2025 - Lessons Learned - 🤯💪🫂
TLDR (for the busy people):
My goal for this is to share some personal things with you as well as inspire you to go and do your own personal retro/nostalgia writing time. Or if you prefer, ramble it into a speech-to-text software and/or brain dump into your AI model of choice and let it analyze your thoughts. Group it by Mind, Body, and People. It will blow your mind.
🤗 Tell me when you did it!!
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This year taught me three things.
First - my mind works best when I reduce noise, protect my attention, and let intuition lead the work.
Second - my body will always know the truth before I do. Health comes first.
Third - people matter. Boundaries matter. And my relationships only work when I am clear about who I am and who I am not.
Now for the longer story - grab a cuppa 🙌 ...
I like to chop bigger things into smaller parts - for easier handling - just like cooking. So, when I sat down to meditate on a retrospective for 2025, I chunked my life lessons into mind, body, and people.
Or - mental, physical, and social health.
Yeah. this stuff: 🤯💪🫂
Mind 🤯
This year stretched my brain in every possible way.
It started all peacefully with a 10-day silent meditation retreat in New Zealand. Soon, things picked up pace as I grew my side project next to my full-time gig, and then a mystery illness came in the way.
Building The Human CV project while flying around and coaching 60 managers for Rio Tinto meant I had to organize my life in a way I hadn't before. Always ready to travel - and only with a 7kg carry-on. Constantly pack/unpack/test tech/test outfits. Plan and set up intake calls for guests and people keen to be on the podcast. Checking if someone was the right fit. Building trust. Picking the right questions. Seeing if I could make them laugh.
Hosting people in a way that made them feel welcome. Making sure my partner knew who was coming over and that I'd prepped what they liked to drink. It all needed coordination - and regulation. Logistics and personal issues have to take the backseat while we're guiding people through their deep storytelling in front of our cameras and microphones.
I learned how to be a podcast host. Not the fancy kind. The real kind. The one who has to hold intuition in one hand and structure in the other. When to follow a feeling. When to ask the rational question. When to shut up and let someone breathe. Plenty of "Oops" and "Aha!" moments along the journey!
I also learned how much videography work sits behind a "simple" Human CV interview. Planning. Filming. Writing and editing every long-form profile for my guests. I just uploaded the whole Human CV experience to LinkedIn and tried to grade it as if it was a school education. It taught me more about communication, branding, and video editing than any training I've done.
Mental health-wise, the biggest lesson was my relationship with input. I found out the hard way that I cannot parent myself through the addictive nature of social media. My Gemini moon and rising brain gets sucked into the endless stream of reels and posts. I tried everything. Apps. Phone lockouts. Putting the phone in another room. I still ended up scrolling like it was a part-time job. Magpie mind. Shiny reels. Must scrooooooollllllllllll. Burp. Another time warp had begun.
It hit me in meditation recently...
If I used that time for writing, I would be an author of three books today.
Ouch. That hit me.
So I made a rule for next year. A top 30 playlist. Thirty preselected YouTube videos only. My current topics? Metaphysics. Psychology. Biochemistry. Neuroscience. Weird woo-woo stuff (it works so I keep going). Fasting. Business growth. Copywriting. Branding. Stoicism. And a separate playlist with music to get me into flow.
No random scrolling. No endless buffet. Only deliberate consumption.
My mind calms down when I reduce decisions.
That is the lesson this year - for my mind, body, and people.
PS: Have you ever tried silent walks with a friend or partner? The ultimate shared introvert time. Pretending you can't talk, grab your mate and head out. Perfect with noise-cancelling headphones, playing sound healing tunes or a motivational podcast, walking near a river or ocean... enjoying solo recharge time together.
Body 💪
This year was a shock for my system.
My body forced me to slow down in a way I didn't choose.
Two months of lying down, cramps and stomach flue symptoms. Fatigue that made me feel frustrated - and bored. Rapid weight loss. 15 kilos gone in 2 months. Then, skeleton Jen's first ambulance ride. Hospital. Blood tests. Infusions. Ultrasounds. CT scans. Cancer? Crohn's? Nope, make it a rare mystery illness. After weeks, 20 doctors finally had a guess-diagnosis. An IUD removal triggered Actinomycosis.
A bacteria culture took over my body and ate my tissue and organs from the inside. liver, kidneys, colon, ovarian tissues - I became brekkie for the bacterias 😋
Ah. Well. Finally a skinny unknown pathway forward. Rare means there's not too much known about a good treatment. Let's go with: Antibiotics to nuke my system. Not for 10 days, but for 6 months. But, looking like Voldemort on a good day - I did not have much choice. So lucky I got a diagnose!
My long hair kept falling out in front of the cameras while filming Human CV interviews. So I shaved it. Practicality wins.
I learned how serious radiation exposure is. Each CT scan is like a long international flight. And I had several of them in a super-skinny body. Plus there were actual flights. Samoa. Auckland. And over 30 flights to Invercargill for leadership workshops.
My body didn't just get hit by illness. It also took the impact of sitting.
Sitting in coaching calls. Sitting in meditation for 10 days. Sitting for writing and editing videos. Sitting with guests for interviews. Sitting in planes. Sitting at potlucks. Sitting in training rooms. Sitting in the car. Sitting for cuppas with friends. When I finally stood up, I realized how stiff everything was. Yay for floor sleeping, walks, ecstatic dance and yoga teachers.
Food became another obstacle. Hotel food. Catering food. Road trip food. Food at home. Food at potlucks. Food that didn't make sense. Food my body doesn't recognize.
Food frustrations. Addictions. Social groups and fights. Drinkers vs party. Vegans vs hunters. Old dieting and disorder thoughts and judgements - several times a day. Pondering: Why do I have to make so many decisions about food? Coffee, salt, fat, sugar, stimulants, plants. Good vs bad food. Judgement for breakfast lunch and dinner.
And - a biggie - trying meat for the first time after eight years plant-based - to try and heal the mystery illness. Phew. Am so glad it was not the food - I'm clear to go back to plant-based again! Looking forward to tastier, more colourful foods - and more stable moods!
My appearance changed faster than my emotions - and outfits - could keep up with. Clothes didn't fit. My head was shaved. Winter is freezing when you’re bald. My face was different. My skin looked pale and shrivelled.
And the best thing was this: Even when my body collapses, my “work” continues. And somehow, even at 5% battery, I still got to do a ton of fun stuff - accepting my body where it was on that day and just doing what I can and want to:
coaching sessions, saunas, filming interviews, moving into a new home, winter body boarding, cycling around on an e-bike, ecstatic dance events, 2 weeks in sun, heat and oceanwater in Samoa, sewing kimonos, cleaning our home, planting a micro garden, practicing yin yoga, playing with food - making kefir, sourdough, sauerkraut, pizzas, hosting gatherings, art shows, massages, ...
The lesson: The body always keeps the score. And it doesn't negotiate. Health always comes first. Gut and brain are one.
People 🫂
This was the year I learned more about boundaries. Real boundaries.
Not the Instagram quote ones.
With Strategic as my number one CliftonStrength and Individualization right behind it, my brain is basically a tug-of-war. Every minute. I want to understand each person deeply. And yet - I also want a system that works for everyone. Universal but personal. Simple but tailored. Future-proof but present. It's a nightmare combination. Ahem, no... I mean, a fun challenge. Not a nightmare. NLP, hehe.
Planning for one person is one thing. Planning for two is another. Planning for a group feels like herding butterflies. Planning for a whole community of family, friends, and a 60-client coaching practice while getting really sick and running a YouTube passion project is... a lot.
I had to work out where "me" ends and "us" begins. Where my needs sit next to my partner's. Where friends fit into the picture. Where clients sit.
And when does loyalty and “let me just do what they like, to be nice.” … turn into self-sabotage and people-pleasing? And when does lack of focus begin and jack of all trades end?
My life this year was basically a long reflection about "me versus we" and "now versus future." And there were moments where I got it right. And a lot where I didn't.
Yes, there were funerals (bye dad). And book-related cut-offs (bye mum).
And reigniting of old relationships, traveling to former homelands.
Rediscovering the other person (again).
And most of all - there was Kai.
Wow.
Since October 2024, a constant in my life - and having been deep in the 2025 rollercoaster with me. Best person I could have ever asked for.
A magical being.
The amount of joy and lessons that our deep and intimate relationship brings - wow - my mind keeps getting blown by our conversations. My heart feels the warmth of love and mutual curiosity.
People also showed up in big ways.
Weddings. Potlucks. Hot pools. Travel. Road trips. Ecstatic dance. House warmings. Video calls and voice notes with my sisters and friends. And countless beach walks and hot drinks near Waimairi Beach - my favorite quality time with people. So many good humans moved through my year. And so many difficult conversations happened along the way. And when you're in hospital, you very quickly see who your real inner circle is - and who are just lurkers and likers.
The main lesson for me now is that people will always matter.
And that clarity matters more.
Because if one person is not clear,
the group will always drag and lag.
🤯💪🫂
To Sum It Up...
2025 taught me things I needed to learn.
My mind became sharper. My body demanded respect. My relationships became clearer.
And somewhere in the middle of flying, filming, healing, coaching, editing, crying, shaving my head, learning new skills, and squinting and sitting far too much... I grew a little more.
This year wasn't easy.
And it made me more honest.
In my past, I neglected/repressed this trait - out of fear of not being professional or diplomatic or... liked.
Today I don't care about this fear anymore.
If my honesty causes you to like me less, then there's nothing I can do about that. I learned that my honesty attracts the perfect people - for me.
Aaand... Action 🙌!
While I still honor my existing clients for team facilitation days,
my focus in 2026 is Speed Coaching.
One-on-one
one price
one time
money back guarantee
- and it is online,
so it is easier for my global clients too!
See you on Meet!💛
Enjoy the selection of 50 shots from my personal 2025:
🤗 Thank You To:
Kai & Our families
Steffi
Christiane
Erica
Sanna
Alison
My Tiwai Crew & Hayley, Lisa & RTA Global
Suvercha & NIIT
Our Christchurch people (Men’s groups, Comm homes, Ecstatic Dance, Prof Dev, Potlucks)
Our THC guests
My LinkedIn circle
St John
Christchurch Hospital
Awanui Labs
TCM Riccarton
Ushma Shaw Massage
Piko Wholefoods & Farmers Markets
All my witchy DIY friends for the ferments & gut-boosting biotic alchemy
This is not exhaustive - but I had to stop pondering who I may have forgotten - otherwise this post will live in drafts forever 🤣