When the Holidays get Hijacked
December 17, 2025
Thriving and You
December 31, 2025
Tis the season for change, Solstice was 12/21 and the calendar changes on 12/31. Ten days from nature’s shift to the official start of the new year. A time to look back in order to look forward. Taking time to review last year allows you to start the new year with goals or intentions that fit you and your life. If you look through an old family cookbook, you will find handwritten notes on the recipes. Someone might add walnuts to a cookie recipe or note that the time and temperature needs to be adjusted so that they come out just right.
As you review your past year, note the adjustments or changes you made that worked well for you. Pay particular attention to those things that are in your circle of influence, your actions or decisions that made a difference in how your year went. This includes how you spent your time, what you read or watched, and who you connected with. Reviewing the year gives you a chance to consider ways you can adjust your plans and intentions so that they work best for you.
Patterns
As you review this past year, look for patterns. Choose those that are most important from your perspective. You can look at: your journals, photos, email or texts, calendar, social media posts, or financial records. You can walk through your home and consider how it has changed in a year. You can talk with someone close to you who might offer a helpful perspective. And you can feed some of your data to your preferred AI tool and ask it to give you an overview. As you do this look for patterns, not so much of what happened to you, but of how you responded as the year unfolded. Take notes on the adaptations you made that allowed you to feel joy, relax, or care for yourself and others.
Seasons
Notice where you have been and what might be next. This is emotional work, do as much or as little as is helpful. The goal is to look for ways you can be intentional in the next season to care for yourself, to build your resilience, and if you have the capacity to build resilience in others around you. Life is not a staircase of constant upward striving. Some seasons you need to focus on your own needs, in others you have the capacity to support others. Notice where you have been in the past year and consider where you are headed in this next season. Thinking about your intentions is like thinking through a recipe, do you have enough to make one batch or can you double or triple the recipe? Your notes to yourself will help you plan your next season.
Gold Stars
Give yourself credit for all progress and goals met. Any and all work toward a goal counts, even if you shift goals halfway through. If you started projects that you never finished look at what you did instead or what stood in your way. If bad things happened note the patterns leading up to them and consider ways you protected yourself the best that you could. Jot down what you accomplished and where you found joy. Give yourself an internal high five for all the ways you protected and built your, or other’s, resilience. These are the notes in a cookbook for the favorite and reliable recipes as well as the changes that need to be made the next time you are dealing with a similar dish.
Taking time to review your past allows you to make notes that will guide your goals for the future. By considering your own actions and decisions, you can focus on what works for you. Review those parts of your last year that are the most important to you. Give yourself credit for all that you have done to build your resilience or to respond to the events of the past year. By noticing your own good ideas or smart adaptations you can better decide what your intentions or interests are for the coming season or year. You always have choices; you can focus on perfecting your current routine or spice things up with a whole new chapter. Your past experiences are one of your best guides.
Peace,
Laura
If you are a solopreneur or know someone who is, I run accountability sprints to support business goals. The next one starts soon, on January 5, 2026. For more information look here: https://learnmodelteach.kit.com/sprint.
