Who Do You Want To Be in 2025?

This might seem like a silly question. Some of you may scoff at the idea. I am me, who else would I be? And yet to some of us the appeal of being someone different or changing who we are seems a natural progression.

You might have a goal of being a vice president in your organization, of becoming a doctor, of being a homeowner or a parent and any number of other titles that we can think of.

So, what will help us become that new or refined version of ourselves? Habits. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, suggests that “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” Habits tell ourselves, and others who we are and who we want to be. Clear suggests that “The key to building lasting habits is focusing on creating a new identity first.”

His suggestion flips the idea of starting new habits into looking first at the end result you are looking for. It follows the premise suggested by Stephen Covey in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind”.

You can also think of who you want to be in the new year in terms of characteristics. I want to be a better communicator, more generous, more fiscally responsible, more adventurous, more . . .

The challenge for many of us is that we jump to starting a new habit and don’t consider the motivation for the habit. And then when we struggle with maintaining the new habit, we get tunnel vision about achieving it and lose sight of the reason for the new habit.

Try playing with this idea. Have two columns: Habits and Characteristics. Then do a brain dump. What are the new habits you want to build? And what are the characteristics of who you want to be? Try matching the habits you list with the characteristics of who you want to be.

If you write a characteristic and don’t have habits to match, brainstorm what habits you think would exemplify that characteristic.

If you write a habit and can’t match it to a characteristic, consider who you are trying to be by adopting that habit. Understanding the motivation for the habit will help you to embed and stick with the new habit until it becomes an automatic response.

Leaders can help their team members in their professional development by asking them who do they want to be and then brainstorming with them the habits that will help them to grow into the role they want to have.

Who do you want to be in the new year and what is the habit you need to start or continue to get there?