three words for 2025

say yes to good things and the right people

Like the man said, eat dessert first, life is uncertain - Anthony Bourdain.

As I write this I’m on a flight back home to New York from California. Sometimes I still can’t believe 2,422 miles separates me from home. The truth is the longer I live in New York, the more at home I feel. Living in a city with access to more than anyone needs is an incredible amount of privilege. Privilege in the sense of awareness and gratitude. There’s a lot if we take account.

Privilege of getting older
Privilege to make plans
Privilege of experience
Privilege of movement
Privilege of time

My own privilege even to have a job that couldn’t align less with my goals, but allows me freedom to live in a city of my choice.

Too much is taken for granted these days. We want more of everything. Social media has distorted our perception of how much we’re ‘lacking’. There is so much that happens if we get offline and take inventory of the things we do have. (I’m still waiting for the day we all delete instagram).

It’s numbed our curiosity, I’m guilty of it too. We know everything about anything except each other. We’ve lost connection. Most are satisfied with a curated personality whose life we can glance at through twenty photos and their favorite trending song, but are we satisfied? Are we curious about the wrong things? Are we curious at all? Actively working to stay curious now takes effort - asking intentional questions, finishing books, reading articles, watching a documentary, an interview, going for a walk without being tethered to your phone. Saying yes to things that stimulate the dormant spaces of our minds.

Saying yes is my new thing.

Choosing what aligns with our desires without guilt might be the only lesson I needed learn this year. Choosing what I deserve. Choosing to break routine, indulge, live I’m learning is the better option. Holding onto a single identity is exhausting, there’s less room for growth and we’re meant to evolve.

Surrendering can slowly change your life. Once you learn, it’s hard to go back.

Routine is obviously effective, especially for athletes. But routine is boring, predictable. The things I love - mainly running - I still love. That will never change, but training, the rules and rigidity are less a priority now.

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I’m eating dessert first now, sometimes with a cocktail because I’ve outgrown my list of rules and life is fucking uncertain. It’s more fun this way.