Why I am Choosing Ease Over Hustle to Start This Year
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash
It has taken me 13 years of living in Europe, specifically Munich, Germany, to fully appreciate the Christmas holiday season. Not just in the traditional, festive sense—the gift-giving, tree-decorating, holiday-market-glühwein-drinking kind (though that’s certainly a highlight and deserves its own post!). I mean appreciating the way everything genuinely slows down between New Year’s Eve and Epiphany (Three Kings Day), which fell on Monday of last week.
Most of my clients and the companies I work with turned off their lights, shut down their emails, and unplugged from December 20th, only resurfacing last Tuesday. That was a full 17-day holiday—nearly three weeks!
And you know what? Three weeks really is enough time to rest and recover. It feels like we’ve all been caught in a whirlwind since the pandemic—a relentless quicksand pulling us in, leaving us grasping for whatever grains we can hold on to. (But I digress.)
It’s taken me 13 years to finally allow myself to not spend this downtime hustling—planning, strategizing, and setting goals for the new year. Instead, I let myself rest. I reconnected. I even managed to sleep in as late as my daughter allowed (miraculously, we had a few 8:00 a.m. mornings!). Waking up in the mountains, brewing a fresh cup of coffee, and easing into whatever the day held felt indulgent, delicious, and absolutely necessary. It was a reminder that I don’t need to have everything figured out before the year begins.
And here are a few realizations I had:
My business will be okay even if I don’t have every detail of my strategic plan mapped out by January 1st—or even by January 31st.
If I’m easing back into things, others probably are too (even if they’re calling it procrastination or laziness.. it’s NOT!).
Giving myself space and grace for creating my 2025 ambitions allows me to receive inspiration instead of forcing things into place.
Ease feels expansive, like a growth mindset, while hustle often feels fixed and limiting. I’ll take expansion over limitation any day.
Without rigid plans, there’s room for creativity, imagination, and play—and honestly, the world could use a bit more of that these days.
So who else is with me choosing ease these early days of 2025?
Let’s Talk Leadership Development
Hi! I’m Carrie. I coach mid-to-senior level professionals — especially team leads stepping into larger leadership roles and parents returning after parental leave — who feel less confident transitioning from technical expertise to people management. Rather than “starting from scratch”, we’ll tap into your strengths, build your confidence, and help you lead with clarity and authenticity, both at work and at home.
If you're ready to enhance your leadership skills or help your team grow, let’s connect.