As the year 2025 draws to a close, many across Nigeria are engaging in a period of deep reflection. The consensus is that the year, while challenging, served as a profound teacher. The lessons are invaluable and will be carried forward, but the emotional baggage and draining patterns? Those are being consciously left at the year's exit door.
The Intentional Shift: From Survival to Living
Rather than drafting loud, often fleeting resolutions for 2026, a more gentle and powerful movement is taking root. It is a collective decision to intentionally shed behaviours that have long been tolerated but are no longer sustainable. This is not about grand declarations, but about daily choices made with clarity and self-compassion, free from guilt.
Adeola Olatunji, in a reflective piece dated 24 December 2025, captured this sentiment, outlining seven specific things we are saying goodbye to as we step into the new chapter.
1. The End of Self-Diminishment
The first habit being discarded is the act of belittling personal achievements to make others feel comfortable. The era of shrinking, downplaying successes as mere luck, or acting small to avoid intimidating others is over. The new mindset embraces owning one's hard work and growth boldly. The coming year is about understanding that confidence is not arrogance, and self-awareness does not require self-disrespect. Nigerians are learning to acknowledge their progress without apology.
2. Boundaries Without Apology
If 2025 taught one universal truth, it is that people who genuinely respect you do not require lengthy justifications. The habit of over-explaining boundaries—why we cannot attend an event, tolerate certain behaviour, or continue engaging with draining individuals—is being retired. "No" is being reclaimed as a complete sentence. Boundaries are now seen not as punishments, but as essential clarity that saves precious time, energy, and emotional labour.
3. Choosing Authentic Peace Over False Harmony
Many have realised that peace bought at the cost of self-betrayal is merely silence disguised as maturity. The practice of staying quiet to avoid conflict, only to harbour deep resentment, is being left behind. Smiling through disrespect or laughing off hurtful comments is no longer the default. The new rule is straightforward: if an issue persistently bothers you, it deserves a conversation. Protecting one's emotional well-being is an act of honesty, not drama.
4. Rejecting the Glorification of Struggle
The romanticisation of constant hustle and burnout is finally losing its appeal. For too long, exhaustion was worn as a badge of honour, and rest was treated as a luxury rather than a necessity. 2025 served as a reminder that ease is not laziness, softness is not weakness, and meaningful growth does not require suffering at every turn. The choice for 2026 is leaning towards balance, sustainability, and a life beyond perpetual survival mode.
5. Walking Away From Spaces That Dim Your Light
A significant shift involves leaving environments where one's presence is merely tolerated but never truly valued. This includes jobs that only offer feedback when things go wrong, one-sided friendships, and any space where you constantly have to prove your worth to an unwilling audience. The commitment for the new year is to seek out and cultivate environments that offer recognition, respect, and room for genuine growth. Loyalty should never demand self-abandonment.
6. Silencing the Noise of Comparison
The chorus of comparison, amplified by social media feeds filled with engagements, promotions, and launches, was particularly loud in 2025. The pressure to meet invisible, externally-set deadlines is being consciously shed. The understanding taking hold is that life is not a uniform race, and success is not one-size-fits-all. Personal journeys are allowed their own unique pace. Delays are increasingly viewed not as denials, but as periods of preparation.
7. The Courage to Demand What You Deserve
Perhaps the most profound goodbye is to the habit of settling for less than one deserves in love, friendships, and careers. The era of excusing inconsistency or accepting emotional crumbs out of fear is ending. There is a growing affirmation that wanting clear communication, kind love, and opportunities that recognise your value without begging is not a sign of ingratitude. Letting go is a quiet, daily decision to honour your own worth.
Moving Forward With Purpose
The overarching theme for the transition into 2026 is not a pursuit of perfection. Instead, it is a conscious choice for alignment—choosing oneself without guilt, and moving from merely surviving to living with clear intention. As Adeola Olatunji poignantly noted, 2025 had a good run. It taught lessons that will last forever. But the weight? That stays behind. And in that release, Nigerians are finding a true and powerful sense of growth.
