The year 2024 has been an eventful year full of unpredictable ups and downs. For many people, there were more downs than ups. For others, 2024 brought more ups than downs, with accomplishments, growth, and goals achieved.

Whatever your experience over the months of 2024, it is important to recognize that 2025 brings a clean slate and a world of new possibilities. If you must succeed or increase the success you currently have, you must ensure you are doing what will help you succeed in 2025.

You cannot rest on your 2024 achievements; what got you here won’t get you there. And you can’t languish in the losses and failures of the year. There are tangible steps you can take starting today to guarantee that 2025 exceeds 2024, especially as it relates to your achievements and forward progress.

In this blog post, I will share 5 things you need to do before the year ends to make 2025 your most successful year yet. These success secrets cover reflection, goal-setting, planning, focus, and personal development. If you skip even one of these steps, you risk falling short of your full potential next year.

The truth is simple: your success in 2025 depends on the work and preparation you put in over the next few weeks before 2024 ends. If you end 2025 less successful than 2024, you have no one to blame but yourself.

So, pay attention to these steps and apply them immediately. You will be setting the stage for your biggest wins yet. You will find the fourth point most interesting.

Let’s get started on ensuring you make the most of 2025!

Review your 2024

One of the funny things I see a lot of people do is go through the day, week, month, and year without time given to review. Every successful business understands that periodic review is essential for continued success. This is why reviewing the year 2024 is the first thing you must do if you are going to succeed in the year 2025.

In reviewing your 2024, there are a few questions you must ask yourself:

• Did I set any goals for the year 2024?
• If I did, what were the goals I set?
• How many of the goals did I achieve?
• What did I do that helped me achieve the goals?
• For the goals I did not achieve. What were the difficulties I faced that prevented me from achieving them?
• What can I learn from working on my goals, especially the challenges?
• What should I do differently in 2025 if I must achieve the goals and also other goals?

Forgive Yourself For The Losses and Mistakes of 2024

As you review your 2024, you may feel tempted to berate and beat yourself up for the mistakes, losses, and failures you experienced in the year. Resist that temptation. Being hard on yourself will only hold you back from future success. So, make the choice to forgive yourself and shift your mindset around losses.

Rather than dwelling on the shortcomings, reframe 2024’s stumbles as valuable learning experiences. See them as lessons that will make you wiser and stronger in 2025. After all, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Reflect on failures not as indictments of self-worth, but as feedback to help you grow. None of us learn and progress without making mistakes along the way.

Focus on the knowledge and skills you’ve gained through difficult times this year. Those are gifts, only if you allow them to be.

Forgiveness isn’t about making peace with 2024; it is about clearing the slate for the year ahead. Self-condemnation over the past will only lead to fear and containment of the future. When you forgive yourself, you create room for positivity, hope, and creativity in the New Year.

So be compassionate with yourself as 2024 comes to a close. Let go of blame, disappointment, and regret. Make room for the version of you that 2025 needs you to become.

Set Your 2025 Goals

The year 2025 starts on January 1st, not January 31st. If you are waiting until after your church’s January prayer and fasting to set your goals for the year, then you will be doing that late. Picture this with me:

You are an adventurous person who loves traveling. One day, you decide you are going to embark on one of your biggest adventures in life. What do you think you will most likely ask yourself?

Of course, you will ask yourself, Where?

Answering the question WHERE implies setting a goal for yourself. You see, if you are going to succeed in 2025, you must be aware of what you intend to achieve in 2025. And you must do so even before you step into 2025.

Now, here is the thing. Most people confuse goal-setting with wishful thinking and a checklist. There is a strategy for setting goals that work. And no, I am not speaking of the basic textbook SMART approach. The approach works somewhat, but it doesn’t answer all the important questions you need to answer.

I have developed a step-by-step guide that will provide you with. Here is a link to read about it.

Develop a Plan for Execution

When you are done setting goals for 2025, the next important thing you need to do is set the plan that will help you execute and achieve your goals. Developing a detailed, step-by-step execution plan is essential if your goals must move from goals into reality.

So, how do you do this?

First, start by breaking down each of your major goals into smaller milestones. Spread these milestones out over the year. Identify key tasks and projects required to reach each milestone. Get as granular as possible when outlining the exact actions and timeframes involved.

Second, try to visualize the year 2025, and develop a mental roadmap on how you can execute each of your goals.  Block out periods for working on specific goals and assign deadlines to each action item. This will help ensure that you are scheduling the various tasks well. And also spacing out your efforts over the year.

Third, identify potential obstacles, risks, or bottlenecks that could derail progress. Develop contingency plans to address them. Identify any other resources or support you may need.

For many years I have taught people how to plan their year. One of the common questions I have had to answer repeatedly is, “What if the year does not go according to my plan?” On each of those occasions, I will always tell my clients, “You review your plan”.

What a plan does for you is that it takes the ambiguity out of wanting something. And replaces it with step-by-step instructions for making it real. A plan does not achieve the goals you have set. It simply provides a guide for you to work with. So, treat your plan as a living document and adjust it as conditions evolve. But having that detailed plan in place is key.

Remember, your target should be to hit the ground running on January 1st. And this won’t be possible. Except you have first taken time to map out various milestones and scheduled tasks to reach them.

Show Gratitude For 2024

When you have reviewed the year 2024, setting goals and plans for the year, 2025. The next important thing to do is gratitude. Showing gratitude for both the highs and lows of 2024. This will put you in a positive, abundant mindset heading into 2025.

In doing this, start by thanking God. Thank Him for life and the various blessings, lessons, and opportunities of 2024. Reflect on the breakthroughs and successes you have achieved, no matter how small. Appreciate the growth and strengthening that came through difficult periods. Count each experience as being valuable on your journey. If you are of the Christian faith, your church may have a tradition of annual thanksgiving. You can work towards utilizing this to further express your gratitude to God.

Now, whatever success or accomplishment you experienced in 2024, there were people who helped you. Also, take time out to express gratitude to them. Thank all those who supported, encouraged, and inspired you through the year. These may include your mentors, friends, family members, co-workers, employees, and leaders. You can send them thank-you messages for making a difference in your life, career, or business in 2024. Recognizing those who paved the way for your 2024 accomplishments is simply you paying it forward for their continued support in the future.

Heading into 2025 from a place of gratitude rather than grievance sets you up for greater access to inspiration, creativity, and positivity in the New Year. The more gratitude you can feel, the more good you’ll attract and achieve in the year ahead.

So take time out to appreciate 2024 and all the people and things it brought for you before moving forward.

Closing Thoughts:

The countdown to 2025 has begun. This post has revealed 5 simple strategies that, if you can apply them, will set you up for success in 2025. Follow them religiously, and you can make 2025 your most accomplished year yet. The work you put in now will allow you to hit the ground running on January 1st. Well-equipped and empowered to achieve your grandest ambitions. Remember, your success next year will not happen automatically. You have a responsibility to yourself to set yourself up for success in the coming year. So, make these final weeks of 2024 count! 

Last year I published a book on some of the 30 mistakes I made in my 20s. This book is a must-read for anyone who is looking to make the most of his or her life, especially if you are currently in your 20s or early 30s. The book is available as an E-book on Selar for just NGN 2,000. Click here to get your copy now.