. This particularly resonated with me because if you knew me in college then you know that my mantra was “good enough”. Although I identify as a perfectionist, I also can get very overwhelmed on big projects, and then I come down with a case of the f*ck it’s before whatever project is over. Maybe you can relate? This quote left me wondering what parts of my life are “good enough” and are they holding me back from great?
Here’s some questions I’d like you to consider. What would it mean for you to have a great year? A great relationship with your body? A great diet? A great partnership with your husband? What would it feel like to be a great mom? A great friend? To be a great employee? Great business owner? And what areas of your life are good enough, that might be holding you back from great?
Personally, I am ready to say goodbye to good enough. And let’s be clear, I’m not looking for perfection either. I simply want to find the parts of my life where I have given myself permission to be good enough, when I have the bandwidth and skill to be great. I want to live a life that adds to my greatness, that brings great things to me. That inspires me to show up in great ways. To be great is to be balanced. Physically, Mentally, Spiritually, Emotionally financially. It is to take expert care of yourself, saying yes to the things that light you up while saying no thank you to the things that dim your shine. For me, in 2025 I am going to take a look at the areas below where I might have room for going from good to great.
TECH BOUNDARIES
When was the last time you lost yourself on social media or scrolling through news article? Or perhaps you watched so many Netflix shows that Netflix felt the need to ask you if you were still there and whether or not it should ask you again? Aka what kind of a binge are you planning? Have you ever wondered why these things seem to be designed to keep you online and addicted? WELL. News flash. They make their money by keeping you online. The more you use something the more value you assign it, the more you value it, the more money they make off of you. Netflix wants to keep you watching so you don’t get rid of your subscription. Instagram and other social platforms get more money for ads the more time we the consumers spend online. These apps and companies don’t want what’s best for us, they want to make more money off of us and they do that by keeping us engaged. Another thing to consider the news and posts gets more views and likes when they are saying something negative. Unfortunately bad news sells. I wonder why we have higher cases of depression and anxiety than ever before… Any guesses as to the cause?
So, instead of doom scrolling try going outside or doing a puzzle. Your mind if going to thank you. I’m focusing on less time scrolling, watching, and “online”.
Here’s a fun idea. When you get home from work, have a basket set up by your front door with your keys and phones. Upon entering the house put your phone in the basket. You can have it on ring so you hear it if anything important comes up, but this way you don’t get distracted by the meaningless notifications and can actually be present with your family.
EARLY MORNINGS
I am one of those people that thrives on going to bed between 8-9pm, so that I can wake up and be my best self starting at 5 am. Although not everyones natural rhythm is going to reflect what brings my heart joy, most people find that sleeping earlier (relative to your current schedule), and waking up earlier increases productivity, leads to less stressful morning routines, can lead to a higher likelihood of eating breakfast. For me, I like to get out of bed and do a quick workout. I own a business and have two kids. If I “leave it for later” My truth is there’s a 50% chance something more important will pop up and I will begin the negotiation. Not to mention working out in the morning is great for your circadian rhythm and hormonal health which lord knows I need all the support I can get. Wondering if you are secretly a morning person? Here’s my hot tip, train yourself to go to bed earlier and find out. Less screen time helps tremendously with bedtime etiquette.
GETTING OUTSIDE MORE
I know, I know, I live in California. This is much easier in some places than in others. But studies still show getting morning light within the first 20-30 min of waking up is exponentially better than staying inside or staring at a phone. But, even if we aren’t discussing early morning sunlight, how about a day trip? I am spoiled enough to live about 40 min from the coast, snd embarrassed to say I do not utilize it enough. When we do make our way to the caost, the most miraculous thing happens I watch my whole family including my littles regulate and calm their systems when we are by the water. My kids can screaming and laugh and run and I don’t have any “Not in the house” responses. My family walks away from the ocean in complete peace minus some freezing toes and sandy bums. Even if we can’t make it out to the coast we live by walking trails and beautiful nature all around us. Especially in the winter it is so easy to get holed up in your house and not notice. But in 2025 we are bundling up more and enjoying all of the benefits of this beautiful landscape we call home. Do you notice a difference in your family/kids before or after being outside?
EATING OUT LESS
Wah, wah, wah. I’m still a nutritionist ya’ll. And let me tell you, the easiest way to play russian roulette with your health and body is by NOT KNOWING what’s in your food. I love restaurants and I love eating out. But, it comes with a price. Restaurants are businesses and have to stay afloat (and if you’ve ever been around the industry then you know that’s a big challenge). But, unfortunately the easiest most painless way they can cut costs is by using ingredients that are cheaper aka have lower quality ingredients in their food. Even when you order a salad with chicken on it, you don’t know (unless you ask) if they added anything to help make their food stay good longer, if the chicken was free range or organic, what kind of oils are in the salad dressing, if the chicken was cooked in any oils. On occasion it’s ok, and even arguably healthy to throw care to the wind and eat what you want to. But here’s a great question, are 80% of your meals homemade with healthy ingredients that you know what is in them? Especially after the holidays it can be a great time to reel back in those eating out habits and focus on whole food home cooked meals to build back up your healthful habits. Another huge bonus is the amount of $ you will save by choosing to eat at home. Let your wallet, and your tummy thank you.
If you’ve read this far, thank you. I made a promise to myself to show up more authentically in 2025 on social media and part of that is being able to write my own blogposts and letting my voice be heard (so uncomfortable). Perhaps that’s a 5th and final area this year that I am attempting to take from good to great.
In finishing, I hope that you feel inspired to ask yourself. What parts of my life are good enough, and do I have the ability and energy to make them great?
Happy 2025,
Mari
