What I'm Leaving Behind in 2025

I’ve been reflecting a lot over the last couple of weeks on 2025. It was an amazing year in so many ways.

I turned 50 and celebrated in really beautiful ways with family and friends. My husband and I continued with marriage counselling, and it’s helped us grow even closer than we already were. I’ve also been learning how to step back a little more as a mum - not too much, but enough to give my kids the independence they want and need. This one is still very much a work in progress but I am loving watching them grow into young men. 

At the beginning of 2025, with my business I promised myself I was going to “get in the room.” I wanted to make new connections with other female entrepreneurs and stop playing small. I joined four different groups focused on women in business, including a mastermind where I’m learning how to become a more confident, magical speaker and share my story. I committed to putting myself out there more on social media, learning how to make reels, and becoming more visible - even when it felt really uncomfortable.

I also stayed committed to my own personal growth. I showed up for my morning practice consistently, and that alone has been a complete game changer for me and have really been leaning in on listening and trusting my intuition.

As I move into 2026, yes, there are things I want to achieve. I have goals, especially when it comes to my business. But lately, I’ve been sitting with a different question:

What am I ready to stop carrying?

For so many years, I thought growth meant adding more - more effort, more responsibility, more pressure to “do it right.” But when I reflect honestly on the last few years, I can see that much of what has shaped my life hasn’t come from what I started doing. It’s come from what I finally let go of.

So instead of sharing a list of goals, I want to share what I’m leaving behind.

1. The belief that pushing through is strength

What I’ve learned on my journey is that strength doesn’t always look like striving or hustling. For me, it’s shown up as slowing down, listening, resting more, and asking for what I need. I used to ignore the quiet signals my body sent like the whispers to slow down, but now I know they deserve to be heard and trusted.

2. Treating everything like it’s urgent

My phone would ping with a text, email, or Instagram message, and I would drop everything to respond immediately. I know now that not every incoming message needs an instant reply. Not every decision has to be made right away. And most importantly, not everything deserves my energy. I’m choosing presence instead, and responding when I’m ready.

3. Measuring my worth by how much I can hold

I’m done believing that being capable means overloading myself. I don’t need to prove my value by being everything to everyone. I’m allowed to be supported. I’m allowed to rest. I’m allowed to take up space without earning it.

4. Measuring my worth by how much I achieve

Productivity is not a measure of my value, and success doesn’t have to come at the cost of my wellbeing. I get to choose what success looks and feels like for me. It doesn’t have to be based on the number of likes or the amount of money I make, even if that’s how others measure it.

5. Not believing in myself.

Whether it’s questioning if I belong in certain rooms or doubting that I have something worth saying, I’m done with that story. I deserve to be in the spaces I’m drawn to and to be putting myself out into this world, just as much as anyone else.

What I’m carrying forward instead is more listening, more honesty, and more trust. I’m choosing to live in a way that feels sustainable, gentle, and connected - not impressive, busy, or false.

If you’re reflecting too, maybe ask yourself: What are you ready to stop carrying this year?

You don’t have to let it all go at once. Even one thing is enough to begin.

Mel x