Last Sunday I found my way in the Lake District.
As someone who is not renowned for their sense of direction - and has often got lost when navigating solo - this is a relatively big deal for me!
The day before we had climbed Hallin Fell as a group, then Stu and I took the long way back - a beautiful loop alongside Ullswater.
The next day it was just me and the dog.
I wasn’t 100% sure I could find my way - but I really wanted to.
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.
I love this picture.
It represents the fun of being up high, the joy of early dog ownership, the beauty of seeing the landscape spread out down below.
It was taken on holiday in West Wales back in 2018. Freddie and I are at the top of Mwnt, while my husband and children are on the beach down below.
They were happy doing, and I was happy being and seeing them.
Seeing our lives from above like this can be both calming and grounding. Things really do look different, and feel different, when we look down on our lives rather than being in them.
It gives us a moment to pause, to see the bigger picture, to put things in context.
I have been a great completer finisher in my life.
Sometimes when it really would have been wiser to stop.
I’ve trained through injury, I’ve stayed too long in roles that no longer fit me, I’ve chosen to ‘push through’ when really, I needed to stop and regroup.
I’ve also started things that felt like a wonderful idea at the time - before I realised what the process would be like - and then felt I had to see it through.
So, it’s been a complete gift to realise that I don’t have to finish everything I start.
And that I often learn just as much from the things I stop as the things I complete.
It’s all useful data.
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?”
I’m a big fan of creating clarity from the inside out.
Of shining a spotlight inside to light the way ahead.
Of getting super clear about who we are on the inside, so we can create the life we want on the outside.
It’s what got me into coaching in the first place.
And yet…
Sometimes, it’s not an inside job.
Sometimes, it’s the situation.
Who were you 12 years ago?
Where were you, and what were you doing?
What was your life like?
So much can change in our life over time.
Our circumstances, our surroundings, the people in our world, what we want, what works for us, how we like to spend our time and energy, what and who we value and appreciate - all can change.
You are not the same person you were 12 years ago, 7 years ago, 1 year ago - even last month or last week.
And neither are the people around you.
And yet it’s so easy to miss the changes. Unless we stop, take stock, notice and appreciate them.
I came upon this sign on one of my regular dog walks recently. It really struck a chord!
Sometimes in life we are clearly moving and growing. Things are happening, there’s a plan and regular progress, we’re on track.
We’re in motion.
Sometimes we’re regrouping. Taking some time to reflect on, and integrate, what’s been. Pausing to let what we have sown grow. Taking stock and working out what’s next.
We’re still.
