Setting up new goals for 2025 must be my favorite thing to do right now! I mean… the possibilities in front of me are endless. It’s like opening a blank notebook with 365 pages waiting for me to write my story.
Can you imagine that blank space and everything you get to write about in it? Can you smell the ink-free, mistake-free, and regret-free pages?
Because I get hyped up every January to make it a great year, and do you know what? 2024 was a good year for me, and I cannot wait to level up my life even further in 2025.
To do that, I need a list of goals, and you probably need one, too. So, I’ve curated a list of 25 goals for 2025 to have a successful, enriching, and, most of all, happy year! They are focused on your mental health, self-acceptance, self-love, and personal growth.
Disclaimer: This is NOT a “drink more water” type of list (which I have nothing against; it’s just not something you will find on this page). This is a “work from the inside out” type of post, and I know you will find tons of value here.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you sign up or make a purchase I might get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my business. See full disclosure.
Personal Goals To Have in 2025
1. Learn to slow down
We live fast-paced lives supported by instant coffees, one-day deliveries, fast broadband, ready-to-eat meals, and one-night hookups… Never before have we been so encouraged to rush through life as we are right now.
Aren’t you tired of all of it?
Because I often catch myself panting (metaphorically) behind everything I am obliged (or so they say) to catch up with.
Be it the latest TikTok trend, another star’s love life, or new ways of living our old lives, everything around us (and within us) changes constantly.
And while change can often be a good thing, it can also become exhausting.
If you can relate to all that and feel tired of chasing the latest “whatever”, this might be the one personal goal for 2025 that you want to focus on – slowing down.
Living mindfully, meditating, writing in a journal, noticing what happens around you on the streets, people watching from a coffee shop window… All that translates into slow living.
Try it this year!
2. Do the opposite of what your fear tells you to do
Listening to our fears could sometimes save our lives… but that’s only sometimes.
In fact, in the modern 21st century, our fears come forward when we are challenged to step out of our comfort zone. And often, “going beyond the comfort zone” might be something like meeting new people or standing up for ourselves.
Therefore, my second idea for an annual self-improvement goal would be to do the opposite of what your fear tells you to do.
If you fear you’ll be awkward at that office party, go and see that there’s nothing wrong with you. If your fear tells you never to apply for a better job because you will be rejected – do it anyway. Yes, you might be rejected, but at least you did your part!
Step. Out. Of. Your. Comfort. Zone.
Here are another 30 ideas on how to do it.
3. Start planning your days
Just yesterday, I learned a good lesson about the importance of planning my days! Here’s what happened!
It was around 6 p.m., and I was talking to my husband over the phone, complaining about my phone ringing every 10 minutes with “emergencies”. I had already squeezed in 5 more last-minute tasks that kept me away from doing my job, and that made me seriously frustrated and stressed out.
However, while talking to him, I glanced at my planner and noticed that I had ticked off 8 out of 10 tasks on it for the day. I had created that list in the morning and worked through it, and then life happened. I got busy doing everything else and forgot I actually did a lot of “work” stuff in the early hours of the day.
Your planner isn’t a reminder of all the things you HAVE TO do, but also a reminder of everything you have already ACHIEVED. It’s a place to track your progress and a great way to see the proof that you are doing your best and you are good at it.
4. Achieve something you never thought you would
I bet you have a list of things you would never even try because you know from now on that you’d fail. Even if it’s not a physical piece of paper with scribbles, it is a list in your mind.
And I challenge you to cross one thing off that list.
Do one thing you never thought you would. You have no limits to what that could be as long as it’s something you’ve been avoiding for a long time.
What is it? Asking a stranger on a date? Bungy jumping? Writing a book? Trying to sell your services?
2025 is your year to do that thing.
5. Push your limiting beliefs, and when they disappear, push again
You always limit yourself, don’t you? You don’t believe in yourself and avoid even admitting it. Many times, you’ve proved yourself (to yourself) and still deny your worth.
2025 is your year to push those limiting beliefs and completely wipe them out of your identity. It is the year when you admit that your beliefs aren’t You but just someone else’s opinion you’ve projected on yourself.
It is the year when you stop all that and eliminate whatever doesn’t serve you. Pinpoint those beliefs and then politely kick them out of your heart and mind.
6. Learn to journal…
There are three types of journaling you want to commit to: Gratitude Journaling, Self-Discovery Journaling, and Happiness Journaling.
- Gratitude Journaling – the one not-so-secret secret of how to invite positivity and abundance into your life through regular gratitude journaling. Here is my guide on how to start your first gratitude journal.
- Self-Discovery Journaling – all of the questions you avoid asking yourself, all of the dark places you never look into… they all wait for you to get to know yourself better.
- Happiness Journaling – this is a fundamental technique of finding and holding onto happiness every day. This is my simple guide on how to start your own happiness journal.
7. Read a page for every minute spent on social media
This is going to be fun if you follow through with it.
Every day (or week, or month), check how many minutes you spent on social media (or a specific app) the previous day (or week or month). That is the number of pages you should read on that day (or week or month).
For example, if you check how long you stayed on social media yesterday and it says 75 minutes, then today, you want to read 75 pages from a book of your choice. If it becomes too much … then you might ask yourself if staying that long on social media is worth it. Why not try a no social media challenge for a week?
8. Cultivate positive intentions
Having intentions is everything. Your intentions guide you through the day and, eventually, reflect on the way you live your life.
Focus on intentionally setting your intentions #itdoesntmakesense. I know!
See it this way!
You always have intentions. When you wake up, you already have a list of different intentions about how your day will be.
However, all of those intentions are … I’ll do it again – unintentional. You have them by accident (not), and you are unaware of them. That puts you at risk of having the wrong, negative, self-destructive intentions that won’t move the needle for you on that day.
However, working on setting your intentions (here it comes) intentionally would increase your focus, productivity, and life satisfaction.
9. Make lists
Why would I put this as a goal for 2025?
Because of all the ideas you had in 2024 and don’t even remember. And because of all of the things you had to do/learn/buy/check/tidy/read/write/explore in all previous years… and you forgot about them.
Lists aren’t just a fancy way to practice procrastination and fake productivity. It’s a way to take things out of your head. As one of my favorite productivity gurus, David Allen, says: “Your brain is for having ideas and not for storing them“.
Keeping lists around you is the ultimate way of ensuring you will take care of things.
10. Declutter as often as possible
Now, that’s a proper New Year’s resolution, I know! However, it will be part of the goal list this year, and next year, and the year after, and… you got the point.
Decluttering your physical space has a tremendous effect on your mental health, and it is something you should care about more than you do now.
Make decluttering part of your weekly routine. Donate or re-gift your unwanted Christmas gifts. Go through your wardrobe and make a pile of all the clothes you haven’t worn in the last 12 months. Donate those as well. Go through your papers and create digital copies for the ones you should keep. The rest could be recycled.
11. Change something about your appearance
Have you ever looked at a photo of yourself and wondered where and when it was taken? I do that, too. It’s because we never change our appearance. And if that’s not you, feel free to skip this section.
But if you can relate… this is the year to change that sad fact about ourselves.
This is the year to go for a haircut you’ve never had before, to change your wardrobe style, and to explore what else could make you feel more… You.
12. Complete challenges
Challenges could be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, yearly, etc. Have you ever completed a challenge? Yes, I said “completed,” not “started”. I am good at starting challenges, but not all got completed. Probably one of the few challenges I started and completed recently would be this no-social-media challenge I did in November.
Try to change that in 2025. You can start small, and every 30-day challenge can become a weekly such, so here are a few ideas for you to pick from:
- 5-Day self-care challenge – that’s an actual email challenge you could go through on this blog for free. Sign up here to get the first email.
- Drink only water (no fizzy drinks, no alcohol);
- Learn one new fact every day;
- Read for 15 minutes a day;
- Try journaling for happiness for a week.
See 50 more ideas on weekly/monthly challenges you could do.
13. Visit a place you’ve never been to every month
You have 12 months ahead. Make a list of 12 places you could visit in the next 12 months, and make sure you tick them all off throughout the year (that list-creating habit would come in very handy here).
Choose places you’ve never been before, and don’t think it is all connected to money-spending. You might go to places around your area, or all of your ideas could be actually from your country only. You are doing it right if you create a different experience that puts you in a new situation.
14. Set financial goals
It will make you financially aware, responsible, and actually financially stable (and that’s always a good reason).
Have too much debt? Create a plan to pay it off as soon as you can and create an emergency fund at the same time. Educate yourself on the best ways to manage your money. Be in charge of your bank accounts and tell your money what to do for you.
15. Fail as many times as you can
I know it sounds weird, but here’s why you want to do that.
Do you remember the fear-related goal from above (do the opposite of what your fear tells you to do)? Well, that fear speaks up because you hate to fail. And I can’t blame you; we all hate to fail.
But failing means you tried. And failing means you learn. And it means you evolve. And it means you get better. And it means you won’t make the same mistake. You might fail again, but it will be for different reasons which will teach you something else, and you will evolve again… And then you won’t fail in that same thing anymore.
And once you stop failing, you will start succeeding; you will be who you want to be…
It all starts with the failure you avoid. So, go ahead! Fail as many times as you possibly can this year.
16. Take a look inside
The last few years were challenging, hectic, disturbing, annoying, and a lot more. But they taught us that we are all we have, and knowing, loving, and living with ourselves is more important than ever before.
Looking inside means asking yourself questions you usually avoid; it means forgiveness, self-compassion, connecting with yourself, and exploring the corners of your soul you never shed light on.
17. Change something about your life and adapt to it
Of course, you want to choose a positive change, but you must also make sure it is uncomfortable (at least slightly).
Change the way you start your day or the way you end it. Change the way you approach problems and how you communicate with someone… Pick one change this year, not 500. Adapt to it slowly; give yourself time.
18. Actively search for ways to increase happiness
I know that we all chase things, events, and people we believe will help us be happy. But when I say you should actively search for ways to be happier, I mean you should do it mindfully, and it should depend on you only.
You don’t want to give the power of creating happiness to someone else, be it a person, a thing, an event, or anything in between. Happiness isn’t an external emotion, so it doesn’t exist out there. It is within you, and the only place to search for it is within you.
This might be the year when clarity will enter your life, and you will realize what happiness is for you.
19. Find what makes you productive
This is truly one of the goal ideas for 2025 that would significantly affect your whole year. Productivity isn’t about hectically ticking tasks off your to-do list. And since 2025 is the year where less is more, you want to increase productivity by doing less… better.
The secret sauce to productivity is finding what makes you productive. It could be a strict morning routine, a habit that sets the right mood for you, or a book to read before approaching your daily tasks.
Find that secret energy source for you and use it without excuses.
20. Try a new side hustle
If you’ve never tried a side hustle, I strongly encourage you to set it as a new goal in 2025. Regardless of whether you will succeed or not, the real reason you shouldn’t skip this one is the lessons you will learn.
Learning how to turn an idea into a business (no matter how small) is one of the most traumatic and beautiful experiences. Yes, I am aware of what I said. It is nerve-racking, annoying, and beautiful at the same time.
The experience is all you go for, so try it this year.
21. Make a dream come true
Now, if you have already written down any of the previous 20 ideas, this one would happen by itself. However, if none of the ideas sparked any interest in you, then this one should
Make a dream come true. No dream is small or big enough; all it needs to be is achievable. What is it that you truly dream of this year? What is the one thing you hope for? What is the little voice inside your heart whispering to you right now? Do your best to make it happen.
22. Create your own bucket list
Create your own list of 24 things to do this year. What would you write inside? Are some of the ideas above on that list, or are you writing a different one?
Keep your bucket list as small and manageable as you can by adding not more than 10 to 15 things to it. Also, set the list as wallpaper on your phone or laptop, or print it and stick it on your fridge or bedroom mirror. The idea is to have it in front of you all year so you get reminded of your goals for the year.
23. Set clear boundaries
This goal for 2025 is especially useful and recommended for people like me who allow everyone to enter their mental space uninvited and isn’t sure how to kick those intruders out.
Setting clear boundaries is about knowing your priorities and respecting your time, values, and plans. Suppose you feel like everyone feels obligated to boss you around. In that case, if you often get frustrated because your personal plans get canceled in favor of someone else’s or you hold back expressing frustrations and emotions, it is because you have not set boundaries yet. Maybe 2025 is the year you and I will finally stand our ground!
24. Do less!
If 24 goals sound like too many (they do, in my mind) choose this one BIG GOAL only: Do Less!
Declutter not just physical but mental space as well. Give up on the idea of pursuing three hobbies at once. Say no to adding more responsibilities to your work life. No, you don’t have to start meal planning if it requires you to stare at a blank page for 40 minutes every Saturday morning.
You can cancel a coffee with your bestie because you prefer to sleep. You are allowed to give up on a dream if it would cost your mental health.
No, you don’t have to feel sorry for forgetting people’s birthdays (although a neatly created birthday calendar on your fridge would help you with that).
I often catch myself not being able to keep up with everything in my life. It is frustrating, stressing, and often leads me to near-panic. So 2025 would be the year where less is more for me. What would 2025 be for you?
25. Learn One New Skill Every Quarter
What if you became the person who finally learned how to bake the perfect sourdough, knit a scarf, or play a few chords on the guitar? You don’t need to master anything—just pick a skill and enjoy the process of being a beginner again. Dedicate three months to one thing, then move on to another. The beauty of this goal is that it’s not about pressure but about exploration. What could you try first?
Blogger, dreamer, procrastinator, and lover of everything soul-touching. My mission is to make you laugh, provoke your thoughts, light up your day and inspire you to fall in love with life and yourself.