As I sit down to reflect on the past year, I’m always amazed at how fast time goes.
Even being intentional in the daily to-dos, time still does the proverbial ‘fly.’
I started the year strong, as many of us do. But once the allure of joining a January kick-off group stalled out, so did my motivation. I know the irony. I’m a coach. I know the tools and resources to use to combat certain stall techniques. But when it comes to myself, it’s different. That’s the only reasoning I can come up with.
By midyear, I still wasn’t hitting my stride the way I thought I should. There I go, should-ing all over myself. I blamed it on summer holidays and the new distraction called sunshine and nice weather. The thing is, as the months flew by, I didn’t feel like I had gotten any further. I hadn’t really accomplished much. So, in June, I made a promise to myself: change one thing in my day. Something that would ripple down.
Sometime in March, I had paused my daily exercise. I had some health issues (you can read about those here), and I used them as an excuse. So by June, I was feeling better, so I signed up for a workout app, Momentum by Soheefit. That really launched me back into daily exercise. My “daily” is five days a week, minimum. I’m not a weekend warrior. Weekends are for resetting the house, preparing for the week ahead, sports, and boondock camping. But, Monday morning, I’m back in the gym.
It’s worth mentioning that we have a home gym. It’s in our garage, which means one of our vehicles now sits outside. In Calgary, Canada winters. It wasn’t a simple decision, and it’s still not ideal on -30 days or when there’s a foot of snow overnight.
But once we removed the friction of driving to a gym 15 minutes away, everything changed. Now, our “rocky” home gym (as I affectionately call it) has four members—our whole family. And they’ve got a good thing going.
By December, I started seeing results, not just physically but in my daily to-dos. I got more creative in the kitchen, made sure we never ran out of greens, changed my night time routine to get to bed earlier and even cut back on coffee. These small changes took six months for me to really implement.
When I reflected on what had changed, it wasn’t just about food or coffee. I had started prioritizing taking care of myself. That shift felt monumental. I wasn’t proud of how I had been treating myself in the past, but as these 6 months came and went and I began showing up for myself. With little to no reward, I found a new best friend in me.
I don’t even know if I can explain how or why I feel differently this year. Maybe it’s that half-century around the sun.
What I do know is that I’m carrying one word and one phrase into 2025, and they’ll likely become my mantra much longer:
Release. My word. Use it as you will.
Love self above all else. My phrase. It’s harder to say out loud, but I encourage you to embrace its principles.
That’s when I created my daily self-love framework. It’s not a list of to-dos or a source of overwhelm. It’s simple, a daily yes or a no to 7 different “plates” of life. Did I put something on that plate? Yes or no.
It’s how I show myself compassion and love. Connection, curiosity, currency, meditation, exercise, fuel, and sleep—each one gives me a chance to feel accomplished, organized, and appreciated. You can download your copy here. Use your own questions or follow mine for 99 days. No hard rules; this is about what works for you.
This isn’t about perfection; it’s about showing up for myself, even when life gets busy, challenging, easy, hard, you name it.
My motto for this year is clear: love self above all else. And don’t go thinking that this is selfish; it’s not, it’s essential. And now, as I head into this new year, I’m carrying this framework with me, ready to stay consistent and build the healthiest, happiest version of me.
I’m excited for what’s ahead. Happy 2025.