A Gentle Way to End 2025: Recharging and Restoring Balance
An end-of-year reflection in which I share three personal moments of reflection in December that invited me to slow down, recharge and restore balance. From stepping away from my phone, to choosing my own path, to reconnecting with childhood memories.
(This blog is an English translation of a previously published Dutch blog on my Dutch website Caroline Pinter Wandelcoaching.)
“Over the past few months, my focus has mainly been on writing Dutch-language blogs, particularly for my walking coaching work.
If you can read and understand the Dutch language, you’re very welcome to explore these reflections and experiences here:
https://carolinepintercoaching.nl/inspiratie-wandelcoaching-blog/
As a result, I haven’t published my usual weekly blogs on this website since September.
I am very passionate about my last Dutch blog on recharging and reflecting on 2025, that I would like to publish this blog in English as well.
December as a Pause Button
December feels like a pause button to me.
Not only because the year is coming to an end, but because my body and mind have given me a clear signal: enough is enough.
Time to recharge.
As a walk-and-talk coach, I always encourage people to keep practicing the techniques, they learn during our walks together, in their daily lives. Especially the small and simple ones.
Why?
Because small, simple practices often lead to a bigger difference:
less stress
more energy and
more balance
Especially when they are first explored, experienced and integrated together.
My role as a walk-and-talk coach is to create that space for reflection and growth, so what we work on together can continue to support you in everyday life.
Last week, I was reminded again of how important this really is.
Stepping Away for a Moment: Cologne, Germany
After a hectic couple of months, my husband and I spent three days in Cologne. As Germany is well known for its Christmas markets.
Since Covid, I hadn’t visited a German Christmas market, and I truly looked forward to it.
At the same time, I noticed something else: how difficult I find it to fully let go of my work. I get so much energy and satisfaction from what I do that not being focused on my work felt uncomfortable and even stressfull.
Still, I had promised myself two weeks vacation to recharge and enjoy the Christmas celebrations.
Doing things I enjoy, outside of work.
No books, no laptop.
My walking shoes staying in the closet.
That last part didn’t entirely work out . In Cologne, we did everything on foot. The parks, and especially walking along the Rhine, naturally brought me into a calmer state.
What made this short city trip extra valuable was a conscious choice: my WhatsApp stayed closed. I used my phone only for photos, navigation, and booking a Rhine boat tour.
Living completely without a phone is nearly impossible these days, but minimizing its use is possible.
If you truly want to, ofcourse.
Recharging started the first day with a bit of luxury as we took the ICE train to Cologne and booked fixed seats in first class for a small additional fee.
For me that meant not looking for available seats sitting next to eachother and time to play boardgames on the train.
Sometimes recharging lies in very simple choices. And it does not have to mean more expensive.
Reflection 1: A Morning Without a Phone
Our hotel was located along the Rhine, overlooking the old town and the cathedral. The breakfast area was a glass, conservatory-like space with an overwhelming view over Cologne.
Having breakfast every morning with that view felt like the perfect way to start the day. It was deeply relaxing.
For years, we’ve had one specific rule during our holidays: phones stay in the hotel room during breakfast.
Without judgment, I noticed how many people, including families with children, were sitting together at a table, each focused on their own mobile phone. It made me curious.
Has it become a habbit or addiction to always be on your phone (even during your vacation)?
Are there urgent matters demanding attention?
Or is it sometimes simply difficult to truly connect with others in conversation?
And perhaps the most important question:
If you’re on your phone, are you still enjoying your breakfast?
Do you notice the view?
Are you present with the person you’re traveling with?
I find it difficult myself to put my phone away.
Sometimes I even wonder if I’ve become too dependent on it.
That’s exactly why our small ritual, of leaving our mobile phones in our hotelroom, feels like an anchor.
Exercise | Start the Day Without a Screen
As an expat, your day often begins with messages from different time zones, news from home, or work demands pulling you in multiple directions. Before engaging with all of that, create a small pause.
If you live with others, keep phones away during breakfast and start the day together, without distractions.
If you live on your own, take a few quiet minutes with your coffee or tea, looking outside or simply noticing how you feel.
This small ritual can help you feel more grounded and balanced. Before the world asks for your attention.
Even if it’s just for ten minutes.
Reflection 2: Not Following the Crowd
Our Christmas gift to each other was a slightly more luxurious hotel on the other side of the Rhine, near the Hohenzollern Bridge. The bridge was covered in love locks with names, dates, symbols of love. We estimated there must have been at least a million of them.
It was impressive and heartfelt to see the overwhelming “wall” of locks. I enjoyed crossing the bridge each time we walked to and from the hotel to the Altstadt; it was an attraction in itself.
On our last day, we passed a small shop selling the locks. I felt it immediately: “Oh, I want to do that too.” After an intense year and these three days together, it felt romantic to want to mark the bridge with our joined names.
However, I did not do it. And I felt so proud of myself.
In the past, I often felt the need to follow the herd. Sometimes inspired by others, somethings because I felt it was what people did.
This time, it felt better and even more romantic to tell eachother how gratefull we are. Instead of adding another lock. We’ve been together for over thirty years. We’ve left our names in places before. This time, it was ok not to.
I didn’t want to be one of a million.
We are unique — just like everyone else.
I love being inspired by others. And precisely then, it’s important to stay true to your own choice.
Do you join in, or do you shape it in your own way?
Exercise | Listening to your own inner compass
Living abroad often means adapting, fitting in, and navigating unspoken expectations. Take a quiet moment to pause and ask yourself:
What am I choosing because it truly fits me, and what am I doing simply because it seems expected here?
You don’t need to change anything right away. Just noticing the difference can help you stay connected to your own values. Even while building a life in a new place.
Reflection 3: Reconnecting with your Inner Child
The third moment touched something deeper.
We often remember the difficult experiences from childhood that had a strong impact on us.
But there are also many moments that brought genuine joy.
In Cologne, those memories were unexpectedly connected to Hungary, the country where my father was born.
At the Christmas market, I saw Fánk, Hungarian doughnuts.
The next day, I saw a large stuffed toy of The Little Mole. I used to have one of my favorite childhood books about him, written in Hungarian.
Exercise | Reconnecting with Your Inner Child
Inner-child reflection can be both powerful and simple. Especially in times of stress or mental overload, this gentle exercise can be deeply supportive.
Take a quiet moment to think back to what made you happy as a child.
A smell.
A place.
A song.
Or a favourite object.
Pause for a moment.
Notice what comes up.
And hold that feeling gently for a few breaths . Without needing to analyse or explain it.
Sometimes, reconnecting with a small moment of childhood joy is enough to bring a sense of lightness and calm into the present.
“For me, seeing The Little Mole in real life, not as a character on a page but right there in front of me, made me smile.
I felt like that child again, stepping into the shop without hesitation and asking my husband to take a photo.”
Taking Time to Recharge at Year’s End
These three days in Cologne reminded me why taking time to recharge isn’t a luxury, but a necessity.
An essential part of healthy living, especially when, like me, you draw so much passion from your work.
Recharging doesn’t happen through big plans. Abroad of in the Netherlands.
It lives in small, conscious moments.
A walk.
Putting your phone away.
Not following the crowd.
Returning to what once made you happy.
Perhaps that is December’s invitation:
not to solve everything,
but to stay connected to what brings you calm and balance.
Specially in the last month of 2025.
In your own way.
In your own time.
