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Welcome to 2025, ready or not.

Ok, so it’s here.

New year, new you.

or New Year same you.

Is anyone else already exhausted by the success platitudes we’re being served online? Get fitter, set better goals, here’s a to-do list the size of Texas. More strategies and more tips and lists and platforms to use and blah blah blah. Your girl’s still just trying to wake up, I need simple on a Monday.

I spent the holidays like most, binge watching Squid Games and pondering how I could rocket fuel my new year. Align myself with my highest goals, and frankly avoid getting burnt out, again. Did I come up with some complex to-do list or strategy while on break? Heck no, and I bet you didn’t either.

What did I find in my 2025 goals excavation? A need for simplicity.

I’m the bounce-back Queen. Over the years I’ve been extraordinarily burnt out three times and had more setbacks than possible. Probably because I take risks and I try things, so I fall on my face a whole lot. Good news for you! You can learn from my face plants. Please.

In the last couple of years, Not one but two job layoffs, one Mother passing away traumatically and working 60+ hours without a break, to name a few setbacks that hurt a fair bit. I lost the ability to lift weights or my head off the pillow. Let alone the will to create or superpower my career. All I wanted was to get through the day, find some inspiration and get paid to do so. But I’m here. I made it out the other side, I have energy again, I love my life again and I’m inspired more than ever. If you’re like I was, trying to feel inspired by life again, let alone work I’m here to tell you: You can, you will- triumph is possible, I promise.

NGL. The last two years kicked my butt. They were the hardest bounce back of life but here I am, at the top of some kind of summit, or rather out of the trench. Beat burnout for the third time, (cause the third time’s a charm, beotch.) Lots of losses, but I’ve finally gained back some Joie de Vries and how I did it didn’t lie in some complex system but rather three simple ideas that I explored again and again and again until something inside of me came back online. Like a small little ember getting steadily brighter, I came back to life.

So if you’re struggling, stop with the complex anything and explore these simple ideas on repeat for a little while and see what comes up.

1. Figure out the answer to this question “What do I want?” : Seems simple enough, but so many of us float around spending most of our time worrying about what we don’t want, that we have zero clue as to what we truly, madly, deeply desire. So what do you want, what do you really really want? If you don’t know make a list of all the things you don’t want, and then flip that and reverse it.
2. Take inventory of what energizes you and what drains you.: Without judgement, it’s time to take inventory of your day-to-day. What activities are you doing when time flies by, or are you feeling buzzy? What are you doing when you feel drained? Eventually, you’re going to try to do more of what energizes you, sounds easy enough but so many of us run on autopilot just doing what we’re “supposed to” but completely missing the boat on what lights us up. Here’s the point of this- the thing that lights your soul on fire is probably a gift only you are meant to bring to this world. ( I can’t take credit for this insightful exercise, as it comes from my mentor and friend, Paul Kaye who has been instrumental in getting me back online career-wise. Highly recommend following his 2% Club Newsletter for more insight into hacking your productivity and inspiration muscle.)
3. Where can you give yourself grace? : If you’re working on a comeback, I can almost guarantee that yourself self-talk is pretty punitive. Try to become aware of the thoughts you’re having about yourself, your success, your progress and see how often you’re giving yourself grace. It seems counter-intuitive but the kinder you can be to yourself, and the more you can celebrate even the smallest win, the easier it’s going to be to get back to life. Small wins compound so where can you be a little kinder to yourself? What wins do you have to celebrate today? Make a list and tell yourself “Good Job!” even if you don’t feel like you deserve it. Cause guess what, you do deserve it.

I’m Lo, or Lauren. What energizes me: Sneaking lyrics into my writing, being your hype girl, making you believe in yourself, playlist curation and pretending I can dance like J-Lo when I’m alone. Like what you're reading? Subscribe to my substack to stay up to date for the latest in business, advertising water cooler talk, creativity, wellness, pop culture and all the weirdness in between. Subscribe here