3 words for 2025

Most years, instead of taking a resolution or setting specific goal(s), I choose three words that will serve as guides for the next 365 days. I found that it's the perfect way for me to continue moving in a direction that I want, which is somewhat successful, without putting too much pressure on overly optimistic goals that end up depressing me. Going in the right direction slowly is better than staying still or crashing and burning.

I need to warn you. Some of you may find the next paragraph of this article defeatist or even depressing, but I assure you that it's imprinted on realism and that it was written with a big ole's smile on my face. I decided to take on some parts of my life that I didn't control until now with this year's words.

Now that probably more than half my life is behind me, it's more than time for me to be more serious about some aspects of my life. I'm 42. I'm still young! But am I, really? My body definitely says I'm not, but joke aside, the average life expectancy for men is 79.49 years in Canada, which means that, based on this number, I've lived 50 percent of this live right before I hit my 40s. Obviously, it's based on a scenario where nothing else happens to me until my 70s, and I feel I may be in the low quadrant of the average if I take into consideration the lifestyle I have had so far (bad eating habits and nearly no exercise).

Budgeting

I've never been good at managing my money. I always paid my bills, but always spent more than I made and never really thought about the future. I always had a budget, but never really took it seriously, which is something I intend to start now. This word is also more than simply budgeting; it's also about understanding where my money goes, paying off my credit card, setting more money aside for rainy days, and finally, putting money aside so I can retire sooner than later. It's a guiding word that, hopefully, will help me reach financial freedom at some point.

Cooking

Part of why I'm overweight is mostly because I don't cook: I eat restaurant food a lot (in or takeout). Obviously, exercising more would be a plus, not just for dropping pounds, but to be healthier overall (i.e., sleep apnea, high blood pressure...), but the first step for me is to learn to have a better relationship with food. I saw it during Covid. I wasn't even eating well, but I didn't eat any takeout whatsoever in nearly a year, and I lost 50 pounds while moving even less than before, as I was stuck at home. This guiding word isn't even about becoming a chef, or working on complicated recipes; it's mostly about eating at home more often, even if it means some frozen food, or grilled cheeses. I've never liked to cook much, and most of the time, I feel like I'm too tired, and that it's more of a burden than anything else. So now, I need to realize that cooking is something that is necessary to have a healthier life, whether I like it or not. It also doesn’t mean that I won't eat at restaurants anymore, or won't get takeout. I always find that gradually improving myself was way better than going all-in for a month, and crashing down because it was unsustainable: been there, done that.

Reading

Every day, I read comics or mangas before going to bed. It's the perfect way I found to disconnect from the worries of the day, and prepare myself to sleep while doing something that doesn't require much brain power. With that said (or written), I want to read more non-fiction books: in my case, Buddhist books. I went crazy last year, and built myself a pretty amazing Buddhist library, and I want to read those. Part of it is to deepen my comprehension of the Dharma (Buddha's teachings) for myself, but also for others, as I'm now teaching meditation, and will teach Buddhist philosophy by the end of this year. Part of it is because I feel like I watch way too much television, and reading seems to be a great alternative. The goal isn't to stop watching TV, but to minimize the number of hours in front of the screen.

When thinking about those, I always have a list of all the words I previously choose, trying not to use one more than once. Still, I can see a clear pattern since I started doing that or even when I was setting specific new year goals: they are often about food, exercising, finance and learning. Some years I improved myself, others I don't (still do, just not on the things I may have wanted initially), and it's totally fine! In the end, those words are just guides, and this article is a simple way for me to define them in a suitable manner, while making me a bit accountable for what I wanted for 2025.

Photo by Toni Cuenca