Here’s a confession: I once woke up at 2:00 am on a freezing Michigan morning, bundled myself into enough layers to rival an Arctic explorer, and drove to a big-box store to wait outside in the dark. And why? For what reason?
A TV? Toys for the kids? Maybe. At this point, I’m not even sure. But I stood there, shivering in the pre-dawn cold with hundreds of other people, all of us animated by the promise of a deal so good it was worth abandoning our warm beds.
Looking back, I have to laugh at my commitment to Black Friday sales. And you know what? That same determined, nothing-can-stop-me energy is exactly what we need right now—just aimed at something infinitely more valuable.
Because here’s the thing about this time of year: we’re drowning in discounts. Everything has a price tag slashed in red. The ads are relentless. Your inbox is flooded with “limited-time offers.” And I get it—there’s something psychologically satisfying about a good deal. It feels like winning.
But while we’re all mesmerized by the dopamine hit of 50% off a thing we weren’t sure we needed anyway, something important is quietly slipping away.
Time. And with it, our goals for 2025.
The Real Sale This Weekend
Yes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring incredible discounts on everything from kitchen gadgets to winter coats. Some of these deals might actually be genuinely useful. But let’s be honest: many of them are just shiny distractions designed to separate us from our money and our focus.
The real tragedy isn’t overspending on stuff we don’t need. It’s that we’re getting distracted right when we should be getting focused.
We’re in the final stretch of the year. We have roughly five weeks left to move the needle on the things that actually matter to us. Five weeks to finish that project, start that business, finally write that chapter, deepen those relationships, or make that leap you’ve been contemplating all year.
Five short weeks.
And then January arrives with its clean-slate energy and we tell ourselves, “Next year, I’ll go for it.” Except next year always feels further away than this year.
If We’ll Do It for a Discount, Why Not for a Dream?
Think about it. I was willing to:
- Wake up at an ungodly hour
- Brave brutal weather
- Fight crowds (and yes, sometimes people get a little feral about deals)
- Stand outside in the cold for hours
All for something I can’t even remember—just because it was 40% off.
So, I’m genuinely curious: how far are you willing to go for your dreams? The ones that keep you up at night—not out of anxiety, but out of genuine excitement. The ones that align with your deepest values and vision for your life.
Because here’s the plot twist: unlike those Black Friday deals, your dreams don’t go on sale. They don’t have a limited window where they’re suddenly affordable or available. They’re there, waiting for you to be willing to invest the effort, the courage, and yes, sometimes the discomfort that real growth demands.
The Opportunity You’re Standing In
We often think of the holiday season as a time to pause, rest, and prepare for next year. If you’ve been around Wholistic Productivity long enough, you know I’m an advocate of rest and self-care. But this moment right now? It’s also potent with possibility.
You could spend this weekend scrolling through deals, or you could spend it getting crystal clear on what you actually want to accomplish before the year ends. You could make a list of three things—just three—that would make 2025 feel like a win. Then you could work backward: what do you need to do this week, next week, and the week after to make at least one of them happen?
You could also use this time to plan. January is coming, and with it, a fresh year. But January 1st doesn’t care whether you’re prepared. It just shows up. So why not get ahead? Dream big about what 2026 could look like. Write it down and get specific with your goal-setting. Then create a plan for how you’ll actually make it happen.
Dream Big. Plan Smart. Live Fully.
This isn’t a moment to shrink your goals or discount your dreams. This is a moment to remember why you set them in the first place. It’s a moment to honor the fact that you’re capable of the same fierce commitment you’d show for a Black Friday deal, except you can redirect it toward something that actually matters.
So this weekend, while the world is caught up in discounts and deals, I’m inviting you to do something radical: ignore the sale. Get quiet for a few minutes. Think about what you really want. And then—and this is the important part—decide how far you’re willing to go to get it.
Because the only thing that should be discounted this season isn’t your goals. It’s your self-doubt.
If you’re looking for help with your goal-setting or want a community to help you stay motivated, check out the Wholistic Productivity on Skool. It’s a free online community with people from all around the world who are focused on achieving their goals. I’d love to have you check it out.