The last weekend of the year is a strange pause.
Not a full stop.
More like a comma.
That awkward space where you could reflect… or you could just forward one more “2025 is my year” reel and call it a review.
Traditionally, this is the season of spreadsheets in disguise.
We audit the year by asking very corporate questions:
– Did I get the hike?
– Did I switch roles, cities, titles?
– Did my net worth move north or just my blood pressure?
– How many milestones, followers, awards, EMIs, exits?
Nothing wrong with that.
Progress matters.
Growth matters.
Money matters.
But here’s a gentler question that rarely makes it to the year-end report:
Did you feel lighter at any point this year?
Not more productive.
Not more impressive.
Just… lighter.
Did you laugh so hard one evening that the phone slipped out of your hand?
Did you sit silently with someone and not feel the need to fill the gaps?
Did you make one new friend without networking intent?
Did you help someone with no ROI, no screenshot, no “let me know if you need anything”?
Did you apologise first?
Did you forgive once even if you were right?
Did you choose peace over proving a point?
Did you choose rest over being “reachable”?
These don’t show up on LinkedIn recaps.
But they quietly decide the quality of your life.
Happiness, after all, isn’t a grand event.
It’s a series of small moments that didn’t ask for applause.
As for New Year resolutions – we love them because they sound decisive.
“This year I will become…”
“This year I will achieve…”
“This year I will finally…”
Maybe add a softer resolution or two:
– I will pause before I respond, and let calm choose my words.
– I will listen to understand, not just to speak next.
– I will count days by how present I felt, not how busy I looked.
– I will stay ambitious and kind, without letting one cancel the other.
Because growth without grace feels hollow.
And success without softness feels loud, but lonely.
So before the calendar flips and the noise resumes, sit with this weekend.
Not to judge the year.
Just to understand it.
Sometimes the best year-end summary isn’t
“Look how far I came”
but
“Look how deeply I lived.”
See you on the other side of the comma.