Year-end Reflections: An Uplifting Method

In my career and business coaching groups and courses this month, we've been doing a year-end process of looking back and looking forward. Every year I'm amazed at the restorative and uplifting power of taking this longer view, if it's done in a certain way.

I'll share some of what has come up. And I'll offer some tips for doing your own year-end reflections so that it is useful for you too.

Here's how this year-end reflection process often goes, for me and the people I know:

Before: I don't know if I've accomplished much or made any progress this year. I'm not sure what to focus on next year or if I can even accomplish it.

After: Wow, I now see so many things I DID accomplish, and many signs of progress too. I would have missed that. It feels so good to see it and celebrate it together. It motivates me to keep going. Plus my next steps are more clear. I feel surprisingly uplifted.

You might be saying, yeh but not in my case, not with the year I've had.

I so get it. Bear with me a little longer on this...

Year-end questions you could try on:

TIP: Answers might not come quickly. Stay with it and allow answers to come to you. They're there.

Looking back:

• Some positive feedback I received… ?
• 3 things I did well related to my work journey. (Small things count. Consider the risks and starts, no matter how it came out.)
• 3 signs of progress. ?
• 3 things I'm grateful for.

Looking forward:

• What feeling am I really longing for, sooner than later, in my work journey??
• What could be my word or phrase of the year to capture that desire?
• Who can I turn to for a sense of caring community?

To really energize the process, do this with at least one other (caring) person. Being together, honoring it together, is part of what makes it flow and have the most impact.

Some highlights I discovered in my year-end review.

1. I hosted 4 collaborative free events and they felt good to do together.?
2. I published 15 articles and some involved collaboration. (More done than I thought! Before, I was mostly seeing the drafts "just sitting there.")??
3. I started a new group at the start of 2023 that is still going strong. ??
4. I got helpful input and found clarity on a new community I'll be hosting in 2024.
5. I was on 3 podcast shows, and I always enjoy these 1:1 meaningful conversations. (I realize this is a favorite way to be visible.)?
6. I was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times. (It was related to introverts and HSPs and holidays.) The journalist was also a sensitive introvert, like me, so we enjoyed a nice chat.
7. I've accepted I can't do it all while tending to some family health concerns. And yet I've stayed focused on my work in ways that matter most to me. (It's reassuring to see my resilience.)
8. The joy and power of connecting is ringing loud and clear as a theme.
9. My word for 2024 is Community! Community feeds me and it's part of what I'm here to help cultivate. ??

In my process, my brain really tried to focus on a very long list of all the things I?wish I had accomplished, but I kept saying no to that idea. Because, really, what good would that have done to focus on lack? I invite you to ignore that idea too.

Popular Posts from 2023

Another way I'm celebrating this year's progress is to share some of the articles I've published and that have had some nice feedback.

1. "Do I have to hustle to be in business?" There's a calmer way.
2. Alternative Careers for Teachers. ?? (What else can I do?) ? - with?Laura Litwiller, career coach for teachers (She's awesome!)
3. Mid-Career Change: How to know it's the right time. And then what?
4. Reasons People Work with a Heart-centered Business Coach (and how it compares to other options)
5. I couldn't see the easier path right next to me. (This is so common.)
6. Sensitive, the new book, and what is high sensitivity anyway?

Questions, comments, feedback, or even a quick hello are all welcome, via the comments below. I enjoy hearing from you. ??

When I invite questions, I mean... you can ask about the info in this article, OR about a concern about self-employment, marketing, careers, high sensitivity, introversion/extroversion, or whatever! Really.

With pleasure,

Val Nelson

THE BLACK SWAN COACH? ?

for Introverts and HSPs with Big Hearts

career ~ business ~ impact

ValNelson.com

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