Optimizing the Year Ahead: Elevating Good Habits to Greatness
Welcome to the weekly post! Glad to See Ya!
Welcome to 2025!
As we kick off a new year, it's like opening up a blank page in a notebook full of possibilities and fresh starts. While a lot of people are looking to start new habits, I'm all about taking the good things I'm already doing and turning up the volume. This year, my word is "Optimize," which means I'm ready to elevate my good habits with some extra care and more discipline. However, it's impossible to ignore the challenges we've faced as we step into 2025. Here in my hometown of LA, we've grappled with devastating fires that tested our resilience and community spirit. I had to evacuate, and have several friends and coworkers who have lost their homes. On top of that, the recent election brought a whirlwind of emotions and changes that have left many of us seeking stability and unity. Despite these hurdles, I'm hopeful that we can transform adversity into opportunity and find ways to grow stronger together.
In this post, I’m sharing my plans to boost my physical, social, and mental well-being. I’m talking about small, intentional tweaks that can make a big difference, and I’m so pumped to see where this journey takes us. Let’s discover how a few focused changes can turn the ordinary into something amazing and make this year our best one yet!
Let’s Talk Goals + Intentions
Physical Well-being: A Journey of Holistic Health
This year, I am determined to instill discipline in my workouts—not just to enhance my physical strength, but to bolster my mental resilience as well. Years of intense training as a national volleyball player left me with a strained relationship with traditional gym routines. Compounded by knee, hip, and shoulder issues post-retirement, I've come to realize that those conventional fitness methods no longer suit me. Now, moving my body is about showing up for myself; it's no longer about counting reps or increasing weight. This marks a healthy shift from the days when being coached meant being reduced to mere statistics, driven to perform at any cost. With this new mindset, my workouts have become enjoyable and spontaneous. I can embrace low-impact, high-reward classes with like-minded people who understand that movement is meant to be holistic, not just physical.
I'm all about focusing on what truly matters this year, and that means starting from within. Prioritizing my gut health is at the top of my list in this new season because I know it's the secret sauce to boosting my overall well-being, energy, and mental clarity. I'm committing to nourishing my body with nutrient-rich foods while incorporating probiotics and plenty of fiber into my diet to maintain a healthy balance of gut flora. Regular exercise and stress management are also crucial components of my plan, as they contribute significantly to gut health. By taking these steps, I hope to experience an improved mood, better sleep, and a strengthened immune system, ultimately leading to a more vibrant and balanced life. I recognize that maintaining a healthy diet can be challenging, so I've written a blog post on mindful eating to offer some guidance. My journey this season is all about aligning my physical health with my mental and emotional well-being, creating a solid foundation for everything else to flourish.
Mental + Personal Development: Cultivating Joy and Growth
This year, I want to fill my life with more laughter and joy, soaking up those feel-good moments and embracing the messy, unpredictable beauty of life. I've noticed that I often get caught up in my serious and determined mindset, which makes me forget to simply be in the moment and practice mindfulness. That's something I want to change. Living fully every day is extremely important to me, so I'm committed to being more mindful, savoring the little things, and diving into experiences that enrich my life. To help me remember the joys throughout the year, I plan to implement a few mindfulness practices from my most recent blog post one of which is to start a "Memories & Mementos" journal.
I'm also enthusiastic about learning and personal growth—taking every opportunity to acquire new skills and expand my horizons. After graduating college, there often seems to be a gap in figuring out how to continue learning, and I'm eager to address that. I'm excited to explore a variety of niche topics, such as European architecture, untold stories of female leadership, and how regional cuisines shape cultural identities. I'm also interested in learning pottery and crochet, discovering how vinyl records are made and produced, and immersing myself in jazz to the point where I can identify artists by sound alone. These subjects intrigue me, areas not covered in my traditional education. I aspire to become a lifelong learner, continually expanding my horizons and understanding of the world. I firmly believe that "knowledge is power," and I want to be exceptionally brilliant. As I shift my focus from just "getting by" to truly optimizing my life, I'm excited to make choices that align with my values and dreams.
Additionally, I am eager to enhance my language skills by learning Spanish, a goal I've set for years but truly need to dive into this year. As an aspiring polyglot, I plan to learn four languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French. Perhaps I'll get to Balinese someday, as I hope to start a women’s digital nomad retreat in Bali, but for now, I am passionate about these four languages. If you have any app recommendations for studying, please let me know in the comments!
Spiritual Exploration: Nurturing the Mind and Soul
This year, I am eager to dive into scripting and visualization techniques, as I believe they can enrich various aspects of my life. For those unfamiliar, scripting is a journaling practice that encourages you to visualize your goals and manifest your desires by crafting detailed narratives of your future life as if it's happening right now. If you're interested in learning more about this practice, check out my recent blog post, "Crafting Your Future: A Guide to Scripting for Powerful Visualization and Manifestation."
Incorporating a daily pages journal into my routine will allow me to reflect and process my thoughts regularly, rather than only during massive emotional brain dumps. Additionally, I aim to nurture my spiritual and mental well-being through consistent meditation and scripture reading. There was a time when I was truly committed to meditating each morning or at night before bed, and I recognize the need to return to this fruitful habit. By re-establishing these practices, I hope to cultivate a deeper sense of peace and clarity in my life, along with the many other benefits of meditation. I've written about these in my previous blog post titled "Transform Your Mind Through Meditation."
Career and Finance: Crafting a Dynamic Future
On the career front, my goals are twofold: to secure a promotion at my current company or explore the possibility of a fulfilling remote part-time job alongside my current role. While this is somewhat a question mark, I'm always on the lookout for new creative pursuits. I'm also committed to blogging weekly and launching my own podcast, which will serve as a platform for my ideas and creativity. To broaden my skills and expertise, I plan to complete a masterclass or certification in fields such as social media marketing, maybe becoming a virtual assistant, definitely copywriting, and eventually venturing into web design. I have my eye on a copywriting course that I plan to start in the second quarter of the year.
Moreover, I intend to participate in more entrepreneur networking events to expand my professional circles and draw inspiration from like-minded individuals. With entrepreneurial goals in mind, my future doesn’t follow a cookie-cutter path. I have the opportunity to achieve my goals in a multitude of ways, which is both the beauty and the challenge of it.
On the finance side, I'm considering the potential need to purchase a new car. This feels like a foreshadowing moment, as my cherished ruby-colored 2012 vehicle, affectionately named Betty (after Betty Boop—a fun fact: the original Miss Boop, Esther Jones, was African American, amen!), is nearing the end of her journey. While the thought of a new car payment is daunting, I'm mentally preparing for the possibility and hoping for the best.
Relationships: Focusing on Self-Growth and Authentic Connections
In the realm of relationships, I’m going to be brutally honest—I couldn’t care less! But hear me out: this year, I'm choosing me. I have officially and gratefully decentralized romantic love in my life, and since freeing myself from that mindset, love has become even sweeter. With the healthiest mindset I’ve ever had, I can confidently say that I'm not aiming to find my person in 2025. Instead, I’m focusing on becoming the best version of myself this year. As a byproduct of showing up as the woman I’m meant to be, I will naturally attract all the love and energy that I need. My motto for the year is “Fill your own cup, let them fall in love with the overflow.”
I aim to connect with my creative friends at least once a month and stay in touch with my chosen family through weekly voice memos. Regularly calling a family member each week will help strengthen my family bonds, especially after experiencing the profound reminder of how precious life is through the difficult experience of loss this past year.
In a slightly corny but well-intentioned gesture, I plan to start writing letters to my future person, adding a personal and thoughtful touch to my relationship-building efforts. I want to write to them about the areas of growth I’m experiencing right now, before even meeting them. My hope is that whoever I end up with will know that I thought about them and prayed for them long before knowing who they were.
Let’s Wrap It Up!
As I embark on this journey of optimizing the year ahead, my focus is on elevating good habits to greatness across all areas of my life—physical well-being, mental and personal development, spiritual growth, career ambitions, and building authentic relationships. By prioritizing self-improvement and embracing life's unpredictability, I'm excited to transform my aspirations into tangible realities. I invite you to reflect on your own goals for the year and share them in the comments below. Let's inspire each other to reach new heights. For more lifestyle content and a glimpse into my ongoing journey, be sure to follow me on Instagram @syd.grayce. Here's to a year of growth, joy, and empowerment!
With love,
