2025 Had a Good Run, but Here Are 7 Things We Are Leaving Behind

Adeola Olatunji 10:00 - 24 December 2025

2025 had a good run. It taught us lessons we will carry forever, but the weight? That stays behind, and that alone feels like growth.

2025 wasn’t a bad year. In fact, it tried its best. But it also exposed patterns we can no longer carry forward into the coming year. Some are habits that looked harmless but slowly chipped away at our confidence, while others are behaviours we excused because that is just how life is.

As we prepare to step into a new year, we are not making loud resolutions. We are simply deciding to leave some things behind, and this we will do gently, intentionally, and without guilt. Here are seven things we are saying goodbye to this year.

1. Belittling Ourselves to Make Others Comfortable

We are done shrinking. No more downplaying achievements nor pretending our wins were luck, timing, or divine coincidence alone. We are no longer acting small because confidence might make someone else uncomfortable.

We worked hard, showed up, and grew. And we will boldly own that. In the new year, we are learning that confidence is not arrogance, and self-awareness doesn’t require self-disrespect. We can acknowledge our progress without apologising for it.

2. Over-Explaining Our Boundaries

If 2025 taught us anything, it is that the people who respect you don’t need long explanations. This is why we are leaving behind the habit of writing essays to justify why we can’t attend something, accept certain behaviour, or keep giving access to people who drain us.

“No” is a full sentence, and we will make good use of that. Boundaries are not punishments, they are clarity. And clarity saves time, energy, and unnecessary emotional labour.

3. Letting People Walk Over Us in the Name of Peace

Peace that comes at the cost of self-betrayal is not peace. It is silence dressed up as maturity. In 2025, many of us kept quiet to avoid conflict, only to carry resentment home. We smiled through disrespect, laughed off hurtful comments, and told ourselves it wasn’t worth addressing. But now, we are leaving that behind.

The new rule is simple: if something keeps bothering us, it deserves a conversation. Protecting our emotional well-being is not being dramatic, rather, it is being honest.

4. Romanticising Struggle and Constant Hustle

Not every good thing needs to come from burnout. For too long, we have glorified exhaustion. We treated rest like a reward instead of a necessity. If it wasn’t hard, we assumed it wasn’t meaningful.

But 2025 reminded us that ease is not laziness. Softness is not weakness, and growth can happen without suffering every step of the way. We are choosing balance, sustainability and a life that doesn’t constantly require us to be in survival mode.

5. Staying Where We Are No Longer Valued

We are leaving rooms where our presence is tolerated but never celebrated. This includes jobs that only notice us when something goes wrong, friendships where effort is one-sided and spaces where we keep proving our worth to people who have already decided not to see it.

Next year, we are choosing environments that recognise us, respect us, and leave room for us to grow. We are learning that loyalty should never require self-abandonment.

6. Comparing Our Timeline to Everyone Else’s

Comparison was loud in 2025, especially online. Engagements, promotions, relocations, soft launches, hard wins. It was easy to feel behind, even when we were doing well by our own standards.

We are leaving behind the pressure to meet invisible deadlines set by social media. Life is not a race, and success is not one-size-fits-all. Our journey is allowed to unfold at its own pace. Delays are not denials. And being “late” often means being better prepared.

7. Settling for Less Than We Deserve

This one cuts deep, but it is necessary. We are leaving behind bare minimum energy in love, friendships, and careers. No more excusing inconsistency or accepting crumbs because we are afraid to ask for more.

We deserve effort that matches our own, communication that is clear, love that is kind and opportunities that see our value without us begging for it. Wanting more should not make us ungrateful.

Letting go is not always dramatic. It is a decision you make once and then honour daily. As we move forward, we are not chasing perfection. Instead, we are choosing alignment, choosing ourselves without guilt and choosing to stop surviving and start living with intention.

2025 had a good run. It taught us lessons we will carry forever, but the weight? That stays behind, and that alone feels like growth.