In my most recent article (titled Goodbye 2024 - Hello 2025!), I reflected on the past year and talked about my goals for the year to come. In this follow-up, I’ll introduce some of the vocabulary that I used to talk about New Year’s resolutions in that article.

Phrasal verbs:

When you look back on something, you reflect on or think about the past, and when you look ahead to something, you think about what will happen in the future and plan for those events. You can “look back on” a time (e.g. the 80s, 2024, my childhood, etc.) or an event (e.g. my wedding, the championship game, our last performance, etc.) in the past, and the same is true for “look ahead to” with future times or events. At this time of year, plenty of people are looking back on 2024 and looking ahead to 2025.

When you get back into something, you return to or resume doing something that you had taken a break from or had not done in a while. The beginning of a new year is a good time to get back into some hobbies and activities that you haven’t done in a while. Also, many people resolve to get back into shape at this time of year, which means they want to work out (exercise) and improve the physical condition of their bodies.  

If you get through something, you manage to finish it or succeed in doing it. This often implies that the task requires some effort or is difficult. I hope to get through 12 books this year, meaning that I hope I can manage to finish reading 12 books. What would you like to get through in 2025?

Other expressions:

The idiom “to work one’s way up to something” means that you make progress, step by step, towards a big goal. Commonly, this is a career achievement, but it can also be a skill that you are developing or a non-work goal that you would like to achieve at some point. 

If something goes, falls, or is left by the wayside, it is abandoned or set aside in favour of something more important or urgent. New Year’s resolutions often fall by the wayside when people lose motivation.

“Who knows?” is a rhetorical question that expresses the idea that anything is possible or that anything could happen. It can also mean that the person asking it neither knows the answer nor knows who might. Who knows what you might accomplish in 2025!

The noun repertoire refers to all the things that someone can do or all the methods that someone can use. If you add something to your repertoire, you gain that ability. What will you add to your repertoire in 2025?

An eventual (adj.) action or event (or one that happens eventually (adv.)), is an action or event that happens or exists at a later time or at the end of something. It can be used in the same way as finally or in the end or to indicate that something is bound to happen after a certain period of time. If you keep up your motivation, eventually you will achieve your New Year’s resolutions!

"To hold/keep/play something close to one's chest" is an idiom that means to keep something to oneself, or to be secretive or cautious about it. Imagine playing poker and holding your cards close to your chest so that no one can see them. If you keep your New Year’s plans close to your chest, you don’t share them with anyone.

That’s all for now! Until next time, good luck with your New Year’s resolutions!