Celebrate Progress

As we look towards the end of the year, what can you see ahead of you?

As we look towards the end of the year, what can you see ahead of you?

We’re fully into November.

The clocks have changed, daylight savings has started on both sides of the pond, and the evenings are drawing in.

With just 7 weeks left (yes, really!), it’s a useful moment to press pause before we head fully into the darker months and the busy-ness of the end of the year. To reflect on what’s behind us, and what we can see ahead of us.

It’s something I always find it helpful - a way to gather the threads of where I am and what’s been going on, and re-orient myself for what comes next - often so hard to do in the busy-ness of my everyday life!

Are you stuck in a Zip-Boing loop?

Are you stuck in a Zip-Boing loop?

One of my most memorable coach training days was focused on Improv skills, and during it we played a number of games to stretch us in all kinds of ways.

One in particular really stayed with me. We stood in a circle and moved imaginary energy around and between us - accepting it and passing it on (Zip) or rejecting it and sending it back (Boing).

It took me back to a few university drinking games (with fewer after effects!).

At one point the energy got stuck in a Zip-Boing loop - bouncing back and forth, trying to move and then being blocked, over and over again.

The only way for it to get moving again was for someone to make a change, release the energy and break the pattern.

And, of course, it’s the same in real life.

Do you need a study buddy?

Do you need a study buddy?

I’ve had this book on a shelf for many years - one of those that I felt I should read, and wanted to read, but couldn’t seem to get around taking it off the shelf and starting.

And then, a month or so ago, the Time To Think approach came up in conversation with a friend. She was a huge fan, and hearing her perspective really inspired me.

Even better, she offered to be my study buddy.

Who can you celebrate your wins with?

Who can you celebrate your wins with?

There’s a particular joy when you achieve something special.

Perhaps a plan comes together, a long-held goal is realised, or something you hadn’t anticipated springs to life. Or you pause to look back and realise you’re exactly where you hoped you could be.

The sense of achievement can be enormous - and accompanied by a whole range of other emotions. Relief, delight, exhaustion, excitement, joy, sadness that something has come to an end, even though that’s what you wanted!

So it helps to take some time to bask in all of it, to let it wash through and over, to settle into it. To reflect on and notice all of the parts and acknowledge them. To celebrate the moment and the work that went into it before moving on to what comes next.

Which can be surprisingly hard to do!

Are you at the start of a big change?

Are you at the start of a big change?

Sometimes, the way we think about ourself or our life can change in an instant. A remark, a conversation, an idea, can throw things up in the air and rearrange them in a different way.

We suddenly see with startling clarity - what’s not working, what needs to change, exactly what we want or where we need to be.

It’s absolutely brilliant! Now we know!

It can also be utterly overwhelming.

What can you celebrate with a "Well done" list?

What can you celebrate with a "Well done" list?

This post sparked to life in conversation with a brilliant coaching client. There were so many big changes to celebrate when we looked back!

And just as importantly, smaller ones too, which they had decided to capture in a weekly “Well done” list.

I loved this idea SO much!

I know how much it helps to look back - if we don’t pause for perspective, it’s easy to miss our progress - and this sounded like a fun way to do it.

What happened this year?

What happened this year?

Every December I pause and gather the threads of my year.

It’s a lovely ritual, and I’m noticing I start earlier and earlier - maybe because the rush of Christmas can quickly give way to ‘back to work’, or because it feels so dark so early, or simply because it’s a nice thing to do.

It’s absolutely not about looking ahead yet, or creating goals or resolutions - it’s about looking back to see the journey.

In previous years I’ve focused a lot on finding the story of it - looking fully at the ups, the downs, the learning, the insights, the implications.

This year I’m appreciating how powerful it is to simply look back and see what happened, from the start to right now.

So much happens each day, but it’s easy to lose track of how it all adds up when we’re in it.

It's time for a mid-year review

It's time for a mid-year review

It’s the middle of the year.

A half way point.

A beautiful time to take a step back and look both ways.

To appreciate the progress you’ve made so far, to focus on what’s to come.

When we’re busy in our lives and work, we can forget to pause, to see the bigger picture, to put things into perspective.

And yet it’s so important.

One of my favourite quotes from Danielle North sums this up, “If you never stop to ask yourself how you are doing, how will you ever really know where you are going?”

Are you forgetting to look back?

Are you forgetting to look back?

Are you forgetting to look back?

So often in life we are focused on the future, and the gap between where we are and where we want to be.

It can feel hard to see how we will get to the destination. We can feel like we are a long way off, and maybe that we will never arrive.

We can end up…

  • Focusing on how far we have to go, rather than where we are.

  • Reviewing what we haven’t done, rather than what we have.

  • Measuring ourselves harshly against expected progress, rather than actual progress.

We can forget to to look behind us to celebrate the journey we’ve already made.