Year End Reflection

Written by Danielle Birchard

December often brings a whirlwind of emotions, tasks, responsibilities, and plans for the future. People are stretched in 10 different directions and are expected to produce high results for all of them. And then the end of the month arrives, and there is a sudden hush. There is time for contemplation of the past year, and time for goal setting for the coming year.

When you think about what you want your next year to look like at work, where does your mind go? Do you want to take less meetings? More meetings? Reach new sales or revenue goals? Expand to a new market? Attend more networking events, improve a process, find a new solution to some ongoing problem? When the clock strikes midnight on January 1st, we are often forced into thinking about what the next year will bring. It is often forgotten to remember to look back on those things that were accomplished in the past year.

A year can feel like a lifetime, or it can feel like the blink of an eye. But more often than not, come December, accomplishments made during the year are often overlooked due to looking forward to the upcoming year. Take a moment to reflect on that customer you got back in February, that new team member that you were able to coach back in April, that situation you deescalated back in September. That sale you made earlier in the year that now seems so long ago.

There is something special about starting a new year. It feels like a new chance, a clean slate. The opportunities are limitless, but it shouldn't be forgotten how you got this far. Every step in the journey has an important role, and those steps get you to a place where you can come up with new goals. So go, increase that brand awareness. Do it, go on that business trip and find all those new clients. Make all of those changes and updates that will forever increase your client base. Build your team. But don't forget about what it took to get you this far.