One thing I love about the end of one year and the beginning of a new one is the many lists. Every company, website and app releases their Top 10 lists of the year. Dictionary publishers tell us the words added in the past year and choose a Word of the Year. Music apps release Top 10 lists for every genre. Even paint companies name a Color of the Year. 

At the beginning of this year, you may have gotten customized lists. Podcast apps tell you how many total hours you listened, and which shows were your favorites (or at least which ones you listened to most). Book trackers give you your reading stats: how many books you read, what genres you read most and whether you spend more time with physical books, e-books, or audiobooks.  Streaming services do something similar.

Chances are, you have received a lot of information about yourself over the past few weeks. The question is, what do you do with it? 

The year-end lists can be catalysts for your spiritual life in the year ahead. When you look at your Top 10 lists for songs, books, podcasts, TV shows and movies, consider what those lists are telling you about yourself. Are you happy with the way you spent your time? Do you see any patterns there—like, maybe you watched way more TV than you thought you did? Has your media consumption helped or hindered your spiritual life? You can’t go back and change your 2024 habits, but with time, you can set intentions about what you want to consume in 2025. 

A good question to ask yourself right now—with these lists in front of you—is, what kind of person do I want to be in 2025? Will these things help me be that person … or not? When you know your goals and what you want to accomplish, it becomes easier to decide how to get there. If you know your media choices aren’t necessarily helping you think, act or be the way you want to be, you can start to choose different things to listen to, watch or read. Spend some time thinking and praying about how you will spend your time this year. Your lists can help you create meaningful habits that help you move closer to God and closer to the person you want to be.

Illustration by Lan Truong