“The Pause is the full stop that allows us to consider the next sentence of our lives”

I love this quote by Danielle North, and it feels especially relevant right now, as we head into the darkest nights and festive break, ahead of a New Year.

With this as inspiration, it’s become a tradition for my husband and I sit down with our family calendar at the end of December, to take a look back at the year and reflect on what’s happened.

Where did we go? What did we do? What were the big events and the little memories? We are always astonished at how much we have already forgotten about!

We give the year a theme or a title, and then look forward with a light touch - what will the coming year bring? What would we like it to be like?

Some years the process has been painful with loss, other times rich in learning, often we have marvelled at the sheer amount of change.

It always brings insight and a sense of grounding.

You can do this in any way that works for you. As a family, for you personally, for your work or business.

It’s a perfect time to pause and reflect on where you started, where you are now and how far you’ve come.

You can look back on:

The story | What’s this year been about? What’s happened? What have you been up to?
The ups | What have been your biggest wins, successes or achievements? What’s worked?
The downs | What have been your biggest challenges, frustrations or disappointments? What’s not worked?
The learning | What do you know now that you didn’t before? How have you grown?

And look forward to:

The future | What would you like next year to be about? What would be an outcome for 2024 that would feel too good to be true?

The importance of acknowledging what has been to create the space to move forward is long established, but we don’t often take the time to mark the beginnings and endings of everyday life consciously.

At this time of year, the rush towards Christmas can quickly give way to the pull of ‘back to work’.

Instead press pause for a moment, slow down, breathe, reflect and gather your resources and energy for the next step.

What’s been the story of your year?

And how can you pause to celebrate your progress and consider the next sentence of your life?

Wishing you all a week of reflective pause,