The Year That Made No Sense (And Why That's the Point)
When progress and purpose finally align
I spent 2025 doing things that made no financial sense.
I left a stable career to launch a financial planning practice. My wife and I welcomed our third son into a season of maximum chaos. And just yesterday, we refinanced our home because—well, because building something new costs more than maintaining something old.
On paper, it looks like a year of setbacks. In my soul, it feels like a breakthrough.
The bottom line: Circumstances don't determine contentment. If they did, America wouldn't be drowning in antidepressants while sitting in climate-controlled homes with refrigerators full of food.
The Progress Paradox
Gregg Easterbrook captures our cultural confusion perfectly in The Progress Paradox:
"The incredible rise in living standards for the majority of Americans has made them more affluent, healthier, more comfortable, more free, and sovereign over ever taller piles of stuff—but has not made them any happier."
Read that again.
We have more than any generation in human history has ever had. Better healthcare. Safer cars. Unlimited entertainment. Instant communication with anyone on the planet. And yet depression rates are ten times higher than they were fifty years ago.
Something is deeply broken in our equation for the good life.
A Year in Review
Let me walk you through my 2025—not to impress you, but to show you what it looks like when purpose replaces the pursuit of more.
February: I officially launched Exponential Advisors. No clients. No revenue. Just conviction that veterans deserve a financial planner who understands their world.
March: Samuel Graham Brooks turned one. Watching him take his first steps reminded me that the most important things in life can't be optimized or rushed.
Summer: My first clients trusted me with their financial futures. Fellow veterans who needed someone in their corner. The weight of that responsibility felt holy.
Fall: We refinanced the Sprinter van. Then yesterday, we refinanced our home. Yes, I know the math. I'm a CFP®. I'm not looking for a lecture—I'm giving you the honest truth about what it costs to build something meaningful.
December: We celebrated the holiday season with friends, family, and our church community. We're tired. We're stretched. And we're more grateful than ever.
Why Unhappiness Persists
Easterbrook identifies what he calls "meaning want"—the phenomenon in which people feel materially secure yet spiritually empty. Their refrigerators are full, but their souls are starving.
This resonates with what I see in my work with veterans.
Many of you left the military with skills, benefits, and opportunities your grandparents couldn't have imagined. Yet the transition still feels disorienting. The paycheck is better, but something is missing.
Here's what I've learned: You can't optimize your way to contentment.
You can maximize your TSP contributions, minimize your tax liability, and still feel like you're losing. Because contentment isn't found in spreadsheets. It's found in alignment—when what you do matches who you are and why you're here.
The Gratitude Antidote
Easterbrook's research points to three practices that consistently correlate with well-being: forgiveness, gratitude, and optimism.
These aren't soft concepts. They're survival skills.
Scripture got there first. Paul wrote from a Roman prison: "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances" (Philippians 4:11). Not because circumstances didn't matter, but because his identity was rooted in something circumstances couldn't touch.
As I look back on 2025, I see a year that refined our family. The financial pressure wasn't punishment—it was purification. The long hours weren't wasted—they were invested in something that will outlast me.
We're happy. We're joyful. We're grateful for the blessing of Jesus Christ.
Not because everything worked out perfectly. But because we know Whose we are.
Your Turn
As you close out this year, I want to offer you a simple practice.
Don't start with your investment returns or your net worth statement. Start with this question:
What did this year cost you—and was it worth it?
Sometimes the most expensive years produce the greatest returns. Not in dollars, but in clarity. In character. In calling.
If 2025 stretched you, take heart. Stretching precedes growth.
And if you're heading into 2025 wondering how to align your finances with your purpose, that's exactly what we do at Exponential Advisors. I'd be honored to have that conversation with you.
→ Reply to this email and let me know: What's one thing 2025 taught you about what really matters?
Grateful for the journey,
Joshua Brooks, CFP®
Founder, Exponential Advisors
Chaplain, U.S. Army Reserve
Disclosure: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, legal, tax, or professional advice. Please consult with a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
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