The Choice That Changed My Year

By: CeCe President

A Year That Began in Loss

The first weeks of 2025 felt heavy. My mother-in-law passed away just 25 days into the year. Even after seven years of loving her through hospice, I still was not prepared for the silence that followed. Grief rearranged the air in my home and the ground under my feet. My body felt different. My heart felt heavy. The combination of loss, menopause, and pure exhaustion created a season that felt almost impossible to move through.

Then came a moment I did not expect. On my anniversary, I tried on my wedding dress. For the first time since the day I married my soulmate, it did not fit. I had made a private promise to myself years ago that I would always be able to slip back into that dress, and seeing that promise break shook something in me. It was not about the dress. It was about identity. It was about the quiet belief that I could always find my way back to myself. And in that moment, I did not feel that way at all.

For months after, I convinced myself this was my new reality. I told myself that I was over fifty, in menopause, tired, and carrying the weight of a year that had already taken so much. I began to settle into resignation. Many of us know this feeling all too well. We give to everyone. We support everyone. We stay steady for everyone. Then one day we look up and realize we have slipped far from our own center.

A Spark Arrives in the Strangest Way But then something unexpected happened. In September, my goddaughter “tricked” me into watching a television show I had never seen, Scandal. I am not a television person, but within a week I was all in. Sitting up late. Watching one episode after another. Sometimes under the covers like I was a teenager. I became obsessed in the most joyful, guilty-pleasure way.

Somewhere in the middle of season two, I caught myself. I was in bed again at two in the morning, trying to stop myself from watching another episode, and I realized something had to shift. I could not control grief. I could not control hormones. I could not control the way life had hit me all at once. But I could control one decision.

So I made a rule. A rule so small and honest that it almost felt like nothing.

I decided that I would only watch Scandal if I was on the treadmill.

That was it. No written plan. No big resolution. No announcement. Just one choice that created a small doorway back to myself. Pair Joy With Discipline

The interesting thing about human behavior is that we do not change because we have discipline. We change because we design environments that make discipline unnecessary. In other words, people rise to the level of the systems they build for themselves.

Pairing joy with discipline is one of the simplest systems a human being can create. Psychologists call it “temptation bundling.” I did not know it by that name during my personal treadmill Scandal parties, but the idea is much older than the research. We have always been more willing to face something challenging when it is paired with something we love.

This strategy works because of three truths.

First, joy creates anticipation.

When you look forward to something, your brain releases dopamine even before the experience begins. This anticipation gives you the energy to start the activity you would usually avoid. In my case, I looked forward to finding out what Olivia Pope would do next, which made getting onto the treadmill feel almost automatic.

Second, pairing increases follow-through.

When two behaviors become linked, the pleasant one becomes the cue for the harder one. It removes the internal debate. Instead of “Should I walk today?” the question becomes “Do I want to press play?” And most of the time, the answer is yes.

Third, joy lowers resistance.

We often think we fail because we lack willpower. More often, we fail because the activity feels too emotionally heavy. When you pair it with joy, the weight shifts. The task becomes lighter. It becomes an experience rather than an effort.

Walking was no longer a chore. It was the way I accessed something I enjoyed. The treadmill became a doorway instead of an obligation. And because I was not fighting myself anymore, consistency happened without force. Within weeks I was walking thirty to forty miles a week. I did not even notice the early weight releasing itself, or how those miles naturally led me to make better food choices throughout the day. That gentle shift in energy eventually helped me rest more deeply at night, and little by little I felt myself returning.

This is why pairing joy with discipline works for anyone in any season. It works for someone trying to return to a meditation practice. It works for someone pursuing a promotion. It works for someone trying to complete a degree or reconnect with their body or reclaim their confidence. It works for someone overwhelmed by caregiving or leadership or grief.

It works because it is human.

There is a quiet dignity in building a system that supports the person you are today and gently welcomes the person you are becoming. Joy gives you the strength to show up. Pairing gives you the structure to stay consistent. Together they form a bridge between intention and reality.

And there is a leadership truth tucked inside this as well. People flourish when their environments honor how humans actually behave. Whether at home or at work, people thrive when joy is part of the process. Whether you are leading a community-serving organization, guiding a classroom, supporting a team, or shaping the rhythm of your own home, as a leader, when you understand this, everything shifts. You stop applying pressure as your strategy and begin creating experiences that feel meaningful and energizing. Change becomes possible when the people you lead, whether adults or littles, feel pulled rather than pushed. A New Path Forward As the year comes to a close, I find myself returning to the same reflection. Change did not come because I tried harder. It came because I created one small structure that worked for my real life. A real life that includes running two businesses and a nonprofit. A life that includes leadership roles on the boards of three nonprofits. A life that shifted from caring for my eighty-two-year-old mother-in-law to raising my four-year-old grandson. And with all of that in the mix, I needed a structure that made showing up feel natural.

You might be standing at the edge of your own next chapter. Maybe you have a project calling for attention. Maybe you want to expand your skills. Maybe you want more balance or more courage or more clarity. Whatever you are hoping to step into next year, start with one question.

What joy can you pair with the discipline you want to grow?

You do not need a grand plan. You need a spark. You need one rule that feels honest. You need a system that works with your humanity instead of against it.

Pair joy with discipline. Let it carry you forward. Let it rebuild your confidence step by step.

The change you want may be closer than you think.

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Entrepreneur and international speaker CeCe President is the creator of Be BOLD Enough: A Service-Based Leadership Development System. She empowers passionate leaders with the coaching, confidence, and clarity they need to create massive impact and serve customers at the highest levels.

CeCe holds a master’s degree in public administration from the City University of New York. With over two decades of experience leading public, private, and non-profit organizations, CeCe is a sought-after consultant, speaker, and leadership coach whose work changes lives and reshapes organizations.

CeCe is an avid volunteer, outspoken advocate, and committed donor to various causes. Among the many ways she serves her community is as a board member for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio, Greater Cleveland Partnership, and COSE, Cleveland’s small business Chamber of Commerce. CeCe and her husband, company founder Anthony President, are both native Clevelanders and proud alumni of John Carroll University.