Question of the Day: What Did You Accomplish in 2025?

January 01, 2026

What is one thing you accomplished in 2025?

My answer is I survived.

That answer does not come with a bow on it. It does not make a great highlight reel. But it is honest, and on January 1, honesty matters more than presentation.

A lot of us are conditioned to think accomplishments have to be impressive or public to count. They need a metric. A before-and-after photo. A story that fits neatly into a year-end recap.

But some years are not built that way.

Some years are built out of endurance. Out of showing up when you were tired. Out of staying when leaving would have been easier. Out of getting through days that asked more of you than you had planned to give.

If your answer is survival, do not rush past it. Sit with it for a moment. Survival means you carried something heavy and did not drop it completely. Survival means you adapted. Survival means you stayed in the room.

If your answer is something else, keep it small and true. It does not need to impress anyone. It only needs to matter to you.

Once you have your answer, ask yourself a second, quieter question.

Why does that accomplishment matter?

Not why it sounds good. Not why you think you should be proud of it. Why it actually matters.

That answer usually tells you what you were protecting. Or learning. Or refusing to let go of.

If you want to read the fuller reflection that pairs this question with today’s Thought of the Day, it lives in the combined post.

And if you want a place to keep answering questions like this without friction, you can join the daily email. One question. One thought. Once a day.