How to Own 2025
Using North Star Planning to turn your present goals into future reality
2024 has been a big year. Life looks and feels drastically different than it did 12 months ago in the best way possible. I firmly believe this year’s success was a function of taking the reins in my actions and pursuits. On New Year’s Eve of 2023, with help from the Modern Wisdom year-in-review template, I established four “north stars” for the year. Rather than resolutions, these north stars were big objectives for the year broken into quarterly milestones. They forced me to answer, “What do I want life to look like at this time next year?”
New Year’s resolutions often fail because, at a root level, people don’t want to do them. There is power behind the notion of “new year new me,” but implementing a big life change on any day, January 1st or not, is hard to sustain. The North Star method is more sustainable because it forces the user to set long-term goals they truly want to achieve. Once those goals are established it’s a simple process of backwards planning to ensure they happen. In this episode, I want to share two lessons from following North Stars and a template so you can set your North Stars for 2025.
It’s Okay To Say No.
Last January, after Christmas break, I reluctantly moved back into the fraternity house I had been living in for three semesters. To be clear, I didn’t have anything against the people or the organization. I simply recognized nothing about the place was conducive to the life I wanted to live. Fraternity culture does not make it easy to get engaged, start a podcast, or be healthy by sleeping and eating well.
Marathon training was an eye-opening journey that eventually led to leaving the organization. I finished the race because I woke up and went to bed early for the sake of training. On 99% of those mornings and evenings I was the only person, out of 100 guys, awake at 6 a.m. and in bed at 10 p.m. Going to bed early to recover wasn’t met with understanding. A successful race taught me that if I wanted to follow my north stars I had to say no to the culture around me. That lesson led me to leave the organization after the semester was over. Despite criticism and misunderstandings, it was the right choice.
We shouldn’t say no to everything we don’t like. Many difficult experiences (including my fraternity experience) come with important lessons we wouldn’t learn otherwise. However, if things are getting in the way of the north stars we set for ourselves, it’s ok to say no to them.
Do the Scary Thing(s)
Change is scary. One of my favorite books is “The Courage to Be Disliked” by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi. It’s a fascinating narrative between a philosopher/psychologist and a disgruntled teenager. A key idea in the book is that humans would rather sit in their discomfort than try to venture into the unknown, even if the unknown is a better place to be. We love the idea of change, but we are generally change-averse.
At the beginning of last year, I was in a solid position as a college student by all available metrics. I was a member of a good fraternity and several great student organizations. It was a comfortable position with a comfortable path forward: do good work, make connections, and build a big resumé. Despite being comfortable, little of it felt right. The time I spent at fraternity events and student organization meetings was not spent following the North Stars I had established at the beginning of the year.
I had originally planned to spend the summer at home working on the family farm for the 8th time, but thanks to poor planning on my part it didn’t make sense. Living away from home was scary, but it turned out to be a happy accident. I was able to spend significantly more time chasing North Stars. By the end of the summer, I was coaching CrossFit and building this podcast. Living away from home proved that taking the scary path brought amazing results. When school resumed I doubled down by leaving student organizations to continue building on the summer’s progress. It was a scary change, but I’m exactly where I wanted to be 12 months ago.
It’s important that we choose north stars which scare us, just a little. Committing to a long-term goal that could be achieved tomorrow defeats the purpose. True change happens when we are just outside of our comfort zones.
Setting Your North Stars
Below is a template you can use to plan 2025. I am borrowing it from the 2023 Modern Wisdom Year-in-Review template. Bold text is the template, italics are example answers I’m using this year. Feel free to copy and paste:
Health:
North Star
Get better sleep.
Why does this matter to me?
Every part of life is better when I am well-rested. Sleeping better will also allow me to better recover from workouts and even live longer.
What will success look like in December 2025?
If I am averaging 90%+ sleep performance in WHOOP and naturally waking up, well-rested, each morning.
Q1 Milestone: Sleep with my phone outside the bedroom at least 5 nights per week.
Q2 Milestone: Be in bed, trying to sleep, by 10 p.m. at least 5 nights per week.
Q3 Milestone: Average 85%+ sleep performance each week.
Q4 Milestone: Average 90%+ sleep performance each week.
What specific actions need to be taken each quarter?
Each quarter I will need to build upon the progress made by the last. Sleeping away from my phone is a good start to avoid the temptation of looking at a screen. A hard bedtime will be easier to follow without that distraction. The final two quarters will be a matter of experimenting with temperature, reading, stretching, etc.
What will make this north star easier to follow?
Making it clear to others why I value sleep in order to avoid the peer pressure of staying awake. Setting bedtime alarms is also a good reminder when to start winding down for the evening. Accomplishing all of the day’s tasks before that alarm will allow me to more effectively wind down.
Relationships:
North Star
Why does this matter to me?
What will success look like in December 2025?
Q1 Milestone:
Q2 Milestone:
Q3 Milestone:
Q4 Milestone:
What specific actions need to be taken each quarter?
Personal Growth:
North Star
Why does this matter to me?
What will success look like in December 2025?
Q1 Milestone:
Q2 Milestone:
Q3 Milestone:
Q4 Milestone:
What specific actions need to be taken each quarter?
Career:
North Star
Why does this matter to me?
What will success look like in December 2025?
Q1 Milestone:
Q2 Milestone:
Q3 Milestone:
Q4 Milestone:
What specific actions need to be taken each quarter?
I hope North Star Planning helps you have a successful 2025. The creator of this method, whoever it may be, is a genius.
Inspired by:
The 2023 Modern Wisdom Year-in-Review Template
Some photos from chasing North Stars:
