ANNOUNCING My Theme for 2025

• Importance of Yearly Themes (00:02:39 – 00:03:29)
• Completing the Previous Year (00:04:28 – 00:05:14)
• Identifying Where You Settled (00:10:23 – 00:11:14)
• Finding a Theme with Meaning (00:13:23 – 00:14:12)
• Making the Theme Actionable (00:14:44 – 00:15:35)
• Balancing Travel and Family (00:08:58 – 00:09:46)

QUOTES: 

“I really believe fully that we can start new and fresh any given day and there is power within the calendar (year).”

“When we have a theme, it also helps us just start to see a story, an arc to our own lives. And that theme is really supporting us to see our evolution and our growth.”

“They notice where they were settling on things they cared about, like their marriages. Some of them were settling in their businesses. One of them is a new mom and she had to come into ownership of her role and identity as mom.”

“One of mine, for example, my stresses last year and biggest learnings was how to really balance my travel with my family.”

“When you don’t feel like yourself or feel off or any of those pieces, continuously step into joyful restoration.”

“The statement that I came up with that I’m so excited, worked, and just felt so right in my body, is I step into joyful restoration.”

NICOLE

Welcome to the School of Self-Worth, a podcast for ambitious women who know they are worthy of an astoundingly great life. Join us weekly as we get on the right side of your intuition, redefine success, and reclaim your self-worth. I’m your host, Nicole Tsong, an award-winning journalist who left it all behind to become a bestselling author of three books and a work-life balance expert, helping ambitious women unlock their intuition and step into a life of fulfillment and radical joy.

Every single week, I bring you diverse and meaningful conversations with successful women from all walks of life who share insights about what it takes to be brave, joyful, and authentic every day. Each episode is thoughtfully designed to leave you feeling empowered with tangible tips and advice that will lead you to your next breakthrough.

Hello, friends! I’m Nicole Tsong, and this is the School of Self-Worth. Today, I am so excited to share my developmental theme for 2025 with all of you. This is truly one of my favorite things to do: to sit down, reflect on the past year, look ahead to the new year, and establish a theme that resonates throughout the year. Ever since I’ve been doing this, I am always amazed at how much transpires that aligns with my theme. I can’t wait to take you behind the scenes of how I arrived at my theme this year—it’s a doozy and so much fun!

Before we get started, if you are an Asian-American woman who wants to manage emotional reactivity so you can make quick, powerful decisions, DM me at @DecisiveNicoleTsong on Instagram because I have something special for you. Okay, friends, let’s dive into this fun conversation!

This is one of my favorite announcements every year: my theme for 2025. This year, it took its sweet time to come about, and I’m really excited to share the exact steps I took to clarify my theme. So, why do we have themes? What’s the point of all this? I truly believe we can start anew any day. There is power in the calendar—having a start and end to the year gives us a chapter to reflect on. I tend to remember my life by years, thinking, “Oh, that happened this year, and that happened that year.”

When we have a theme, it helps us see a narrative arc in our lives, supporting our evolution and growth. I love having a theme each year and reflecting on what has transpired in my life. I even have a bunch of post-its on my wall in my office with previous year’s themes, which is pretty cool to see how much I’ve moved forward since then.

So, how do we come up with a theme? I was doing this work today, recording this during the first full week of January. I was working with my mastermind group, and it was powerful. I noticed that many people still felt incomplete about 2024. By “incomplete,” I mean there are still stresses and unresolved feelings lingering from the past year.

Even though the calendar has turned, your brain might not have turned the page. For many in my mastermind, challenges from 2024 hadn’t been fully resolved. So, we focused on that first. It was essential for them to claim their experiences from last year. We discussed important lessons learned—not just the lessons but also the importance of remembering those lessons so they don’t have to be relearned.

We also explored areas where they settled, where they didn’t invest their full energy. We approached this without judgment, simply being curious about what was happening. We spent significant time on these three areas, and participants noticed where they had settled on things they cared about, like their marriages. Some were settling in their businesses. One new mom had to embrace her role and identity as a mother, while another needed to give herself a better job title that accurately reflected her contributions last year. These examples highlight areas that might feel incomplete or in need of attention.

These reflections are crucial because they allow us to say, “Okay, now I feel good about 2024, and in 2025, I can take ownership of a brand new beginning.” When they did this, they began to set brilliant themes. Your theme often arises from places of friction—areas you want to focus on.

Some of the themes I loved included one participant’s theme of “I matter,” reflecting on how she had settled into feeling unimportant last year. Another theme was “I’m blessed,” reminding us that blessings exist everywhere, rather than settling into a mindset of lack.

One theme that stood out was a fun one: “I tango with change.” This client is facing significant changes in a new job this year, so for her, the tango symbolizes playfulness, fun, and joy amid uncertainty.

Notice that these themes are not just words; they embody feelings, actions, and language that create forward momentum. Now, returning to my own theme, I have been moving very slowly into the new year—super slow! I took ten days off over the holidays to be with my family, and when I returned home with Michael, we enjoyed a few luxurious days together. I was grateful for that time.

However, when I started working, I realized my brain wasn’t functioning quickly. I wanted to do some vision boarding, a tradition Michael and I share every year, but I lacked the energy and momentum to dive in. So, I worked with one of my teachers and realized I needed to do for myself what I had done with my mastermind group. I examined the areas where I still felt incomplete and the stressors from 2024.

Once I identified my lessons, it made a significant difference. I felt a relaxation in my shoulders. For example, one of my biggest lessons last year was how to balance my travel with my family. I traveled a lot for work—four work trips, which felt overwhelming on top of personal travel. I was constantly on the move, trying to coordinate everything with Coco’s boarding and Michael’s schedule. It felt intense.

I knew I didn’t want to travel for work as much this year. I also wanted to prioritize my family, including my parents and Michael. The lesson I learned was that family is balance. When I prioritize my family, I feel balanced. It’s not just about travel; it’s about the impact on my home life.

For instance, this year, my first few trips are entirely family-related. I have one work trip planned, and I feel great about that. Reflecting on these lessons helps me apply them to the new year.

Next, we looked at the areas where we settled. A great question to ask yourself is, “Where did I settle?” I’m a big dreamer with many goals, but there were moments when I felt overwhelmed and settled a bit. This question helped my clients gain clarity.

We must be mindful and not judge ourselves for where we settled but simply observe. For example, last year, I was in a car accident, and my car was declared totaled. We tried to manage with one car for several months, but I realized I should have gotten a second car sooner. We ended up getting one in December, and I love it. However, I settled for too long with logistics that didn’t serve me.

Now, entering 2025, I asked myself what resonates with me. What words and desires drive how I live, express my business, and engage with my relationships? Last year, my theme was “I surrender to divine timing.” I felt a constant urge to control timing and wanted everything to work perfectly according to my plans, rather than respecting the natural course of events.

This theme served me well in my business, marriage, and relationships, but this year feels different. I began to hear the word “restoration.” The definition of restoration is to return something to its original state or purpose. For me, it means restoring myself to my authentic self, the essence of who I am.

It was exciting to realize that restoration needed to be part of my theme. Throughout the year, my experiences would revolve around restoration. However, I didn’t want it to feel heavy or serious. So, I combined it with the word “joyful,” creating the theme of “joyful restoration.”

Joyful restoration feels right, and the definition of restoration—returning something to its former owner, place, or condition—resonates with me. It signifies returning to who I truly am, beyond the stressors life has created. For example, last year, I was traveling a lot for work, but now I’m restoring my focus on family, emphasizing joy in that restoration.

Traveling can be romantic and exciting, but I need to balance it. Joyful restoration allows me to return to my original self. I also wanted to make this theme an active experience, so I crafted a statement: “I step into joyful restoration.” This statement serves as a reminder that when I feel off or disconnected, I can continuously choose joy for my restoration.

I’m excited to embrace this experience of joyful restoration in 2025. Another lovely aspect of the word “restoration” is that it contains “rest,” giving me permission to slow down. I’ve enjoyed taking my time entering the year, and there’s no rush to speed things up.

Now, I invite you to share your themes, words, or intentions for the year. I’d love to hear from you! DM me on Instagram and share what you’re discovering about yourself or any lessons learned. 

Thank you so much for tuning in to this behind-the-scenes look at how to develop your theme for the year. If you are a high-achieving Asian-American woman seeking to permanently end emotional reactivity to make quick, powerful decisions, DM me “Decisive” on Instagram. I have something special for you.

Thank you, friends, for being here, and I’ll see you next week!

Thank you for tuning into today’s episode. Before you go, if you are a high-achieving woman wanting to uncover your biggest blind spots that prevent fast, intuitive decisions, I have a 72-second assessment for you. Make sure to DM me “Quiz” at @NicoleTsong on Instagram. 

We appreciate every note we receive about how the podcast is making a difference in your life. Please know how much we value each and every one of you. Until next time, I’m Nicole Tsong, and this is the School of Self-Worth.