Top 12 Lessons of 2024 that Changed My Life

We’re barely into the new year and it already feels refreshingly different from the last.

The better part of 2024— for me— will be remembered as a Year of Rushing. (Funny, considering my animal of 2024 was the Turtle.)

For months now, I’ve known that one word of 2025 would be Spaciousness. I’m very much over the rushing, the task treadmill, and the self-sacrificing.

And perhaps because I’ve been half-joking over those months that “Once I make it to 2025, everything will feel better…” I actually… manifested that???

We’ll see if the calmness sticks around. But one thing’s for sure: I’ll be strolling into 2025 with a backpack full of new lessons from being so damn rushed and overwhelmed for most of 2024!

6 of My Biggest A-ha! Moments From 2024 That Will Shape My 2025:

1. I need to separate decision-making time from execution time by creating my own organizational chart.

In 2024, I felt like I was in a tornado of tasks. As someone who’s usually great at prioritizing, I struggled to balance being both the Visionary and the Executor of many projects.

A helpful exercise from Dr. Karin Nordin at Body Brain Alliance reminded me that, as a self-employed person, I wear a bazillion different hats. BUT, I can map these roles into an organizational chart—just like a big company would.

I serve as my own Executive level: CEO, Chief Home Officer, Chief Adventure Officer, etc. “CEO Angie” oversees a few different Directors (also myself), and those Directors all have Executing staff (yes, still me) below them.

For example, CEO Angie manages a Talent Director. The TD manages a handful of executors: the podcast host, the emcee, the speaker, etc. Meanwhile, Chief Home Officer Angie oversees the Chef, the Housekeeper, and the Relationship Coach— all of whom have different tasks to oversee themselves.

The key is that I need to wear my C-level and Director hats at different times than my Executor hats.

I spiral in overwhelm and analysis paralysis if I’m trying to make decisions and execute tasks at the same time. In 2025, I’m designating time for CEO-level decisions, for director-level strategizing, and for task execution. No more mixing the Deciding with the Doing.

2. I thrive on "being" goals, not numerical goals.

Early in 2024, I set a few numbers-based goals: sell X books, pitch X podcast sponsors, go skiing X times.

None of them stuck. Numbers felt uninspiring. I rarely even looked at those metrics. I couldn’t even tell you what “X” was.

What did stick? Being goals: intentions rather than metrics. I used my No Limits Planner to set monthly themes (August: “Experiment The Heck Out Of It,” May: “Proactive, Not Reactive,” July: “Be Good To Your Body,” etc.).

These themes excited me about how I wanted to feel as I made progress on bigger projects, and they led to meaningful action when looking at numbers didn’t.

I’m not against setting numbers-based goals, and I know they work for many people. I just know that in order to hit numerical goals, I need to consider being goals first.

As of now, I’m still unsure of what 2025 numbers will be motivating to me—how much I want to earn, hours I want to work, or projects I want to accomplish. (Though I’ll share them on Substack as they come up!) I do know I want to feel spacious and revolutionary, and I have a lot of ideas to feel as such.

3. My own self-deprecation hurts other women.

OOF, this one made me blush just mentioning it, but I know many women relate. When I hear other women be self-critical, I’m usually quick to hype-girl them back up and call them out on hiding their awesomeness. But last year, I caught myself being flippantly self-deprecating.

On a ski lift in early 2024, a woman stranger complimented my sick hot pink ski pants. I joked that “I’m not good enough” to wear the cool pants. This stranger immediately called me out on my BS and said, “Hey, don’t talk about yourself like that.” She was right—I’d never want another woman to diminish herself that way. I’d never want anyone to NOT wear the pink pants! So why would I say something contrary to my values?

Later, in December at a conference I was speaking at, I met an inspiring female leader in the outdoor industry. We were chatting about our passions and I mentioned something about my love for menstrual cycles “even though I know that’s cheesy.” She gently called me in for dismissing my passion of something so important to so many women and reminded me that if I own my passions unapologetically, I encourage others to do the same.

I’m going to be more mindful of my own self-deprecation. LMK when I fuck it up. ;)

The pink pants in question.

4. Hardly anything is truly urgent (even if we’ve been conditioned to feel it is).

On January 1st of 2024, I impulsively decided to turn off my Gmail notifications on my phone. I could still open my email, but I wouldn’t get any pings. Within hours, I was like… “Is… is this freedom?”

Looking back, that was my first mini-epiphany that emergencies don’t really happen by email. I was treating most email as urgent (whether urgent to read or urgent to reply to), even though most of them could wait hours, if not DAYS.

Through 2024, I still spent way too much time opening apps without intention, constantly checking tabs on my desktop browser, and replying at weird hours when something could wait until the next day (or three).

Self-imposed urgency is out for 2025. I’m going to extend my timeline estimates and deadlines, communicate my expectations and policies around time/responses, and be more intentional in my app/email usage.

Just last week, I downloaded a free app to block my email access on my phone from 7am-7pm every day, and social media usage after 9pm every day. I’ll likely block all social media on weekends soon. Anyone want to join me?

5. Outsourcing is queen, but it looks different than I expected.

”I need help but it’ll take too much work to train someone to do it, so I’ll just do it myself.” ←Sound familiar? When I started feeling a bit too busy in March of 2024, I hesitated to outsource any tasks, because I thought it’d be easier to “just do it myself.” But with guidance from a coach, I reframed outsourcing as a spectrum, not a binary.

The outsourcing spectrum of None to All: The biggest shift for me was realizing other people could start a task that I could finish, or that I could start a task that others could finish. The task didn’t have to entirely lie in one person’s hands. There could be a hand-off somewhere in the middle.

The outsourcing spectrum of Always to One Time: A social media manager might always handle your social media, while a Zapier consultant might work with you for one day to help you set up your systems. You might have a housecleaner come just once before a big party, or come weekly to tidy.

The outsourcing spectrum of Human to Tech: A software app can transcribe your podcast conversations. But a human can clean them up and make them readable. An app (hi again, Zapier) can automate your onboarding system, but a human can outline the structure.

In 2024, I experimented with virtual assistants, meal ingredient delivery service, housecleaning, etc. In 2025, I have an intern to help my podcast consulting business, I hired a coach for a spring gravel bike race (because her expertise will guide be better than I can alone), and I’ll get meals delivered upon returning from travel weeks. For me, spending the money is often worth saving the time.

6. Be proactive, not reactive.

Last year, I spent so much time reacting to issues that I had very little time left to prevent further issues. I started to look for ways to add more proactive time to my days.

I used an open-source (read: free) calendar scheduler for meetings, so that I don’t have to go back-and-forth 20 times via email to schedule a call. I protected my training time for my 100-miler by not offering certain hours on that scheduler. I blocked off travel days in advance so I wouldn’t have to reschedule. These small changes made a huge difference, saving me time and sanity. “Proactive over reactive” will remain a mantra for me in 2025.

7. Regular novelty is a necessity for me.

So much of 2024 felt like a grind to me, and I’m not about that life. I thrive on newness, curiosity, experimentation… novelty.

This Liz Moody podcast episode perfectly puts into words what I’ve instinctively known since I was a kid. Even as a child and a teenager, I remember lying in bed awake at night, feeling unfulfilled if I didn’t have something new to look forward to on the calendar!

With last year being so full of 100 mile run training and working too much, I didn’t have as much time for novelty as I like to build into my life.

After my race, I decided that for the month of September, I would commit to doing something novel every day (even if it was tiny). Biking roads I’d never seen before, trying new foods, having coffee chats with people I didn’t know... These small experiments reignited my creativity and joy. So I’m looking for mini-doses of novelty as often as possible in 2025.

8. I want to be revolutionary in my work.

I’ve been intrigued AF by watching fellow small business owners challenging traditional systems. Anti-capitalist commerce, building in time for rest, sharing a ton for free, trade work, innovative collaboration, prerequisites to working with someone, inviting others to one-up you, businesses not on social media… There are so many little actions I’m noticing others do that shake up the status quo. Because y’all know the status quo isn’t working.

Seeing these revolutionary ideas motivates me to be bold in my own work. The first “aha” moment I had in this realm was post presidential election in November 2024. I wondered what I could do with my own unique set of skills and knowledge to make a positive impact in communities in my country.

One big step: In 2025, I’ll publicize my fertility awareness resources for free. This feels revolutionary because it challenges norms, supports bodily autonomy, and aligns with my values (health, freedom, and empowerment included). I wrote about that more here on IG. What will you do?

9. We don’t have to be everywhere (especially digitally).

These days, Instagram’s current culture feels robotic and draining. Sometime in the past year, I reflected that the fun and “pros” I’ve gotten from connecting on social media don’t outweigh the “cons” (data security, time wasting, constant ads, spam, etc.). More on that here.

Same in business. My business partner and I realized we’ve never gotten a paying client from Instagram. Instead, we’re focusing on platforms that truly work for us, like LinkedIn and word-of-mouth referrals. My energy is better spent where it matters most.

Substack is an experiment for me to find more meaningful digital connection than Instagram or other social media can currently give me. Which is why it means a lot if you share, comment, or subscribe! 😉

10. Embrace the “Blender Bottle” mindset.

LOL, this one is weird but I also love it. I’m going to paste an Instagram caption from April 2024 to explain:

I was on a call with biz bestie Emily Holland and telling her about some running pre-workout powder a brand sent. Struggling to get it to fully mix, I asked whether she put the powder in the glass before the water, or the water before the powder. She was like... Um, why don't you just use a blender bottle? And I was like... Why would I spend money on a bottle that I don't technically need?! 🙄

But a few days later, a gift from Emily arrived in the mail: A (pink!!!) blender bottle. I was skeptical. But immediately, I noticed how this very simple tool made a task easier enough to be a notable help. Suddenly, I started seeing "blender bottle" metaphors EVERYWHERE in my work.

For years, I've told myself my minimal desk setup was enough to "get me by." But I've been hating the way my laptop camera lines up on my desk while on calls. So I bought a laptop stand and second monitor and OMG within 10 minutes it made everything SO much more professional.

I've been going nuts with back-and-forth emails to schedule meetings, and also to hold my boundaries of not wanting morning meetings. But it was working "enough," so I didn't want to buy scheduling software. Well, blender bottle inspired me to investigate software options, and I found an incredible open source calendar app that took me less than an hour to set up and that will prevent endless future headaches.

Delegation and outsourcing allows me to spend more time on deep work. But that's scary-- to invest your money and TRUST (😵‍💫) in other people to help you with your mission.

But damn, I'm looking at that 'lil pink bottle and know that intentional initial investments of money, time, and effort will only help me in the long run. Small investments in tools or processes can yield massive rewards.

11. Complacency is the enemy.

At a retreat with extraordinary coach Justine Mulliez, I got to meet my “inner leader.” Naturally, she’s a bold and wise Sparkle Ice Queen. Think sexy Gandalf meets Glenda the Good Witch.

Problem is, my inner leader is often stifled by a gray blob of complacency.

Complacency tells me to settle for “good enough.” It tells me that it’s not worth the effort to shake something up when I’m not truly in danger. It blocks me from living in alignment with my deep values. It keeps me from fully tasting everything I want out of life. Lame.

In 2025, I want to embody my inner Ice Queen: sparkly, unapologetic, and ready to lead.

12. CHEESY BUT DAMN TRUE: So much more is possible than I’ve ever imagined.

Running my first 100-mile race shifted my perspective on pretty much everything. When I signed up for the race, and even through training, I wasn’t sure I could finish. 100 is a lot of miles, folks. So much could go wrong— injury, dehydration, bad poops, getting lost, being too slow, getting bored…

This sounds absolutely bonkers but… it wasn’t that hard. Like, yeah, it was a huge mental and physical feat, but in the moment, it felt like I was ready to do it, made to do it, the person for the job. It was FUN while being hard. None of it was as bad as I’d feared (except for 10 hours of mild hallucinations/eye tricks and falling asleep while running).

Choosing my challenge made it bearable—and, more than that, transformative.

I crossed that finish line with period blood on my thighs, stroopwaffel crumbs on my shirt, and a grin plastered on my face (all of which had been there all morning).

(And then I ran an extra .75mi around the parking lot to get my watch to triple digits, of course.)

This race proved to me that I can set big, audacious goals. I can break my own rules in work, relationships, and life. I can think bigger, dream sparklier, tell the doubters that I don’t need their input kthanksbye.

If I can imagine it, I can do it. I’ve believed that my entire life. But now I have the proof that it’s true.

That energy is carrying me into the new year. Ready, set…