It’s okay to want MORE for yourself for 2025—but the secret to happiness, joy, and fulfillment and the secret to daily contentment is to want MORE of the right things. This list posted reflects some of the things I’d like MORE of in 2025, and I think I’ll make “seeking” them a priority of my New Year’s Resolutions. We each have to purposefully seek the things we want more of in our lives but I hope you might enjoy sharing in my thoughts about my list and perhaps you will find you want to put some of these things on your New Year’s MORE list, too.

MORE SLEEP: Every good day in life starts with getting enough restful sleep. It affects the way you think, feel, work, and learn, your health, happiness, and how you get along with others. I’m a big believer in turning off the visuals, reading improving literature, quieting the mind, focusing on the positive and counting my blessings as I settle in to sleep because sweet, untroubled sleep is the key to a richer and more positive day…. “Sleep is the energy you need to be effective tomorrow” [Tom Roth]. … “Tired minds don’t plan well” [Walter Reisch].

MORE MUSIC: The right kind of music is a positive to life. Good music—going to the symphony, listening to the classics or other favorites, tapping my toes to bluegrass or oldies, or singing along with hymns—lifts my spirits. Keep in mind that music, like spoken words, is a powerful force that can positively or negatively impact your life. So choose wisely. When it’s good, “music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything” [Plato]. “Music is the divine way to tell beautiful poetic things to the heart” [Pablo Casals].

MORE TEA: I’d like to add More Tea into my year—tall glasses of iced tea with mint or fruity flavors and warm mugs of hot tea in the evening as I curl up to read. The English have always had it right about “a cup of tea” being the answer to most everything. “Tea is a gentle reminder to slow down and savor the moment” [anon].  “A cup of tea is a cup of peace” [Seri Sshitsu]. More tea this year would be nice.

MORE BOOKS: It should go without saying that I want to read More books and write More books in 2025. It is through books that my mind, heart and soul are enriched and satisfied. “What a blessing it is to love books” [Elizabeth von Arnim].….”Books are the plane and the train and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home” [Anna Quindlen].

MORE SUNSESTS: I want to take time to notice More sunsets and More beauty this year. You’ll notice I didn’t say sunrises. I well know I am not an early morning person, but I savor the beauty of the day, the start of evening, and the loveliness in the world. And I want to savor those things more. “Every sunset is uniquely beautiful and so are we” [anon]. “Never go too long without watching a sunset” [anon].

MORE CREATING:  I want to do more creating this year—and to try creating in new ways. “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul” [Dieter F. Uchtdorf]. We all have so many more creative gifts than we utilize and I want to discover and use more of mine. “What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul” [Deepak Chopra]. I want more of that in 2025.

MORE LONG WALKS: I definitely want to take more long walks and hikes this year. Time outdoors always lifts my heart and spirit, and I love being in the beauty of nature. As John Muir so wisely wrote: “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” …“After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value” [G.M. Trevelyan]. I am enriched walking—and it’s the type of exercise I most love—and I want and need more of that.

MORE LAUGHTER: I definitely need to laugh more in 2025, a hard task in this world today. But I know there should be more fun and laughter in my daily life. Laughter is healing and healthy and as Madeleine L’Engle wrote: “A good laugh heals a a lot of hurts.” …“Laughing is good for you; it’s like jogging on the inside” [Kurt Vonnegut]. I have a deficit of laughing as a serious type. I know I need more laughter! Don’t we all?

MORE HUGS: I am big on “hugging” and want to continue to be a hugger. Sometimes “there is more power in a good, strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words” [Ann Hood]….”Hugs are a simple, yet meaningful way to show someone they matter, they are safe, they are accepted, and they are loved” [anon]. I believe that, and I like hugs!

MORE DREAMING: Research shows dreaming while awake is a form of creating and planning, so I definitely want more “Awake Dreaming!” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” and John Maxwell wisely added, “Dreams don’t work unless you do.” So for myself, I want to Dream More and Do More. What good is a dead dream? We need to live our dreams. “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” [Harriet Tubman].

MORE ROAD TRIPS: Yes, I do want more Road Trips this year. We’ve visited a lot of new places working on all our parks guidebooks, and I’ve found so much joy in those travels. It’s true that “life is beautiful if you are on the road to somewhere” [Orhan Pamuk] and especially when you’re exploring on interesting backroads. “Road trips are the equivalent of human wings” {Victoria Erickson]. We may not be able to fly there, but we can drive there…. And road trips nearby are as fun and interesting as long trips to far-away places.

MORE FUN: Serious-minded people, of which I am one, have to work harder to make more fun in their lives. And I want to do more of that. It’s healthy. As Dr. Seuss said: “It’s fun to have fun.” We know well how to have fun as kids but when we become adults we forget how to really have fun and we neglect to find ways to do it more. I think maybe this should be the year to remember how much fun life can really be and to make more fun in our lives. “Never, ever, underestimate the importance of having fun” [Randy Pausch].

MORE LOVE: Good words to close. We all need to love more. The world needs it: we need it. We all carry the capacity to love, but we don’t all use it well. We feel it but don’t find ways to express it. “Love is more than a feeling—it is caring, sharing, helping, sacrificing” [Wm Arthur Ward]. Love makes us get out of the smallness of ourselves, and “Love is shown more in deeds than words” [Saint Ignatius]. I believe if we keep ourselves in the love of God, we love sweeter and better, too. I daily want to do more of that. “The most important thing in life is to live your life for something more important than your life” [William James].

Do MORE to be your best self this year whatever your goals … and don’t forget to have some joy along the way!… Happy 2025. … See you in February… Lin

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Note: All photos my own, from royalty free sites, or used only as a part of my author repurposed storyboards shown only for educational and illustrative purposes, acc to the Fair Use Copyright law, Section 107 of the Copyright Act.