Closing off 2025

Recently, I came across some of my old journals where I had written down my goals for that year and I noticed that most of the things I had written down in one year were repeated in the next year's goals. That revealed the stagnation in my daily life. I repeatedly desired the same things year after year, but nothing materialised. I realised that something was wrong with my daily, weekly, monthly and yearly routines. I had to find new ways of actually working towards what I set out at the beginning of each year and start being productive. Otherwise, I will spend another year complaining about the same things and have nothing change. 

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This year, I utilised the following in the hope that it will help me to better setup my 2026, as well as accomplish, all that I desire to accomplish. 

Here are the 5 steps I took to better prepare myself for the year to come:

1. Seek God in what you want to accomplish.

I realised that I had taken decisions on my own and then, once the decisions were made, I took them up to God for approval. Whereas I needed to do the opposite. I needed to seek God first (Matthew 6:33) and have Him set out the vision for 2026 for me, then write it down and make it plain (Habakkuk 2:2). So, I took time to pray and asked God to give me my scripture for the year and to place His will in my heart, and I also asked Him to help me determine what to concentrate on in 2026. Also, I needed to ask Him to get involved in each goal as I want things that in my own power and intelligence, I will not be able to achieve in a short space of time. But, with God nothing is impossible. (Luke 1:37)

2. Things I am grateful for in 2025.

Most times, when we look back on the previous year, we can be overwhelmed by what we didn't accomplish or didn't receive that it overshadows what we did accomplish and receive. So, I intentionally looked at pictures, message and social media posts that could help me remember the good things that happened in 2025 and I wrote them down. I also included things that I enjoyed and that I want to do again in 2026, like monthly dates with friends and the times I spent in prayer, etc. Those reminders gave me hope that if I was able to show up for those in 2025, I will certainly be able, with a little more discipline, to show up for more in 2026.

3. Things I wish I did in 2025.

This list was not a regret list, but more of a "I can still do these things" list. God willing, 2026 will be another opportunity to accomplish them, if I still want to. While writing this list, I realised how many of these goals were limited by my mindset at the time. Therefore, in 2026, I will need to focus a lot more on my mindset and my thoughts in order to accomplish what I set out to accomplish. This list helped me identify the challenges, hurdles and hiccups that were along the way or that I created in my own mind and realise that I can and I will overcome them.

4. Things to accomplish in 2026.

Knowing what I wanted to accomplish in 2025, what I have accomplished in 2025, what I want to do more of and what stopped me from accomplishing my other goals, helped to start preparing my goals for 2026. I wrote down everything I wanted to achieve in life, without limitation. Every little thing that crossed my mind, I wrote down and I enjoyed how empowering it made me feel. From things I was afraid to even try, to things I thought I would be judged for even attempting, I wrote all of it down. The how, is up to God.

5. Set a date and time for each goal.

Finally, I had to now be realistic about what I could accomplish and when. So, I adopted the 12-week year strategy. I divided my year into quarters and wrote down the goals that I want to achieve within the first quarter of 2026 (January till March). I put a date next to each goal and also put them in my calendar as reminders. Now, I am working on the daily, weekly and monthly habits that I need to adopt in order to achieve the goals that I have set out for that period. At the end of the quarter, I will take time out and revisit my goals and see if my new system has worked or are there changes that need to be made before proceeding to the next quarter.

Finally, comes the fun part, creating my vision board. I still want the visual representation of what I want to achieve to stimulate my mind on a daily basis and keep my goals visually in from of me as motivation.

I hope this helps you on your journey to finding the best way for you to achieve the goals you've set out and make them a success.