2025 Goals Wrapped
reviewing my 25 for 2025 list: what I accomplished, what I let go of, and what's coming back for 2026
Ironically I’m writing this post on January 9th, Quitter’s Day.
Research has shown that people quit their resolutions for the year by the second Friday of January.
That’s a pretty quick turnaround to call it quits. But I can see why it happens. People decide on resolutions that are way too big or are actually unimportant to them. Resolutions they think they should make rather than ones that matter.
Instead of resolutions, I created a list of 25 goals to ideally accomplish in 2025. The goal wasn’t necessarily 100% completion. A win for the year would look like moving closer to the life I desire and person I want to be.
If you missed it and want to read more about my initial 25 for 2025 list, you can see that here.
It was helpful for me to have this list of intentions to give me some direction for the year. Twelve months can go quick and it’s easy to get sucked into the day to day. Past Rachel decided on items that were important and could help me make progress. I stretched myself, changed my mind, and ultimately feel proud of 2025 me.
Here’s how those 2025 intentions played out.
✅ Total Goals Accomplished: 18
That’s a lot of intention, hard work, and grit.
📚 Personal Growth & Creativity
Read 75 books ✅
I ended the year with 82 books read!
I moved my book tracking from goodreads to StoryGraph — join me there
Try hand embroidery ✅
Did this through a kit from Target
Haven’t picked it up much since, but I tried it so check ;)
Take a creative class ✅
We did a candle making class while we were in Indiana and it was so much fun! Even my girls (5 and 2 years old) sat still throughout the whole class and had the best time.
The one I made is called Sweater Weather and it’s scrumptious
Do Contentment Reset in February ✅
more about that here ⬇️
Embrace girlhood/fandoms ✅
Taylor Swift, Wicked
Cheering on, voting for, and celebrating the girlies
🏡 Home & Life Admin
Build up 4 month emergency fund ✅
I set a recurring reminder for each month to move money to savings since the amount we’re working with varies
Register Charlotte for kindergarten ✅
I still can’t believe we have a kindergartener, she’s loving it!
read this if you have an upcoming kindergartener ⬇️
Essentialize our home ✅
Got rid (donate, trash, sell) things we no longer need/use
Purchased/received things we need
Better organized and set up what we have
Garden ✅
Checking this off even though I hired landscapers to do much of the gardening. It had been a while since our flower beds were done and it overwhelmed me to start
I did keep them alive and am excited to see how everything comes back this spring
Transition to substack ✅
Hiiiiii I’m loving it here
🌊 Travel & Experiences
Celebrate anniversary with a trip ✅
This ended up being a trip to the beach… not the big trip we had in mind, but so good nonetheless.
Girls beach trip ✅
This was soooo good for the soul. We loved it so much we have another planned for this year
Spend summer holidays at the beach ✅
Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day — all spent at our beautiful NC beach. We loved it!
Open space
Trip to Indiana to visit family
Clean out/revamp closet) ✅
🧠 Health & Self-Care
Continue sober curiosity ✅
It still feels good to not drink regularly, but still open to having a drink if the want/occasion arises
Complete 75 Hard with Eric ✅
I wrote more about this experience here ⬇️
Practice self care daily ✅
I’m much more in tune with what I need
Be present with my people ✅
I’m working on putting my phone away and just being there
❌ You changed your mind about 5 goals
It’s best to let go of goals that no longer resonate
Utilize 5 minute journal ❌
This started strong, but lost steam for it around May
Mornings are unpredictable and I opted to sleep any extra I could
New brand collab quarterly ❌
I’m excited some brand collabs happened organically
I didn’t want to force it to meet the quarterly goal
Thrift/shop secondhand as much as possible ❌
I utilize our local Buy Nothing group often and enjoy looking on Marketplace, but still haven’t stepped foot in a thrift shop
Some things we need new or I’m after the convenience, but I could do better about this even if I didn’t do it as much as I hoped in 2025
Write 25 mins/1 page each day ** ❌
Another one I lost steam on
I write when it’s helpful, but didn’t want to just check off a box
Host a dinner party ❌
Changed my mind here. The year got away from me and it didn’t feel like a priority
Some goals didn’t end—they evolved.
💖 6 goals that show up again in 2026
They worked so well you’re repeating or they’re important and you still need to make it happen
Update our will
This falls into the latter category: important and I really need to make it happen
It shifted from a task my husband was going to get started one to one I’m taking responsibility for, so no more procrastinating
Read 75 books
I’m enjoying my reading life so much and want to continue to protect that time
Practice daily self care
This is just good to continue focusing on, right?
Recently introduced some new items to my self care menu including a vibration plate and LED light therapy face mask — may 34 be my healthiest year yet!
No spend month
In the age of prime shipping and order pickups, it’s helpful to give our credit card a breather
I like to couple this with a social media break
Essentialize our home
An ongoing project
Spend summer holidays at beach
We loved it so much we’re gonna do it again! Yes please to making more family memories
Eric and I spent 5 days in the gorgeous Playa Mujeres, Mexico area to ring in the new year. After being plagued with sickness for weeks it was the perfect time for a restful getaway. Also the ideal time to reflect on the year and plan for 2026.
I look forward to sharing my 26 for 2026 list and word of the year next time.
For now, here’s one last piece of 2025 (honestly 2026 too). Presenting, my top 3 favorite subjects. I can talk about any/all of these at length 😝
Tell me: What are you proud of in 2025?
Big or small, I want to know.
I’m happy to be back here. I will see you next time!
Good job on your goals
While I am personally sad about the dinner party (🤪) I love this reflection and I look forward to your 2026 list! (Quarterly Umstead days with book club?)