THE “YEAR OF CLEAR”
2025

As we’re stepping into this new year, let’s not kid ourselves and make a list of resolutions we know we’re going to abandon by the end of the month but instead shift to a new mindset…making some small commitments to ourselves that will lift us up both personally and professionally.

I’ve decided 2025 will be my “Year to Clear” and what I mean by that is clearing out things that have either caused me to be weighed down or have stalled me from achieving something or has resulted in a level of self-induced anxiety impacting my ability to find as much joy as I should. We all have some level of this, right? We put pressure on ourselves either to be progressing in our jobs on the timing we want, trying to look a certain way as society seems to demand, projecting confidence when we’re not, hiding our insecurities, or trying to project perfection when there is truly no such thing.

With so much happening in the world, I think we should “clear our way” from things that don’t add value and induce stress in our lives. Let’s give ourselves freedom to be who we are by clearing our path of the past….and embrace newfound freedom to being OK and embracing life including our careers or jobs with gratitude! Trying not to sound like a psychologist but you know…it’s part of what we do!

Nothing wrong with being ambitious and competing but many times it wears us down from truly finding joy in what we do, acknowledging what our accomplishments are and enjoying the experiences of our journey! Too often, especially in the corporate world, we see professionals not even celebrating or feeling blessed for where they are but always focused on “what’s next” ….”I need more”. Again, nothing at all wrong with being ambitious but we need to be focused on what we’ve done and where we are now and acknowledge ourselves for the hard work it took to get there. Experience “NOW”….be grateful. I saw a posting recently that said, “The job you’re currently in – even during challenging days – is the dream of the unemployed”. We should take some time to reflect on that and “clear our minds” of the negative aspects and consider how blessed we are! Celebrate now!!

We should “clear our minds of negative thoughts” that keep us from reaching our potential. I’ve been so guilty of this – especially early in my career. I think we all experience weak moments where we lose sight of what we truly are capable of…and how much value we add to our career and relationships. Self- doubt….it’s a dream killer!

From the career aspect, we compare ourselves with others far too often. “So and so has an ivy league academic background….so and so is much more dynamic or smarter than I am”, etc. etc.

Clearing our mind of such thoughts isn’t easy to do and to be fair…. we see some others that come off as so confident it’s hard to imagine them having self-doubt and, frankly, their arrogance is off-putting, so we tell ourselves …. “I don’t want to be like that”. Let’s face it…. we all know people who are scarily confident and lack self-awareness and the ability to see what others around them see.

Sometimes that works for people. We all know individuals who “put out to the world” how great they are even though we saw through them…. but they found advocates who pulled them up through the system until they eventually hit the wall.

Believing in yourself and not letting the words or actions of others clutter our path to achieving our goals or finding joy in where we are is an objective we should all have!

I’m, personally and professionally, putting the word “Clear” as a priority this year. I’ve already started. On a personal front…I’m clearing out clutter whether it means the stupid junk drawer (or drawers) that’s overflowing with rubber bands, old batteries that I forgot to dispose of, matchbooks from weddings of people who have just celebrated their 10-year anniversary (or no longer married!), birthday candles used briefly that I hated to throw out, etc. etc. And in the office…. will I really need files of people I interviewed 15 years ago when they’ve had two jobs since then and very little is the same? Do I need to hold on the invoices that were paid years ago…you know….” just in case” or photos that I can scan, and no one will ever be interested in long after I’m sitting on a beach somewhere? Things no one else will see of value??

I’m clearing out old tapes of situations or experiences with others – both personally and professionally…. that have cluttered up my mind and used up valuable thought energy…. for far too long. Easier said than done…. of course…. but it’s a priority in this New Year. Not a resolution, per se’ but I’m “manifesting” things this year! Quite frankly, “overthinking” is something many of us deal with…and in my case…. it’s often 3:00 a.m. LOL! Something someone said…. thinking about how I responded…. the way someone treated me and my response or maybe my lack of a respectful response out of fear I might offend them. Not standing up for myself. Second guessing myself for too much. Hesitating to ask for what our team deserves with potential clients. Feeling so grateful for the opportunity to work with a specific client that we devalue ourselves by asking for less than some of our competitors and then being treated less respectfully in a few situations.

Thoughts of “I’m too seasoned” to be this or wear this…. are being cleared out! I mean who says we’re too old to continue having career goals or to build new friendships. Or why can’t I be on Snapchat? LOL. No age should prevent us from learning new skills or adding value somewhere.

The other thing at least for me….and many other women I know is we were raised to “follow the rules”. My new mantra is “respect the rules, understand who made the rules and why……but don’t be afraid to break or challenge the rules. This is a habit that has been hard to break…. I mean even growing up I was the oldest of three girls and my two sisters were breaking every rule my parents put down…. but I was the good girl wanting my parent’s approval (which escaped me…. but that’s for another whole Podcast and maybe some very expensive therapy). LOL What I’m trying to say is those who follow every rule find those rules get in the path or their growth or progress. Gotta clear some of those rules out of the way. I mean…I’ll still stop at lights and make sure I be respectful of airport security rules…. but at this point…it’s time to clear the way even at this exciting point of my life when others have some curious expectations of me based on what others have done!

I can tell you…. People ask me all the time “When you going to retire”? I mean…. Yes, I have quite a bit of experience under my belt, but I still feel great and love what I’m doing so why retire because I’m in a different phase of life. In fact, the oldest woman alive just died at the age of 116 last week so I could have another full career ahead of me!!!

We are extremely excited about this “Year to Clear”. We hope to inspire you and give you something to reflect upon as we begin what has started off to be a very challenging year. I saw something else just today where two people we’re sitting on a bench, and one said: “We only live once” to which the other replied was “No…. we only die once” “We live every single day”!  So, friends, let’s get to it, live big every day and clear the way for some great fulfillment either personally, professionally or both!