End-of-Year = Time for Reflection

As I type this message, I just put a new planner/journal in my Amazon cart. For starters, I have a weakness for journals. I love the leather bound types, full of calendar and goals planning sections. I use my colored gel pens to write and highlight in the crisp pages because it brings joy to my inner nerdy girl. My other weakness is stickers....yes stickers! I am a grown-ass woman and I have no shame telling you that I have a true sticker fetish. My current favorite is the Black Girl Magic collection by Rongrong DeVoe, a Houston-based artist. It is mid-year and my educator perspective of viewing years in terms of academic calendars hasn't died out yet. I still see August as the beginning-of-the-year and May/June as the close-of-the-year. Why am I telling you this? It is time for some end-of-year and mid-year reflections.

I don't know about you, but if I don't take time out to reflect on where I am, it can feel like I am standing still or that my goals are several light years away. It isn't always easy to see the progress I have made. By reflecting, I can also use my current status as a baseline for where I want to evolve from in one year's time. This type of reflection is important especially for those of you looking to make midlife career shifts. You don't want to be in prep mode for your resume refresh or career portfolio development, and draw a complete blank when trying to think of what you have accomplished or what impacts you have made. Looking back on a long career can get foggy if you don't do these annual and mid-year reflections to leave yourself breadcrumbs along the way. 

To make your reflection time a little more focused, there are a few questions you can ask yourself.

1. What were some personal and professional wins I accomplished, big and small?
2. What new people did I connect with that might be impactful for my future?
3. How did I proactively upskill myself for the next phase of my career?
4. How has my mindset opened up and gained fresh perspective?

Your reflection is deeply personal so you don't owe anyone a peek into your thoughts unless you feel comfortable sharing. However, you do need to hold yourself accountable somehow, so you continue to see growth throughout your career and personal journey. Give yourself the grace to try, stumble and fail, but also to gain wisdom in the messiness of your evolution. Once we reach midlife, we've had of enough of the people pleasing and following the crowd. We know who we are. We are boldly dancing into this midseason with all the years of experience forged deep within our souls. Take this time to reflect and give gratitude for the lessons learned thus far, and then turn to greet the future with an open heart and mind.