Embracing Growth and Gratitude: A Time to Reflect on 2023

There is no right or wrong way to approach a year-end personal assessment.

It is quite simply the regular intent and act of holding space for ourselves that helps us become more aligned with our intentions and goals. 

In the spirit of giving, we are sharing some of our favorite ideas and prompts that will help you develop a reflective mindset toward gaining more clarity and purpose in 2024 and beyond.

1. Acknowledge Milestones: Reflect on your successes, whether big or small, you, your clients, employees, and teams have achieved. Intentionally plan to celebrate the milestones that showcase growth and progress.
   
2. Gratitude Journaling: We love to encourage clients to express gratitude for the lessons learned, challenges overcome, and the support received throughout the year. A gratitude mindset sets the tone for a positive and forward-focused approach.
   
3. Spotlights: Share success stories from your own clients, employees, or even family members (with their permission) to inspire others and showcase the real-world impact of your influence.
   
4. Future Planning: Set strategic (and SMART) goals for the upcoming year. As a leader, you can also help guide anyone in your care in envisioning their ideal future and developing actionable plans to turn those visions into reality.
   
5. Lessons Learned: Reflect on challenges faced throughout the year and the valuable lessons they brought. We can learn so much about ourselves by embracing setbacks as opportunities for growth.
   
6. Industry Trends: Research insights into emerging trends in your industry and create an environment for your employees and clients to stay ahead of the curve in their professional development.
   
7. Build your Resilience: Often we find ourselves in stressful situations but how we initially approach them and react to them can make those moments better or worse for everyone involved. Building your resilience is the capacity to prepare for, recover from, and adapt in the face of stress, challenge or adversity.
   
   And one thing you can do is to be aware of your breathing patterns. When times are busiest or you feel frantic, take a 5-minute pause and focus on the area of your heart… imagining that your breath is flowing in and out of your heart. ..breathing a little slower and deeper than normal. 
   
   Breathe in to a count of 5… breathe out to a count of 5 (or whatever is comfortable for you).
   
   Repeat for the duration of five minutes. I set a reminder on my phone twice a day for my 5-minute pause to breathe. Talk about a game changer for me this past year!
   
8. Vision Board Challenge: Initiate a vision board challenge prompting employees, clients, and family members to create visual representations of their goals for the upcoming year. This adds a creative and tangible element to the reflection process. Place your vision board somewhere you will see it every day. This simple act serves as a visual reminder to envision your best so you can make it happen! It also helps to note if our choices and decisions are truly representative of the vision we have made for ourselves.