The Country Is Setting a New Stage. This Practice From Codie Sanchez Will Help You Navigate the Unknown

In a rural village, a wise Zen master sits speaking to a group of enraptured young monks about the meaning of life. The master speaks for hours and hours while the acolytes listen intensely. At the end of the day as they wrap up, one young monk tentatively raises his hand and says, “Master, sadly I have not truly understood anything you've said about Zen, it's too complex. Can you tell us one thing that is simple, yet true?” 

The master smiles and says, “Everything changes.”

I think of this story often in times of struggle. Wildfires have devastated one of our country’s largest cities, and many in Los Angeles are facing unimaginable questions about their future and all the changes it undoubtedly holds. This week’s inauguration marks a major change for our country. And no matter where you live, there is likely change on your horizon as well. 

Change is hard, isn’t it? 

The best way I know how to navigate change is to find something that is simple and true. When you know what you want, you tell the universe what that is, and you write a plan to get there that you follow, it turns out the universe often has your back.

I don’t profess to have all the answers to help you navigate change or help you hit your goals or mine, but I’m sharing my process here. After all, my mom always said that I hadn’t met a hill I didn’t want to climb and that I haven’t found one I can’t finagle my way up yet. May this help you find and climb your hill, too. 

How to Own Your 2025: How to Create Your Personal Annual Review

Has 2024 (and perhaps even the start of 2025) left you asking the question, “What just happened?” If so, I’ve got you. In four steps, I’ll help you deconstruct the last year and set yourself up to rocket into what’s to come with my Contrarian approach. It involves three key points: pause, reflect, pivot. 

This review isn’t about adding more to your plate. It’s about subtracting. Cutting out the noise. Doubling down on what’s actually working and walking away from what isn’t. A year from now, you’ll either be glad you did this or wish you had—the choice is yours.

Step 1: Review

Answer these 10 quick questions honestly. Remember: Nobody is reading this but you.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how has this year gone? 

2. What went well? Why? 

3. What went badly? Why?

4. What lessons did I learn? 

5. What habit or system accounted for most of my success?

6. What are the most valuable ways I spent my time? How can I find more time for this?

7. What are the least valuable ways I spent my time? How can I stop doing this?

8. What brought me the most happiness?

9. Who had the greatest impact on me? How can I interact with them more?

10. What goals did I set but didn’t complete? Do I still care about these? If yes, how do I follow through next year?

Step 2: Remember

What lit you up? The best memories are made when you’re not chasing someone elses’s dream. Fill out the following:

• Best surprise
• Best meal
• Coolest new experience
• Favorite weekend
• Favorite new friend
• Most intense week
• Favorite song
• Favorite quote

Step 3: Redesign

These are some straight-to-the-heart questions to help you redesign the next year of your life:

1. What would make me look back at 2025 and say, “That was a damn good year!”?

2. What would 80-year-old me wish I did more of?

3. What feels productive but isn’t?

4. What does an ideal day look like?

5. Knowing what I know now, what advice would I give to myself 12 months ago? (Psst…you probably still need to hear this.)

Future you is counting on you.

Don’t just finish reading this article and forget about it. Answer the questions. Revisit them. Use them as a compass when things get noisy. Because when you look back next year, you won’t care about the small stuff. You’ll care that you showed up, did the work, and designed a year worth remembering.

Choose your hard.

Codie Sanchez is the New York Times bestselling author of Main Street Millionaire: How to Make Extraordinary Wealth Buying Ordinary Businesses. Through Main Street Hold Co. and Contrarian Thinking Capital, Codie and her partners buy and invest in Main Street businesses. To learn more, visit codiesanchez.com.