2024: A Year in Review and a Call for Purpose
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As 2024 winds down and the festive buzz of the holidays fills the air, one perennial question reappears: So, what are your resolutions?
This year, I won’t ask you that question — not because it’s unimportant, but because I want us to aim higher. Instead, let’s take a step back and ask: Why do we make resolutions at all?
Reflections Before Resolutions
The act of setting resolutions often disguises a deeper inquiry. Behind every resolution is the silent ritual of self-assessment: a year-end review of where we stand, where we wish to go, and how we plan to get there.
But if we dig even deeper, the real question emerges: Why do we want to go there? What is the inner fire that drives us to climb mountains, tackle challenges, and keep moving forward? What is our why?
This brings us to an essential concept: Ikigai — the Japanese term for "reason for being." Your Ikigai lies at the intersection of four fundamental questions:
What do you love? (Passion and vocation)
What are you good at? (Skills and talents)
What does the world need? (Mission and impact)
What can you be paid for? (Profession and sustainability)
Identifying your Ikigai isn’t an overnight epiphany. For me, it took four years and two entrepreneurial rollercoasters to discover my own. As you head into 2025, I invite you to reflect on these questions and let them guide your journey.
The Framework for Resolutions: A Life Mapping Tool
While pondering your Ikigai, let me share a practical approach I developed a few years ago alongside Olivier Ramel during the creation of TEDxSKEMAParis. This framework is built on one fundamental premise: You are shaped by your relationships.
Your relationships — across four key pillars — define who you are:
Family
Friends
Work
Self
To live a balanced and fulfilled life, these pillars must coexist in harmony, with none overshadowing the others. Here's how I apply this framework to set my resolutions:
Start with people. I list the individuals in each pillar: family members, close friends, colleagues, business partners, shareholders, and myself.
Assess the relationships. I ask: How did I nurture these relationships this year? Am I satisfied? If not, what can I do differently?
Set goals per person and per pillar. For each relationship, I outline actionable objectives for the coming year.
From this process, I create a life map—a bird’s-eye view of my priorities for 2025. This framework begins with three overarching domains:
Work – encompassing collaborators, business partners, investors, professional growth…
Social Life – focusing on friends, family, mentors, community…
Lifestyle – which includes the essential habits and practices that sustain and enrich your life:
Sport – staying active to build resilience and energy.
Nutrition – fueling your body with intention and care.
Sleep – safeguarding rest as a foundation for productivity and clarity.
Health Check-Ups – keeping wellness at the forefront with regular assessments.
Reading – cultivating your mind with knowledge and inspiration.
Culture – immersing yourself in art, music, travel, and experiences that elevate your perspective.
Each of these domains breaks down into sub-pillars (e.g., collaborators, friends, hobbies), which further subdivide into specific individuals, activities, or habits that require attention and nurture.
Your Why, Rediscovered
This mapping exercise doesn’t just help organize your resolutions; it reveals something even more profound: the common thread linking all your goals. That thread, when examined, becomes your why — your overarching purpose.
Your why might manifest differently in various areas of your life — professionally, romantically, socially, or physically — but its essence remains the same.
Resolutions with Impact
As you step into 2025 armed with your resolutions, framed by relationships and guided by purpose, the path ahead becomes clearer. Each goal is no longer a standalone objective but part of a greater narrative — a life lived with intention.
Now, all that’s left is to start. Here’s to a purposeful and impactful 2025.
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