Give Me 7 minutes and I'll Force You to Lock In This 2025

Since COVID, a lot has changed. The world isn't the same as it used to be, but not exactly in a good way. Everything became gray and pretty much colorless, but so did we.

Somewhere along the way, we collectively lost a bit of spark, and if you're honest with yourself, you probably feel it too. Every New Year rolls around, and we always hear the same thing: "Next year will be my year, for real! " Except it wasn't.

Not in 2023, not in 2024, and it won't be in 2025 either, unless you force it to be. So spare me a bit of your time, and I'll force you to lock in for 2025. But just a quick disclaimer: I'm not here to motivate you.

Motivation is a sugar rush, and I'm obviously not selling candy. I'm here to give you the tools, perspective, and kick in the teeth you need to make this your actual year—like, for real. Now, I'm not going to be too hard on you.

I know you've been trying, or at least you think you have. Maybe you started a bulking plan but quit after two weeks because life got busy, or you set goals, but they were vague enough to be ignored, like, "I want to be better. " Better at what?

Breathing? You've been doing that since birth! See, trying isn't enough.

If you're half-assing it, you're not failing because life is unfair, even though, yeah, it is. You're failing because you're waiting for life to miraculously align itself around your vibes, but it won't. You're the one who's got to align themselves with their goals, and to align yourself, you'll need to start where it matters most: your time.

You're probably used to saying, "I don't have time. " That's funny because you had time to scroll TikTok for three hours yesterday. You had time to rewatch the same show for the fourth time because it's absolute cinema.

You had time to stare at the ceiling thinking about how you have no time. Did you see it? You have time; you're just bad at using it.

If we do the math, you have 24 hours in a day. Let's say you sleep for eight hours, if you're lucky, work or college for up to eight as well, and spend two hours eating and existing. That leaves six hours.

Now ask yourself, "What am I doing with them? " If you can't answer that without stuttering, you found your problem. Look, we live in an era where you can learn literally anything for free or close to it.

Feel like starting a business? There are tutorials, templates, and even AI tools that'll practically walk you through the process. Getting fit or shredded?

There are apps, YouTube channels, and communities that will keep you accountable. Learning a new skill? Platforms like Coursera, Skillshare, or even TikTok, if you're following the right creators, have you covered.

So why are you using your phone to scroll aimlessly instead of using it to level up or clicking that subscribe button below this video? Technology isn't the enemy here; you are. Your phone is a tool, but if you treat it like a toy, it'll treat you like a joke.

But even then, tools are just tools; they're still pretty useless without a plan, which brings us to my next point: systems. Saying "I want to save money" is cute, but what's your plan? Are you tracking expenses, automating savings, or are you just hoping your bank account will surprise you like a physics exam on Monday?

The same goes for fitness, learning, relationships—everything! Goals are basically useless without systems. Systems are what make you show up on the days you don't feel like it.

They're the boring routines that actually get results. They're the meal preps, the study schedules, the workout plans. They're what separate the people who achieve from the people who talk about achieving.

And while we're at it, let's quickly address the ugly grind and why you should embrace it. Most of what will make you successful is not exciting. It's boring; it's repetitive.

It's waking up early to work out when you'd rather sleep. It's saying no to plans so you can study. It's putting in effort when no one's clapping for you.

The grind isn't supposed to feel good; it's supposed to feel necessary. And the sooner you stop expecting every step to be fun, the sooner you'll start seeing results. Of course, the grind doesn't have to be the good old-fashioned way.

Times have changed; you need to be aware of and recognize the massive potential and opportunities sitting right in front of you. But you know what else is massive? We are now living in the most resource-rich era of all time.

There's no excuse for being ignorant or stagnant. You want to make more money? Lots of money-making opportunities are everywhere.

You want to learn coding, public speaking, singing, dancing, drawing, editing, animating, writing, talking to girls, touching grass? Free tutorials exist. You want to get better at anything?

Google it! Even if it's not always accurate, you'll still learn something. Do you see it now?

You're not struggling because there's a lack of opportunities; you're struggling because you're not grabbing them. And no, scrolling through success content isn't the same as actually taking action. You might be watching this video and listening to my advice, but are you actually putting in the work?

Stop being a boring, passive consumer of inspiration and start being an active participant in your own life. That being said, there's still one problem. You see, people avoid taking real action because of this one particular idea of balance.

You've been sold this idea that you can balance everything perfectly: work, life, growth, rest. Actually, it's not that easy, and it's kind of overrated too. If you want something badly enough, you have to let other things slide.

Collapse. Descend. Plummet!

That doesn't mean burning out, but it does mean prioritizing like your life depends on it because it kind of does. You're not going to achieve your goals by squeezing them into the cracks of your schedule; they need to be front and center, not an afterthought. In order to be able to do that, you need to answer one big question: Am I really trying?

Because it's easy to say you're trying, but are you really, or are you just dabbling? There's a difference between effort and consistent effort. One gets you short-term results, if that, and the other transforms your life.

Be honest with yourself: If you are not where you want to be, is it because the world is against you, or is it because you are not fully in that mentality? Are you you because you're the lamest, or are you the lamest because you're you? You can't half commit and then expect full results.

I'm not saying this as someone perfect, because I'm not. But I can confidently say I'm the best version of myself that I've ever been, and a big part of that is because I stopped waiting for life to hand me success and started forcing it. Anyways, my point is, if I could do that, what's the reason you can't?

I mean, I'm pretty sure you and I are not so different. Look, this is just a wake-up call, a reminder. I'm not going to end this by saying something cheesy like "You've got this.

" You might not have this; that's up to you. But what I can say is that if you decide to lock in, like really lock in, 2025 can be the year you stop saying, "Next year will be my year, for real," and start saying, "This year is mine. " The world isn't going to fix itself for you; it's gray and colorless, and that sucks.

But you—you're smart, you're strong, you're adaptable, and most of all, you're a CutiePie. You can fix yourself, and maybe that'll bring a little color back into everything else too. So, are you in, or are we having the same conversation next year?

I mean, you tell me.