What to Leave Behind & What to Carry Forward

Before you get busy decorating your Christmas tree, planning your New Year resolutions, picking outfits for Christmas parties, and telling yourself that this year will definitely be different, I want you to just pause for a moment because before 2026 begins, there is a year that deserves to be acknowledged. 2025!

So before the music gets louder and the calendar turns, close your eyes for a moment and think of everything that happened in 2025. The early excitement of the year, the resolutions you stayed consistent with, the ones you missed halfway through, the sorrows that shaped you, the happy tears that came when you least expected them, the laughter, the celebrations, the surprises, the trips, the wins, and every moment that still crosses your mind as you read this. Before we step into some real talk for the coming year, pause for two minutes and go back to each moment that surfaced while reading this, starting from January 2025. Close your eyes and let the year replay. Your two minutes start now!

Eyes opened? Some moments made you smile. Some sat heavy, the kind you don’t want to visit again. And some made you wish, just for a second, that you could step back into that chapter and live it all over again. And now, you are turning the final page of a journal you have been writing all year. Ink is dry, memories are sealed.

And right here, before you begin writing a new journal, you get to choose how you move forward. This year, let’s not make it about dramatic resolutions, but about something more important. Let’s take a moment to reflect and decide what you are ready to leave behind in 2025 (the things that that no longer serve you), and what truly deserves a place in your 2026 (the things that work in your favour almost like a magic).

What to Leave Behind in 2025

The pressure to have it all figured out

Leave behind the constant pressure to know exactly where you are headed, to have a five-year plan, or to feel confident all the time. 2025 may have shown you that life does not move in straight lines, and that clarity often comes after confusion. You are allowed to be in between. You are allowed to still be figuring things out. Not knowing everything yet does not mean you are behind, it means you are human!

Half-hearted resolutions and guilt around them

In 2025, some resolutions stayed with you, some disappeared by February, and some never really felt like yours to begin with. Leave behind the guilt of not being “consistent enough”. Discipline matters, but so does compassion. Growth is not cancelled just because you paused, changed direction, or needed rest. What matters is what you learned about yourself along the way.

Carrying emotional weight that no longer serves you

There may be conversations you replay, situations you wish had gone differently, or feelings that still feel heavy. Leave behind the habit of reopening wounds that have already taught you what they needed to teach. Healing does not always mean closure, sometimes it simply means choosing peace over revisiting pain again and again.

Shrinking yourself to keep things comfortable

If you spent parts of 2025 making yourself smaller to avoid conflict, to be liked, or to keep the peace, this is where you let that go. You do not need to dim your opinions, your ambition, or your presence to belong. The right spaces will not require you to shrink. Leave behind the idea that being less will make life easier.

Constant comparison disguised as motivation

Scrolling, comparing, and questioning your own progress became far too normal this year. Leave behind the belief that someone else’s success takes away from yours. Your life is unfolding at its own pace, in its own way. Comparison steals joy, focus, and self-trust, and you deserve better than that.

Living on autopilot

Days moving fast, weeks blending into each other, moments passing without being felt. Leave behind the habit of rushing through life without intention. You do not need to optimise every second, but you do deserve to be present in your own life. Awareness is where change begins.

What to Take Forward into 2026

What you read further is not about adding more habits or goals to your plate. It is about taking an honest look at what is already there and recognising what truly works in your favour, almost like magic, so you can prioritise it with intention in 2026!

Your voice, even when it feels uncomfortable

Carry forward the courage to speak, even when your voice shakes or your thoughts feel unfinished. Whether it is in meetings, family gatherings, or casual catch-ups with friends, your voice matters and deserves to be heard. You do not need to sound perfect to be listened to. You only need to respect yourself enough to give your thoughts a place in the world. Each time you express your needs, your ideas, or your boundaries, you strengthen self-trust, and self-trust, once built, becomes the strongest foundation you can stand on.

Boundaries that protect your peace

In 2026, let your boundaries be firm and unapologetic. Saying no does not make you difficult, it makes you honest. Protecting your energy is not selfish, it is necessary. Carry forward the ability to step back from conversations, commitments, and environments that drain you. When your peace is protected, everything else, be it your work, your relationships, and your mental clarity, functions better.

Financial awareness and independence

Take forward a conscious relationship with money, whether that means saving consistently, budgeting realistically, negotiating your worth at work, or simply knowing where your money goes each month. Financial clarity gives you control, stability, and confidence, and when you feel secure, you make decisions with far more courage and clarity.

Self-care that supports you, not drains you

Carry forward self-care that feels like coming home. Movement that respects your body. Rituals that steady you. It lives in the things that soften you, lift you, and remind you of your worth. When you care for yourself, you meet life with more strength and grace.

Sisterhood and being a girls’ girl

Take forward relationships that feel safe, encouraging, and supportive. Be the friend who celebrates wins without comparison and shows up without competition. Sisterhood creates strength. When women support women, courage multiplies, confidence grows, and life feels lighter and less lonely.

A growth mindset over perfection

Carry forward the belief that progress matters more than perfection. You do not need to wait until everything feels right. Try, learn, adjust, and move forward. Mistakes are not failures, they are feedback. Growth begins the moment you stop performing for approval and start evolving for yourself.

Closing Thought

As the year turns and the world lights up, carry this clarity with you. 2026 is not about louder resolutions or becoming someone else, it is about choosing yourself with intention and joy. Keep what makes you feel alive, release what no longer serves you, and step forward with excitement and confidence. Happy New Year, let go, level up, and make 2026 beautifully yours!