Resources from December 29, 2024 Zoom Holiday Happy Hour
Some ideas to get 2025 started off right.
We had a fantastic happy hour this past Sunday and — with the exception of some reminiscing about President Carter given his passing — we stuck to our ground rules and kept it (mostly) politics-free.
I loved hearing about how people “feed their soul” in different ways, something we all agreed was important to prioritize heading into 2025. We all also full support anyone who wants to wear Snoopy pajamas (you had to be there to understand).
Some suggestions from your classmates at The Freedom Academy:
Watch Korean soap operas, which apparently are available on Netflix — with the favorite theme for Asian drama…FORBIDDEN LOVE. (We also got a hot tip that the Korean movie 12/12: The Day, though be warned that it might hit a little too close to home right now.)
Be creative and productive with a bullet journal. I am trying this myself but feel a little overwhelmed…I got some stencils to jump start my creativity.
If you are feeling especially creative (or want to unblock your creativity), check out The Artist’s Way — I love this book but be warned there are a lot of exercises (I’ve never made it past Chapter 1)…but it’s fun
Embrace ikigai (which it turns out, is not a description of my dating life) or the Trident Mindset as you enter 2025
Make a vision board for what you want to achieve/manifest in the New Year — see mine for 2024, which I made happen (including the “adult spring break” in Antigua):
Try qigong, meditation, or other mindfulness and breathing practice (I use Headspace, which has a “Ready, Set, Reset” pack for 2025)
A couple of folks talked about their new hobbies: jewelry making and book binding
Check out the happiness practices endorsed by Yale psychologist Laurie Santos or by Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
Travel! One our members is heading to Thailand, and I mentioned my stop at the Jim Thompson House (which I wrote about in an earlier Round Up). And of course I need to make a plug for the cruise that my It’s Complicated cohost, Renato Mariotti, and I are hosting next summer, which you can find out more about here!
Finally, if you want to travel for…an extended period, I recommend getting info from Global Citizens Solutions, which helped me understand the landscape for different kinds of visas available for Americans (Golden Visas, digital nomad visas, passive income visas…etc.). I might be writing this Substack from Spain in a few years!
I hope this list helps you get into a great frame of mind by midnight tonight — please add others in the comments. We can do this y’all — see you next year!
Asha, many thanks for the notes and links. It was a good call Sunday. See ya next year!
Gratitude: This New Year’s Day I have been making a list of things in the past year for which I am grateful. That list includes Asha Rangappa and the Freedom Academy. I am grateful for all that I have learned from both the course and the students. I am grateful for the hard work that Asha has chosen to devote to this project, and for the community that she has created. I am grateful for the special guests she has arranged. I am grateful for the new perspectives I have gained from this course.