GS #30: Big vision, tiny steps

Welcome to 2025, baby!

We hope the end of the year was restful for you and you're feeling recharged headed into this new year. (But hey, if not, that's cool too, and we hope this email can be the thing that gets you jazzed up!)

If you know anything about us, we looooove a little new year energy around here, so we are excited to be back to business this week and getting into the groove of things. So let's get into it!

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calm creator chronicles ✍️

An epic 2025 begins with a focus on January

👩🏻‍🦰👋: The start of the year always comes with a wave of excitement: big goals, vision boards, and dreaming about what 2025 could hold. And don’t get me wrong—as I said, I love that.

There’s something magical about zooming the lens out and setting an intention for where you want to go in this next cycle around the sun.

BUT if last year taught us anything, it’s that life has a reliable way of throwing curveballs at you, and big goals, while inspiring, can sometimes feel stifling when results don't pan out the way you'd hoped.

And there’s something else I’ve noticed: amidst all the focus on year-long goals, quarterly milestones, and long-term visions, what often gets completely overlooked is monthly planning—thinking about how we want January to fit into this big picture and what you need from this moment in time.

So, this year, I’m doing something different. I’m setting aside my big, year-long goals (which are really just loose intentions for now) and narrowing my focus way down to JANUARY. Just January.

I'm just at a moment in my life and with our businesses where I have to think in much smaller, more tangible increments. And that has to be enough for right now.

I'm not going to think about 2025 as this massive ball of possibility right now. Instead, I am zooming my focus way down and focusing on one month at time.

Here are the two simple questions I'm asking myself:

• What do I need from January? (Meaning, what do I want this month to be about? Recharging, creativity, habits? I just want to set an intention.)
• And what would make me proud to look back on at the end of this month? (What project(s) do I want to move forward?)

What I need from January is PLAY.

I want to embrace imperfection. I need to offset the built-up pressure and possibility of a new year with a commitment to low-stakes creation. So that's what I'm focusing my attention on each day.

As for what would be make me proud to accomplish by the end of this month, it's two things:

1. Finishing Version 2 of our accountability game, WAIM of Stones.
2. Starting to film YouTube content again.

That’s it. If those two things get done, I’ll count it as a win.

(Notice I did not actually say "grow our YouTube channel followers by X amount. We are going for less outcome-based goals this year.)

I can already tell the tone of this year is going to be to embrace our Growing Steady mantra. It's going to be able making slow, intentional progress with plenty of life lived along the way.

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⚡️ taking action: now it's your turn to set a january focus

What about you?

While everyone else is encouraging you to think big and bold for 2025, I want this newsletter to be your moment to think small.

And just in case you need the reminder—whatever you need this time of year is okay. Maybe you’re riding the high of the new year, feeling motivated and ready to go. Or maybe you’re just not there yet, and the pressure feels like too much.

Both are valid. You’re allowed to dream big, AND you’re allowed to take it slow.

Here’s to a year of steady growth—whatever that looks like for you.

​- Caroline 👩🏻‍🦰​

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