Reflection on 2025: Learning Not to Force Things

The most important thing I learned in 2025 was simple but hard to do: don’t force things, let go, and forgive yourself.

Ever since I was young, I’ve believed in hard work. I always thought that if we really try, almost nothing is impossible. With enough effort and dedication, we should get what we want. This belief has shaped how I’ve lived for many years. But in 2025, I started to see things differently. Not every big effort gives us the results we hope for. Sometimes, trying to force things just brings more loss and regret. I realized that life isn’t just about working harder. It’s also about knowing when to keep going and when to let go.

Near the end of 2025, I learned what it really means to let go. I had never been robbed while living in Indonesia, but it happened to me in the Netherlands. My new phone was stolen, and with it, I lost important thesis data that hadn’t been backed up to iCloud.

What did it feel like? A mix of shock, sadness, and surrender. At one point, I even found myself thinking, “Another loss, God?” But strangely, after about ten minutes, my mind slowly began to accept the situation. I started thinking in a more practical way: if the phone is gone, then perhaps the next step is simply to buy a new one. Which phone should I get so I don’t stay too sad about this for too long?

That moment showed me that letting go doesn’t always happen in a dramatic way. Sometimes, it comes quietly, just by accepting that some things are out of our control.

The last lesson was learning to forgive myself. I had to forgive myself for feeling foolish, for thinking I should have reacted faster, and for believing I should have been more careful with my things.

The year 2025 turned out to be one of the most valuable times for learning while I lived in the Netherlands. It taught me about acceptance, letting go, and realizing that not everything in life needs to be or even can be forced.

*) But in the end, I saw that this experience wasn’t just about losing a phone.