I don’t set New Year’s resolutions. Sometimes I just decide to clean up my act, and other times, my days are just non-stop, jampacked, and full of multi-tasking, loaded baked potatoes and other questionable choices.
This year, I knew I would have a lot of January to myself, while Jay was away visiting our oldest daughter Jane, her husband Matt and their two adorable daughters Nixie and Elka in New Zealand. It was a long time wish of his to visit New Zealand, even before Jane lived there.
Everyone asked why I didn’t go along. The truth is that I don’t aspire to go there, I wasn’t interested in 2 full days of travel each direction (3 flights each way), and it would be very difficult for me to take 3 weeks off.
I also love time to myself and had a lot of ideas for projects I wanted to do around the house that were better without anyone’s input other than my own. 🙂
Jay actually left right after Christmas, and when I told him that I was going to set a New Year’s resolution, it caught him by surprise, having been married to me for 27 years at this point. I told him that my resolution is that I’m just going to be the best version of me in 2025, and continually work on that (TBD on what that means). He probably left the country afraid.
Just to keep things interesting, and because I knew I’d have all those evenings to myself, I signed up to take the 40 hour course required to get my real estate brokers license. What am I going to do with that license? Nothing different from what I’m doing now, it just made sense for as long as I’ve been selling houses, going on my 13th year, and based on the quantity and volume of transactions that I do ($22 million in 2024), it couldn’t hurt to have the brokers license, and just a higher level of credentials. I’m done with the course and am now working on the test-prep.
So, 2025 being working on the best version of me, I started with getting on the treadmill, which I don’t mind doing. I certainly prefer walking outside with someone else along because it makes the time pass so quickly, but I’ve got 6+ weeks before the temps are comfortable enough for me to walk outside.
My indoor routine starts with what you see above, which is my iPad attached with two big Velcro straps to the control screen of the treadmill, and watching something educational or motivating on YouTube. Sometimes it’s a cooking show or a home improvement hack, but often it’s practical real estate strategies or interviews with people I can listen to and glean personal and professional helpful hints. I like James Clear, Brené Brown, and over the course of the past year, I’ve watched assorted Mel Robbins social media stories and reels. I hadn’t really paid attention to her approach or been any kind of fan until last summer when we went to visit our middle son Max and his fiancé Christina in San Diego, and I decided to use some of our Audible credits to listen to her Audible exclusive series while on the flights. Her no nonsense practical approach just aligns with things that I’m interested in. It also could be because she’s a 55-year-old woman with college age kids and a long-term marriage, and who is focused on the work/life balance and has a thirst for knowledge. Some of the things she said, yup, that could be me. I hadn’t ever watched her podcast until a few months ago.
What I can tell you is that since I began watching The Mel Robbins Podcast, I’ve now doubled the time I spend on the treadmill because I could just watch her all day. The Mel Robbins Podcast is a veritable treasure trove of valuable information, science-backed routines, amazingly motivational guests, and very interesting things you may have not thought about. I especially like that she includes details on the science behind what she and her expert guests recommend. WHY it’s important and beneficial to drink a glass of water before coffee in the morning (here’s the episode), understanding how food and fats relate to each other in your body and HOW you can easily do a reasonable amount of intermittent fasting (here’s the episode–I’m doing it right now),
and another one of my favorites Dr. Wendy Suzuki: Change Your Brain: #1 Neuroscientist’s Exercise Protocol for Peak Energy and Focus. This was a great episode and wish it had a more inviting title because it’s definitely worth watching, and I swear the cold shower trick is very easy to do. In December, Mel Robbins was a guest on Oprah’s podcast! When I told Jay (who does pay attention to Joe Rogan’s podcast) about Mel Robbins, he said “I’ve never heard of him”. Oh, Jay. According to the internet, in 2024, Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, was the top Spotify podcast in the U.S. And in January 2025, The Mel Robbins Podcast was number one on Apple Podcasts, surpassing Rogan’s audience.
The good thing about being a late adopter to something so impactful is that there are 250+ of her hour long podcast episodes in addition to her Audible-only content and all of her social media reels stories and posts. Where to start?
Visit the Mel Robbins YouTube Channel
Check out MelRobbins.com
Follow Mel Robbins on Facebook
Follow Mel Robbins on Instagram
On top of all that, Mel has yet another bestselling book that was released in December that is (as of February 2025) the #1 title on Amazon, and #1 New York Times Bestseller, #1 Sunday Times Bestseller and #1 Audible Bestseller. It’s called The Let Them Theory.
The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About
The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
The High 5 Habit: Take Control of Your Life with One Simple Habit
I have not read any of her books, but have listened to her Audible-only podcasts. HOWEVER, I’ve seen at least 20 of my friends post about The Let Them Theory, and saying it’s been life-changing for them. I’ll write again after I’ve read at least one of these books, but in the meantime I’ll just be over here working on the best version of myself in 2025. How about you?