Eight Decisions to Make If You Want to Grow in 2025

My wife, Pam, is a planner. For most of our 43 years of marriage, she has spent time with a tablet each weekend to plan our meals for the following week. We identify the nights we’ll both be home for dinner and which nights one of us will be at an event or on a trip. We pencil in a date night (usually on the weekend) and choose the groceries we’ll need to buy for the other days. Millions of couples do something like this each week.

My question for you is simple:
Do you do the same thing for what you feed your mind?

Most of us spend more time planning what food we’ll consume than what we’ll consume intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Why not change that this year? Here are eight decisions I try to make as I launch each new year that ensure I will grow.

Eight Decisions to Help You Grow:

1️⃣  In what areas do I want to grow? I isolate a day in late December or early January to identify 4-6 areas of my life that still need help. I ask myself: where do I need to grow and where do I want to grow? What are my priorities for the new year? What responsibilities are on the calendar that require a better “me”?

2️⃣  What books will I read? Once I choose my priority areas for growth, I select two books to read per month. I try to make sure these are books by experts in the field authors I respect or authors who’ve been recommended to me. If I read for 30 minutes a day, I can digest 24 books each year.

3️⃣  What podcasts will I listen to? I subscribe to nine podcasts to listen to while I’m driving or traveling. I choose recordings that address my chosen growth areas. As I hop in my car, I usually have one cued up and ready to go, unless I need to spend time on the phone during that drive time.

4️⃣  What mentors will I need? Next, I select a set of “mentors,” people who are ahead of me, specializing in one of the areas in which I want to grow. I meet regularly, one-on-one, with a mentor for each area, such as leadership, communication, financial investments, human development, etc.

5️⃣  What magazines or articles do I want to digest? I subscribe to magazines and Substacks, to read about the latest thinking from those I admire. Articles are usually books a year before they’re published, since authors often post on a topic before they publish a full book. These articles feed my growth areas.

6️⃣  What events will I attend? Each year I attend conferences, seminars or workshops, as I am sure you do as well. The difference for me is—I try to align the events I attend with the categories I’ve chosen to grow in. Either the topic or the speakers align with my desired growth areas.

7️⃣  What content should I watch? We now have the luxury of watching streaming videos, documentaries, TED talks or YouTube content that enable us to grow in a variety of areas. Doubtless some new ones will be released during the year, but I suggest you make a list up front that you should view.

8️⃣  What accountability will I require? Finally, to stick to my plan, I need a person or two to hold me accountable to follow through. I tend to keep commitments that I know a close friend will ask me about each month. We all perform better when we’re watched. I have two accountability partners.

I know there will be spontaneous opportunities that present themselves to me this year and I’ll take advantage of them—but making these decisions will guarantee my growth. Just like I’ve never eaten a meal by accident, I never want to leave my personal growth to chance.

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