Before You Rush Forward
"Success is the product of daily habits not once-in-a-lifetime transformations."- James Clear
Before You Rush Forward: The Quiet Power of Year-End Reflection
As 2025 comes to a close, there is a familiar pressure to move on, set new goals, declare a new word, and sprint into January with energy and resolve. But before we rush forward, I want to invite you to do something that often gets overlooked in leadership, health, and life:
Pause! Reflect! Bend back!
When I was a classroom teacher, I was expected to set and reflect on my professional goals each year. In addition, teachers were expected to facilitate student reflections specifically on Language Arts assignments. My introduction to an holistic approach to reflection was implemented after joining the Maxwell Leadership team. John Maxwell shared his annual review process and encouraged team members to do the same. This provided me with the opportunity to engage in my own annual review. The first few years were a challenge but now the annual review is a habit. Each year, I intentionally take 3-5 days to reflect on my year before setting goals for the next one. I step away from the noise and look carefully at my life as it truly unfolded.
Often that reflection happens in a quiet room at home, or at a bed and breakfast or hotel. There is always a cup of tea, classical music playing softly, my calendar, journal, planner, colored pens, and my quarterly reflections spread out on a table. Other times, it has included honest conversations with family and trusted friends people who see what I may have missed.
This practice has become one of the most grounding and transformative habits in my life.
Why Reflection Matters:Especially Now
The word reflect comes from the Latin reflectere “to bend back.” To reflect is not to dwell or ruminate. It is to turn back and look carefully, with wisdom and compassion. Reflection allows us to integrate what we’ve lived through not just survived, identify growth that didn’t come with applause, learn from what was difficult without being defined by it, and honor the full story of our year with body, mind, spirit and purpose. For those of us navigating leadership, caregiving, chronic illness, or invisible burdens, reflection is not a luxury. It is how we reclaim agency, dignity, and clarity.
Before asking, “What do I want next?”
Reflection helps us ask, “What did this year require of me?”
Creating Space to Reflect
Reflection requires quiet, safety, and time. I intentionally choose environments where I can think freely without interruption, or expectations. This allows the time to review my calendar and an opportunity to review quarterly goals. Most importantly, I journal using guiding questions without editing of judging my thoughts. It is a time to allow my words to take shape on the page without analysis and overthinking. If you’ve never reflected before, start small choose one uninterrupted afternoon or evening, silence notifications, write by hand if possible, and allow stillness to do some of the work.
There is no “right” way only an honest one.
Reflection Areas for a Whole Life Review
As you reflect on 2025, I encourage you to look at these six areas: your health, finances, career, professional development, relationships, and spiritual life. This is not to grade yourself, but to listen and give yourself a holistic view of your life.
Below are a few questions in each area to begin your reflection process:
First, your health (Physical, neurological, emotional) is not an obstacle to your calling it is part of how you steward it. Questions to consider: What did my body need this year and how did I respond? When did I honor my limits? When did I override them?
Second, review your finances it will provide the necessary wisdom needed for guidance. Questions to consider: What financial decisions brought peace? Which brought stress?
Third, reflecting on your career can provide insights into progress not bigger titles. Questions to consider: Where did I feel aligned with my purpose? & Where did I feel drained, unseen, or misaligned?
Fourth, growth is happening even when it feels slow. John Maxwell says, that change is inevitable and growth is optional. Questions to Consider: What skills did I strengthen this year? What stretched me beyond my comfort zone.
Fifth, healthy relationships require reflection, not perfection. Which relationships nurtured me?
Questions to Consider: What relationships nurtured me? How did I show up for others and for myself?
Finally, spiritual reflection reminds us that we are never carrying the year alone. Questions to consider: Where did I sense God’s presence this year? When did my faith feel steady and when did it feel fragile?
Wins, Learns, and Possibilities
As I reflect, these are the three questions that anchor my process:
What were the wins seen and unseen?
What were the lessons this year taught me?
What possibilities feel open as I step into a new season?
This posture keeps reflection from becoming heavy and creates room for hope.
A Gentle Invitation
So let me ask you:
How do you reflect on your year?
Do you reflect at all or do you rush past your experiences without honoring them?
Before you plan for 2026, I invite you to bend back to look with honesty, grace, and curiosity at the year you lived. Reflection is not about reliving the past it is about learning from it so you can move forward with wisdom. May you find quiet, clarity, and may reflection give you the courage to step into what’s next whole, grounded, and hopeful.
Stay tuned for next weeks blog as I continue sharing this journey of perseverance setbacks, small victories, and hope. Schedule a consultation here: https://ironsconsultinggroupllc.com/contactus
visit us @ironsconsultinggroupllc.com and follow us on social media.
