As we approach the doorstep of 2025, we pause to reflect on 2024 and prepare for the new year. We decide if this is a new chapter, if we continue to live as we have in the past, or if we write a new chapter for our story. We have the opportunity to design the life we want. You have to see it, know what you want, and have a plan to reach those hopes, plans, and dreams. Visualize who you want to be tomorrow, what life you aspire to, what relationships to nurture, and what life goals you desire. What are your big dreams?
I refer to writing your legacy as a tool to visualize what it takes to transcend time and continue influencing and inspiring long after one’s lifetime. Our legacy reflects who we are, what we stand for, and what we contribute to the world. This legacy may only be in your circle of family and friends or through your job or passions. It may be your imprint on a grandchild who grows up to be an influential leader.
The power of legacy encourages us to live with purpose, intention, and a deep sense of responsibility toward ourselves and others. I encourage you to expand your thinking past 2025 to a life plan; what do you want to do with your life? What do you want to leave behind? To achieve this, we must set meaningful goals.
“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.”
– Nido Qubein
Establishing goals as the new year approaches is a way to ground our focus and provide direction. It entails being intentional in our choices. Whether setting goals for 2025 or visualizing beyond, knowing who you are now and who you want to be is crucial. Establishing goals is our roadmap to success.
In your overall plan, your well-being is the foundation that affects every aspect of your life, from mental and physical health to your social engagements. Self-care should be one of your goals as you dream big. Healthy, happy people are more productive.
Life is a journey; understanding who we are and what we believe, and value is vital to success. We live our lives in the here and now. However, we should reflect on our life experiences, achievements, and lessons learned along the journey.
To truly establish goals, you must find your true north. What is your direction in 2025? What is your purpose? If you don’t visualize where you are going, how will you know when you reached your destination? Then, you need to take inventory of where you stand today by mapping your present. You can discover what matters for your mind, body, and soul through an inventory or self-assessment. What do you want to do with your life, where you are today, what building blocks have you assembled, knowledge, skills, abilities, passions – who are you today? Who do you want to be tomorrow? Align your core beliefs and values with your goals.
We want to establish meaningful goals for 2025 and beyond. We should establish goals based on what truly matters. Play and fun have their place in life, but what do you really want to do with your life? What is your big dream, even if you are currently in a skilled profession? What comes next?
Self-Authorship
You are the author of your life, and if you decide to take responsibility for your story, put it on paper. Write the story you want to live so that you have a roadmap. It will have detours and roadblocks, but you can get around them with resolve. Be the author of who you want to be. To find your true north, you must find your true self. It is a journey, sometimes a long journey. We are all a work in progress. Becoming the author of your life means directing the journey, being intentional, and being fully aware of how you live your life. Authenticity and self-actualization are gained on the road to reaching your highest self and potential.
Authenticity and self-actualization
Authenticity means being true to yourself, including your core values, beliefs, and feelings. It means expressing and presenting yourself without pretense or conforming to others’ expectations. Achieving authenticity requires deep self-awareness and acceptance, acting in alignment with your genuine self.
According to Abraham Maslow, self-actualization is realizing and fulfilling one’s potential. It is connected to personal growth, creativity, and seeking meaningful goals. To reach self-actualization, one must live authentically. It is the opposite of conforming; it means making choices that reflect one’s true self and core values. This is not easy in a world that expects high conformity.
Authenticity and self-actualization are vital to setting goals for personal growth. You must first know your destination. Finding your true self leads to holistic well-being and life satisfaction as your goals and decisions follow your path and not those set by others.
Authenticity and Self-Authorship
In seeking self-actualization and authenticity, my path is following my passions. At the end of the day, what do I feel is most important in life? I am passionate about justice, inclusion, diversity, and equality. These values are embedded in my value system.
As for my other passions, I have always been a person with lots of hobbies and interests. Among my passions are art, music, dance, reading, writing, horticulture, a love of animals, and being outside. Finding my authentic self has been rewarding, and I have not fully reached my highest potential. However, I am the author of my journey.
Self-authorship is taking control of your life based on your values and beliefs, even if it steps out of line with expectations and validations from family, community, or societal expectations.
Disrupt Your Own Narrative, by Michael Gervais
Here are some past essays that will help you wrap up your New Year Resolutions for 2025 and beyond:
Take Responsibility for the Quality of Your Life
Transforming Purpose into Meaningful Action
Dream, Plan, Achieve: My Blueprint for a Successful New Year
The Writer’s Roadmap: Setting Clear Goals for Your Creative Journey
Rewrite Your Story. Embracing the Blank Page of Possibility!
The Perfect Day – Life on Your Own Terms
A Perfect Day – Becoming the Best Version of Yourself
Conclusion
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Finding your authentic self provides the clarity and focus needed for writing your story and being the author of your life. Living true to yourself requires reinforcing living authentically and consistently aligning your actions with your values and vision. Do not let others hold the script of your life; in writing your story, have your own pen.
Intentional living is a lifestyle philosophy that encourages conscious choices and decisions aligned with our values, beliefs, and goals. It involves being purposeful and deliberate about how we spend our time, energy, and resources rather than simply going through the motions of daily life.
In setting goals today, how do you want your legacy to read? What impact did you have on the world, leaving wisdom, community contributions, leadership, or activism? Were you a steward of animals or the environment? Did you lead a life that presented a role model to those around you? Did you live your life authentically?
We have the power to create our narratives and make choices that define the life we live. Start writing your legacy today by setting goals for 2025 and beyond.
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”
– Michael Jordan
Citations
Photo by Sunguk Kim on Unsplash
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash