How December Reflections Can Change Your Life and Business

Reflection (noun): serious thought or consideration.

Oxford English Dictionary

Lessons Learned (noun): the documented information that reflects both the positive and negative experiences of a project.

Project Management Institute

It’s no secret that I value the power of a good pause. Each year, I like to spend December reflecting on all that has transpired – what worked, what didn’t – to identify what I want to bring into the year to come and what I want to let go of. (Here’s a look at a video I made about last year’s reflection.) 

You see, you can kind of look at every year, in essence, as one big project. I certainly do. Because every year I have very clear goals around what I want to pursue and achieve. You probably do to - whether you want to go back to school or take that trip you’ve always wanted to take or beat your personal best time in a 10K race. So, when you come back at the end of the year to check in, those lessons you learned along the way are critical to determining the next thing you want to achieve… and the next… and the next.

Why “The Middle” Conversation is Important

Years ago, I was meeting with a marriage and family therapist who shared with me that every year she and her husband would have a sit down, formal conversation in December about what they wanted their next year to look like. In a vacuum, it could look like anything, right? The options are endless, and it can be hard to get the conversation going in a meaningful direction. That’s where reflection of the past year is helpful.

How do we want next year to look different than this year? What do we want to stay the same?
Do we want to spend more time together as a family?
Do we want to spend our money differently?
What really served us in the past year that maybe we want to invest MORE time in?  

She described this conversation as “the middle” between the ending of one thing and the beginning of the other. This really stuck with me. The possibility to make positive change feels much more possible with this clear delineation.

We need that middle to create the next step! Otherwise, one-year bleeds into the next. There’s no clear delineation by which to mark your progress. No path forward – just a path.

You can create your own “middle” with your partner (like my therapist did), with yourself, with your whole family, or even your team at work.

I like to do it by myself. For the past six years, whether I was in a relationship or not, I’ve taken a day completely to myself where I can sit down and journal about how the last year went. One way I spark my memory during this process is to go through all my photos from the past year. Because of smart phones, all of us seem to always have a camera on hand. My camera roll is full of reminders. I can scroll through and see photos of new places I visited, friends I made, work achievements, and unique experiences. Then, I can reflect on what comes up for me.

I can see how my year stacked up against my values. For instance, travel is super important to me. I love exploring new places and learning new things along the way. As I scroll through the photos, I jot down all the places I traveled to over the year and how many of those places were new to me. Based on my reflection – I can plan for the year to come. Do I want to travel MORE? If so, now I can begin to formulate a plan.

Reflecting to Both Celebrate and Change from a Business Perspective

As you can see, December is a beautiful time to pause and reflect. It gives us an opportunity to determine if there's anything that we want to change; it gives us an opportunity to celebrate our wins. Whatever this reflection looks like for you, I believe that it can have a powerful impact on your year to come.

I practice this tactic from a business perspective, too. When I’m reflecting through the lens of Peopleside, I ask myself, “What did I say was going to be valuable for me this year? And did I follow through on those things?” If yes, we celebrate. Then, decide if it will be valuable for next year too. If we didn’t do those things, why? Are there changes we need to make to achieve them in the year to come? Or are they no longer valuable based on something new that has come to light? Do we need to evolve those things into something else? If priorities have shifted, what is going to be valuable for me next year?

Choosing a Topic to Reflect On

Just like my camera roll trick, I also have something up my sleeve when it comes to these business reflections. I choose a word that helps me frame what I’d like to achieve and where I place value. In 2021, my word was COMMITMENT. I chose what I wanted to be committed to for the year. Now, looking back, I can look at that list and ask, “Was I truly committed to these things? Did I practice commitment in my business? What lessons did I learn about this commitment practice that I want to take with me into the new year?”

Need more ideas about how to bring reflection to your business/team this December?

Check out FUNRETROSPECTIVES.COM.

Once you’ve completed your own December reflection, I know big goals, values, and clarity will arise for the year to come. If you find you need some help mapping out a plan of action for 2022, I recommend checking out Best Self Journal or joining our upcoming 14-week accountability program.

Remember: Reflection is important to help you live the life you want to live and get the stuff done that want to get done. It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. It’s even harder to know if you’ll get to your destination if you don’t glance at a map every now and then to make sure you’re going the right way.  

December is your chance to look in the rearview mirror and check your GPS. So, take it.

See you in 2022, friends!