2025 Wrapped: A Year That Asked for COURAGE & STILLNESS
This year didn’t reward certainty.
It rewarded willingness.
It’s Friday night, on the 19th of December, sipping on a glass of red wine while indulging in 2010s music and the smell of a candle shining through my screen. As I sit here with a lust to find an interesting theme for the new blog post, I gave up the fight not to ask ChatGPT for inspiration. Which came out, of course, as a cliché topic for this time of year. But if Spotify can repeatedly do the yearly wraps, why could I not, like anyone cares anyway! Regardless of anyone’s opinion, which is one of the 2025 learnings, I had some pretty good revelations, ups and downs worth of recording for my future self in case I forget.
Disclaimer: To pick the top three categories of 2025 learnings, I did use ChatGPT to define the mess and for therapeutic purposes too.
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1.COURAGE: Taking Action Without Full Certainty
If anything, “going for it” or “taking action” instead of waiting to be ready is definitely a theme of 2025 in a few areas of my life. To be more specific, it was a dream of becoming a Pilates instructor as a side hustle that forced me to take action before I was ready to be one.
Living in Denmark and speaking mainly English, because my Danish is still at the level of a 10-year-old pupil, is not a great asset when it comes to joining Pilates studios in Copenhagen. After taking a Reformer Pilates certification in English at the end of 2024, I thought it would guarantee me an instructor spot at a good studio. To my NOT surprise, it was not as easy as I envisioned, and let’s be honest, the Pilates and Reformer market is saturated these days. Competition was simply too high.
At the beginning of this year, I decided to invest again (to some, it was a waste of money) in the exact same Reformer certification, BUT taught in Danish.
Clearly, my Danish is not that bad, as I was easily accepted into the course and could conduct and learn it in Danish. Sadly, when it came to the final test, I asked and made sure I could take it in English, as the feedback throughout the course was, “It is hard to understand you in Danish.” So my strategy to enter the Reformer instructor market for Danish speakers failed even before I managed to pass the exam.
Luckily, the teachers were supportive and believed in me, so they allowed me to take it in English. That ensured that I passed the exam, as I was understandable, ahaha, and I got a chance to teach Reformer in a Danish studio in one of their first English-taught classes.
What a success, I thought! However, from a Pilates instructor perspective, that’s when anxiety kicked in. I passed the exam, but I still was not good enough. I sounded wrong, I was not authentic or relaxed, my exercises were limited, and so was the playlist.
I decided to close my eyes, as my fellow Reformer colleagues and teachers advised, and focused on teaching one class at a time, which I did. Slowly but surely, I became more authentic, found my tone of voice and style. It’s been over seven months and every session I teach I perceive it as a growing and learning journey instead of trying to be perfect. I strive to be not perfect, but as skilled and knowledgeable an instructor as possible.
Bottom line, I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I wanted to teach Reformer. I just took a risk, without any guarantees. I was so shy and awkward at first. But I survived, ignored the awkwardness, and focused on embracing every lesson I got from each failure or a small win. To this day, I will never consider giving up. I see failures as so empowering that I literally look for opportunities to fail, as discomfort is the only recipe for growth. Of course, you need a discipline and effort but that is nothing compared to doing something you are not very good at at first.
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2.STILLNESS: Willingness to pause when a moment says GO
I love adrenaline. I love impulsiveness, spontaneity, fun, people, and adventures. I love anything that can drag me away from the routine of everyday life. Those who really know me would agree. However, it’s been something I have been intentionally working on over the past few years. This urge also comes naturally with age, and at 34 years old, I’m also glad it’s finally coming. I was really all over the place.
Slowing down felt to me like a failure. Getting settled and comfortable looked too boring and ordinary to me. I have been incredibly lucky to marry a man who is exactly the opposite. Over the years, he has always inspired me by the way he finds happiness on a day-to-day basis in ordinary moments of life, like time spent with close family, relaxing, cooking, and just being. I did not like that for myself, but witnessing him being happy, not from highs of exciting moments or adrenaline, but from simply being. I knew this was the way for me to get onto.
Getting inspired by my husband and intentionally choosing slowness was one of the bravest risks I took this year.
It started by picking my top three priorities and giving them all my time and focus. Those priorities were my full-time office job to provide income, time with my husband and family, and the last one was my dream of becoming an instructor. Everything else I considered either a distraction or an energy sucker.
This shift in my focus created extra space, and clarity showed up.
I had an easier time saying NO to things that would be nice to do, people that would be nice to meet, and events that would be nice to participate in. I had a lot more time to be intentional with my husband, with our families, and with my own agenda, work, and Pilates.
In the middle of it all, that’s when it clicked. During the “slowing down” phase, I was still wired on adrenaline and excitement, it only got a new form and shape. I knew what I was doing and why I was giving my focus and energy to certain things. Satisfaction and fulfillment.
This stillness I’m taking with me into 2026, maybe opening up to more priorities on my list, but definitely keeping an eye on all the distractions that do not serve me and my priorities. Call it selfish; I call it a “my-happy-husband-for-all-the-ordinary-things” kind of lifestyle. Lucky me, he has been patient with me through all this. That’s the next lesson to take; it’s been noted.
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3.Lastly: Choosing growth over constantly proving myself
Letting go of the belief that worth is measured by output.
Of course, achievements feel good. Celebrating them and being acknowledged feels good. If there is one last thing that 2025 taught me, it is that it’s about the journey. Positive outcomes are nice, but not necessarily the point.
To wrap this up shortly, if I were not teaching Reformer by now after all these certifications and money invested, would that be a waste?
Well, ask my husband how he likes my buttocks now. If you ask me, I like that I feel stronger, healthier, and more knowledgeable, with or without teaching Pilates.
When you choose growth over achievement, you’ll grow for sure, and the results will come in ways and forms that you sometimes can’t even imagine for yourself.
Never give up on yourself.
Happy New Year, dear all!
x.o.xo. Tina