Happy New Year! To ring in 2025 on thinktanya.com, I’m going to share my own take on an “Ins and Outs” list for the year. But first let me preface by saying I’ve never been a huge New Year’s fan. It’s my bench holiday. The discourse that occurs every year in late December never really interests me. Everyone sharing what they will be changing in the new year, what goals they’ll accomplish, and what they rule as being “In” or “Out” is subjective and personal and frankly none of my business. If you want to change something in your life don’t wait until January 1st, do it immediately. If you have a goal you want to accomplish, start it ASAP. Waiting for a specific date to start fresh just seems silly. Every day is a new opportunity to start anew and be the version of yourself you want to be.

That being said, I do think the New Year is a great time to reflect on your accomplishments as a whole and check in on how you’re doing to accomplish goals you already have in place in addition to coming up with new ones that will help lead you to who you want to become. It’s the perfect time to set yourself back on track to continue growing and thriving in all facets of your life. So here’s my “In and Out” list that serves as a reminder of what I want to prioritize in order to be the best version of myself.

After my little mantra on not loving New Year’s it should come as no shock to you that the idea of New Year’s resolutions has never quite charmed me. Instead of coming up with new goals you want to accomplish, it makes more sense to think of actionable ways to accomplish goals you should already have. Every year when asked what my New Year’s resolution is, I automatically respond “becoming a voracious reader.” With my whopping total of 7 books read this past year, my resolution has gone as well as most resolutions do, quickly neglected and ignored. This year I’m determined to do better by instilling a ritual that will actually set me up for success rather that having the vague and basic goal of wanting to read more. My ritual this year will be to at read at least 2 new books a month, 1 fun and 1 career/growth focused and the only way I can get new books each month is if I successfully read the 2 from the month prior. This ritual gives me a feasible task for each month and an incentive to accomplish it. Another example of a ritual in place of a resolution would be this very blog. Thinktanya.com is very dear to me but has been neglected in recent months. While devoting more time to it is a reasonable goal and resolution, without coming up with an actionable plan to accomplish it, it will fade into oblivion as most resolutions do. Instead, my ritual for thinktanya.com will be to wake up a bit earlier once a week and go to Tatte before work to work on a blog or concept for an hour. This again is a reasonable feat that will help me achieve my goal. So get ready to be hearing much more from me ;).

Think rituals that bring you steps to actually accomplish goals, not resolutions with no set plan of action.

I’m not saying I’m a fashion trailblazer with a singular and unique sense of style that could never be influenced by trends. Quite the contrary actually. I’m still figuring it all out. But I do realize how harmful fixating on following every trend can be to true self expression which I believe to be the real beauty and creative force of fashion. Trends are an important and unavoidable part of the industry. It keeps the industry from being repetitive or stale (which it could never be) and shows the ebb and flow of the creative minds behind the runway. Trends are fun to take part in here and there but when your closet is only built upon micro trends you don’t have any foundation of having a wardrobe that will stand the test of time. Instead, it is so much more valuable to think about your style and how you want to express yourself through clothes. This leads to less overconsumption which is killing our planet and more confidence as you are wearing what reflects who you are and being yourself. Figuring that out is a daunting process and takes experimentation with your wardrobe by investing in quality pieces that you feel comfortable and confident in, pieces that are versatile and will hold up in your wardrobe, and pieces that you always want to reach for and can wear in different ways. You don’t have to start from scratch to experiment with your fashion style. You can start with what you already have in your closet and think of new ways to piece them together. Let your creativity run wild in your closet but be mindful and conscious when buying new.

Think building your own personal style from the ground up, not copying what every influencer is wearing just to fit in.

This one may not really be much of an option with the looming ban potentially coming our way in a matter of days. Even so, TikTok is designed to make you as addicted as possible spending hours upon hours swiping looking for another quick hit of dopamine. The TikToks I’ve found I’m always searching and scrolling for, are the ones that inspire me one way or another: a recipe I want to try, an outfit I want to try to recreate, a book I want to read. Instead of wasting countless hours looking for these short videos while simultaneously decimating my attention span, why not go to the source of all inspiration, the app designed for you to build a mood board of the life you want to live without any of the distractions from TikTok. So this year instead of instinctively opening the doom scrolling app, I’ll be training myself to spend time really reflecting on and cultivating the life I want to live through Pinterest.

Think scrolling for a purpose, not mindlessly looking for a hit of inspiration and dopamine while sacrificing productivity.

So cheers to 2025, hope it’s the best one yet where we continue to grow on the journey to becoming our best selves.