Latest / The Growth Project / Episode 361: How to Close the Year Well

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Episode 361: How to Close the Year Well · The Growth Project

• 0:00
  You.
• 0:03
  Welcome to the Growth Project, a podcast brought to you by amylose. Excited to be here in the studio with the squad this morning. The whole squad. The whole squad. Thank you. Doctor C. We got the whole squad, and that feels fitting, given that we are trying to kind of, pull things together here at the end of the year.
• 0:25
  And we know that our listeners are probably, if not yet on a break.
• 0:29
  We kind of hope you'll be headed to one soon. As December closes and, you know, the topic we wanted to get into today that we think plenty of people are thinking about this time of year is is how do you kind of close the year up?
• 0:41
  Well, and so for for plenty of folks, one component of that tends to be getting into some reflection and assessment, review whatever term you prefer there. But the idea is setting aside some time to dedicate a thought to dive into. Understand, how do you do this year? Like how did it go essentially?
• 1:01
  So Mil, why do we really believe in the importance of people that, you know?
• 1:07
  Drew, I'ma start with a quote. I know people are shocked. You know, I think Socrates said, or Aristotle, the unexamined life is not worth living.
• 1:14
  And to me, why is it so important is if you don't. Well, one, we don't start the year off probably with the right kind of goals and vision and game plans with intentional thought and action, and we kind of let life dictate how we're going to live that year.
• 1:28
  And I think this is a year in evaluation
• 1:30
  really kind of sets the stage of answering some of these deep and meaningful questions. Who am, what's important to me? What inspires me? What are the things I really want to accomplish? We talk about trying to help people live a life without regret.
• 1:44
  And part of this year in review, as you take a deep dive in. Hey, who have you always wanted to become? Who? How do you want to show up at work and at home? What are the things that continue to inspire you, that allow you to be your best? How did you grow? What are the challenges you were able to overcome?
• 2:01
  And I think without that reflection, what I know to be true in all of our lives, we think it's a good idea, but we don't take action of it. And without the reflection, the, expectations from a negative lens, what we see is a lot of people have a critic critical self-analysis without taking a deep dive, without thinking, about how they grew or what was important or what did they accomplish?
• 2:27
  Most people feel like they're in survival mode and just getting by. And so we believe kind of taking this deep dive kind of really set you up to really take ownership of your life. If you fell a little short. How do you adjust? How do you, make a new plan for the next year? Yeah. Don't just turn the page on 2025 and go to 26 without thinking about some of these things.
• 2:49
  So we want to definitely spend some time and
• 2:51
  really put effort into, how do we go about creating a good process for individual reflection?
• 2:57
  Gabby, can you talk a little bit about to help our listeners develop a framework, a set of categories like how can people think about getting started with something like this? Definitely. Well, let's start with a three part framework where we're going to look at the professional self, the personal self and then integrating the two, starting with the professional.
• 3:18
  We want to focus on three main categories. No more reflecting your wins and your growth. The challenges. Maybe you encountered throughout the year and then systems and sustainability. What habits worked for you? What systems maybe made your life easier or harder
• 3:35
  and then when we look at the personal again, giving you three key areas to focus on here within personal reflection is your energy and well-being and have your identity relationships support that you received and support that you leaned on over the years.
• 3:50
  And then of course, your nine day area rest and well-being, recovery, enjoyment,
• 3:58
  and reflecting on those areas as well. Yeah. What I, what I really like about this format and process, starting like it it starts with the good, you know, whether it's personal or professional. I think the brain is wired to kind of look at the bad.
• 4:12
  And so we want to start. And then again, this is evaluation, not criticism. You know, criticism. Anybody can be a critic that stifles growth. It limits innovation. It limits creativity, evaluation is a step back and separating kind of who you are somewhat from what you do. And so we can really look at what went well this year, what were some things in these key areas.
• 4:33
  And it has nothing to do if you're if you're looking to this, the personal or professional has nothing to do with how much money you made about whether you hit plan or how many wins you had. It's more about your growth and opportunities for you to improve, and take direction. So I really like this, that it separates kind of where we think about in the performance world around achieving our goal or hitting our plan or winning a game.
• 4:58
  To me, this is a much broader and deeper sense, which hopefully gives your life a little bit more purpose.
• 5:03
  Yes, we've got professional, personal. And then Gabby, what's kind of the third part of the framework? The third part is the integration piece and the holistic piece where you're looking at what was the theme of my year and what do I want the theme of my next year to be things that maybe served you or didn't serve you throughout the year, that either you need to get rid of going into the new year or, bring with you.
• 5:24
  So it's, really tying it all together. And that's a big component. And we'll get into that in a little bit later on in our conversation today. But we've seen this plenty of times over the years where people who are maybe they're doing kind of a reflection assessment of the year. It's fantastic. But then the next step. Right.
• 5:41
  And so taking what they come up with and figuring out what's the adjustment that I want. Yeah. What's the what's the difference with them. What am I going to change in an effort to make next year different and not, you know, getting to the end of that year and having the same kind of things on my list. And that's a that's not easy.
• 5:59
  That's tough. And we've seen many people over the years who have a hard time taking that next step. And we'll talk about some ideas for how to do that. So let's kind of launch into this a little bit. And maybe we begin on the professional side in Gabby, do you want to give us some good example questions? That people could really be thinking about.
• 6:17
  Sure. Well with when we'll start there. That was the first category wins, accomplishments, growth. First thing you can ask yourself are what are a couple things that, you know, I, I professionally accomplished this year that I'm proud of.
• 6:31
  That would be the first. And then where did I show up? Yeah. Values and my mission or my purpose.
• 6:38
  And then, of course, what can I do now that I could in a year ago? Love that question. Yeah, I love that question right there. And I love the other one about how do I show up. You know, we talk all the time. People don't really give that a whole lot of thought. But can you proud of how you showed up and where were those moments where you showed up?
• 6:55
  Well, and you were proud of how you showed up? And remember those moments where you didn't show up well and what did you learn from those moments? Okay. Newest employees, team member. Just put it on the spot. Yeah, put it on the spot. Spot here. So let's let's take this one and would love to hear you talk about how about a professional win.
• 7:13
  Professional win. Absolutely. Well I've had this is an easy one for me because this year has been full of what I would consider professional wins. And that I and is my PhD. So got my my doctor doctor doctor. So years in the making. So that was probably the biggest accomplishment of this year professionally. And then of course securing my job here.
• 7:38
  And yeah hopefully that was going to be on the I was like if it's yeah I, I mean I couldn't have gotten here without like we would not expect right. Yeah. No that's a big we both down the same. Yeah. It was all a long time ago. Huge college. Yeah yeah. Next year. Can't work there. Yeah. Yeah okay.
• 7:59
  Good.
• 8:00
  Yeah. So. Okay. Doctor Lauter, that's a hard one, man. What is my biggest win professionally? A professional win.
• 8:08
  You know, one. I think Gabby on the team like, that's we've been talking about bringing to bring in new talent, new ideas, having some diversity, back on the team. And so that's, that's a big win, trying to kind of get the right people on the bus.
• 8:21
  But to me, there's two things I think that I'm really happy that I haven't, haven't done in a long time. I think the physician well-being program, kind of kicking that start off with lots of cooler Saint Francis here is really an opportunity to hit a group of professionals that don't get a lot of help. And then I think probably being able to kind of, knock the dust off the parenting class that God does not care for children like you, which I intentionally quit teaching.
• 8:47
  My kids became teenagers because I realized I didn't quite know what I was doing. But I've had a chance to bring that back out and teach that. And so those have been two things that have I would consider wind cool. Yeah, I think on the physician program, to me is one of the best examples of why I think our work tends to feel so meaningful to us is because, like, because think about that.
• 9:11
  That's a program targeting people who are then getting impact. So, right. So you think about the ripple effect. It's very similar. What we what we're investing in coaches because then they go, yes, yes. But any program that's pouring into the livelihood of physicians, it's just really, I think, need an example of how employers really attempts to help the helpers.
• 9:34
  And in effect, people who are going to then go effective much about it. Well, I think it's like living according to our values, right? To kind of the thing we say all the time, if all we do is make you better for your work or for your sport, than we failed you. And so integrate and kind of the be better, pursue better part especially for a demographic that doesn't ask for a lot of help.
• 9:53
  They they probably aren't like if if I look at the the fast forward as like a what's the theme of the year? If you look in the medical profession, the common theme is burnout. Yeah for sure. And so excited to have that opportunity. So thankful for our partners at Saint Francis here to kind of kick that, kick that off and get going.
• 10:10
  Yeah, it's gonna be awesome. How about you?
• 10:12
  My, my biggest professional win this year feels like being in this office.
• 10:20
  Given how my year started. And if you are, an avid or even somewhat avid listener for growth project, you know what I mean? But I spent the the better part of the first three months of this year, dealing with some really, really difficult problems and problems. And, was not in any office for quite a while, and unable to really see much at all.
• 10:43
  So, so let me, let me so let me add that back to another professional win, because I think the 60 days in the dark series,
• 10:50
  I know you for a long time and you were not maybe one to quickly share how you're thinking, how you're feeling, a willingness to be vulnerable. But, for you to walk through that, let me be a part of that story and all of us.
• 11:02
  And to share that story, the impact that is made on people across. You wouldn't believe how many people have told me what an impact they made in their life, in terms of their struggle and their pain. And so to me, that's a huge professional win to get you to share your story and share your journey. Because I know, how difficult that was.
• 11:20
  But again, using your pain to inspire others and help others and to kind of clarify that purpose. So thank you for that. And I'm glad you mentioned that. And it's, probably a good example to just some of our fundamental things we believe in come to life is like, I was never trying for that to be a win.
• 11:38
  Yeah. Just, you know, just trying to kind of honor the, the things that pop up in life and but yeah, I mean, again, the fact that I'm sitting at this might in this podcast and you can see is like a massive win. Yeah. Yeah. You can see. Yes, I can read the sheet in front of me. So I'll take it.
• 11:54
  I didn't I didn't really need any other wins this year. You had some good ones though. You had some good ones.
• 12:00
  Okay. So what's next, Gaby, let's let's move into some other categories here. And as we kind of give people some ideas on how they can do this, we can continue to kind of share some of ours.
• 12:10
  Yeah. Well, let's move into the challenges that we've encountered and how to reflect on maybe decisions we made and tradeoffs we had to make. The first question you can ask yourself is what challenge stretched me the most this year? What hard decisions did I have to make? How did I make those decisions? How did my values play a role in my decision making?
• 12:34
  And then what did this season teach me about how I operate under pressure? How do I handle stress? Hard times? I think that one. Right. There's been one that I've tried to be very mindful of in my own life. And also I've challenged a lot of the people I work with is to be mindful and aware of your reaction, your human reaction to stress.
• 12:55
  I know I'm not very aware of how much stress impacts me, which makes it difficult for me to be aware of how my stress impacts others. And so kind of giving yourself permission to be honest and think about how do I react to stress. And with that, what I added, what does it feel like to work with me when I'm stressed?
• 13:13
  What it feel like to be connected to me? I know we are in the personal peace, but what it feel like to be loved by me when I'm under stress. And I think that question right there, if we could really get people to to dive into that and be honest, it gives you a lot of opportunity for growth, because a lot of times that when you are not proud of how you show up, that's when you're inconsistent and you can't live in a court like the tyranny or the urge, and the pressure becomes too great for you to be at peace and content with who you are.
• 13:42
  You have. I already answered my challenge. That was one of the same. Yeah, a challenge. Yep. But I think maybe just one quick thing to add here is that I think it would be healthy and helpful for our listeners, as you think about what that challenge might be, to maybe peel it back a little bit further and ask yourself, well, to what degree was I responsible for that?
• 14:02
  And sometimes we're very directly responsible, sometimes we aren't. But depending on the answer to that can be really informative of how you want to go forward. Because sometimes challenges pop up that are like, we always say, I'm uncontrollable. Yeah. Because I maybe I made it, I created yeah. You know, I, I've been late on doing something I should have done sooner or whatever it might be, but we want to be sure you get the absolute most out of that question yet to me, that's when.
• 14:25
  Okay, the reaction then the reflection now is what was your response. Right. You know, and so it's okay to have that human reaction. But what was your response to that challenge? What was your response to that pressure? What was your response to that demand? How do you take ownership, whether you created it drew, or whether for a lot of our people it was created for you?
• 14:43
  Yeah. How do we want to respond to that? Okay, so we've got wins and growth. We got challenges. What's our third what's a third possible place to go here? Gaby Systems and Sustainability which me I'm very Type-A so I love from where y'all are y'all sitting on the same side? Yeah, that's what they call me of my habits, my routine.
• 15:06
  So, again, asking yourself, what are your habits? What are your routines? That support, you know, high performance? And where did structure help? Where did structure hinder? And that's where I think I have to spend a little bit more time. And my reflections and how to structure hold me back, getting too locked into your habits or routines.
• 15:27
  Yeah. Too rigid maybe. And then of what is sustainable and worth carrying into next year. Yeah. Well, I think, you know, we could probably dive really deep on the habits of routine stuff on a personal level, but, particularly at work. Yes. You know, an example that I would mention would be I feel like it's pretty normal these days to hear people say something that goes like this.
• 15:49
  I really don't like meetings. I can't stand meetings and, you know, sometimes you can't do anything about that, right? Fair enough. That's going to happen. But as you start a new year, that tends to be a great time to maybe create some changes and like run some experiments if you want to change your routine. Sometimes people are a little bit averse to doing that.
• 16:11
  Run some experiments, just try some things. Cut some of your meetings in half the length of your meetings. See how it goes. Maybe that is, or just change the whole dynamic of the meeting. I think a lot of times the illusion of it really being a meeting, what we see is a leader just kind of he just informs or she just informs and there's no dialog, there's no conversation, that the tyranny of the urgent, you know, focuses on the meeting and there's no long term decision making or strategy and vision.
• 16:37
  So they're unproductive and uninspiring and. Yeah, and changed, the components of it. Yes. It change who's responsible for change. How you show up in and half do a different like just experiment run some experiments. And I think you know when you get the idea, we try to kind of, consider the idea of like, hey, let's try this.
• 16:56
  Normally people get behind that, in a, in a real favorable way of like, hey, let's go find out. And if ultimately what we find out is that we were already doing it the best way, then then you can just kind of you know, default back to that. Yeah. And I think, you know, back to self-reflection and self-awareness.
• 17:11
  Maybe we aren't great at this. So if you're looking at your systems and habits and routines, you know, it sometimes takes an environment, a change in the environment to create a change in the mindset. And so, you know, invite other people along like, hey, this didn't really work last year. You know, we had 20 meetings and we solved zero problems.
• 17:28
  We just talked about a lot of things. And so I think that's a great idea to look at because, drew, you know, how how frustrated people get at meetings that we speak to and how much time do we waste? Yeah, we probably don't have that problem. It amplifies a lot.
• 17:46
  No, no, no.
• 17:48
  Okay. Well what else? Any final thoughts on professional stuff before we kind of switch gears? Yeah. I mean, I think that that pretty much sums it up, if you can, on those three areas. And it's really dig into those reflective questions. Again, I think it's important to highlight that you're not just picking out what you did wrong.
• 18:05
  Yeah. What didn't go well, but also reflect on what did go well either. When you're thinking about the challenges and the decisions, you know, how did you handle those productively versus, productively? And again, these are ideas and suggestions for you to make your own. There may be a couple other criteria. You can take a deeper dive, but we're just trying to give you a template and an a platform to really ask what we think are meaningful questions in a in a time frame that doesn't overwhelm you right?
• 18:34
  So going into some of the personal stuff and, you know, I'm going to toss this one to the expert in the line here, on kind of the well-being and energy stuff. But, what would be a good place to start? Yeah. If people are trying to kind of think about, all right, what's where am I in terms of how I manage my energy?
• 18:52
  I think about wellness well, which is a concept we've talked about a ton here. What would be a good starting point there? I think the best starting point would be to look at that wellness wheel or something similar. And and so just when we're thinking about the wellness way or the dimensions, we talk about mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, relational behavior or just if somebody has never heard that, that that concept before.
• 19:14
  Yeah. And and just ask yourself, how do I feel in each of these areas? And then each piece of the pie here, I would even say rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, I feel very fulfilled and, and, comfortable in this area and versus one being, I feel drained in this area and get a visual representation of maybe how you're feeling and where you're lacking or where you need to pay more attention, to get it really more quantitative with how are we looking at these intangible aspects of our energy and our well-being?
• 19:49
  That would be the first point of reflection. Yeah. It's interesting how much those numbers can affect a person just seeing and written down, as you said, by quantifying and what an impact that can have. Yes, in a good way. Yeah. And then I think the second question to ask is when did I feel most like myself? So at what point over the years did I feel authentic and genuine?
• 20:12
  And what was going on around this time? What were the factors at play within those dimensions of the law as well? And, when did I feel most depleted? Yeah. You know, knowledge of insight around what does drain you, what does depletes you in your, you know, emotionally, mentally, socially? Yeah. I like to frame a when was I at my best or what I really tried to pay attention in to my life personally and professionally as when was I inspired?
• 20:38
  I think those are questions that I would like. Not only when did I have the energy, when I feel authentic and genuine, but when was I really at my best in these important dimensions? And then what was I inspired by the work that I did, knowing that if I'm not inspired, nobody else will be okay?
• 20:53
  Yeah. And the suggestion I would make for our listeners is you're thinking about maybe you're working around that wheel, and you're taking Gaby's advice of giving yourself your 1 to 10.
• 21:02
  Start really small with pick. Pick one. Yeah. Pick one. You know, we see it for you typically where people might see 2 or 3 things in their wheel and they don't feel right about it. And so then they're like, okay, I'm going to go really double down on this and this and this. And that isn't always the best plan.
• 21:17
  So we would just recommend maybe you can pick one area. Yeah. And even even again back to starting. There's probably an area you're doing pretty well. And so let's don't minimize that. When we bring this up. It's so easy to focus on what you're not doing. But there's probably at least one dimension that you're paying attention to that you're doing really well.
• 21:35
  So so don't forget that either. Right? Okay. So we've got energy well-being. Then we think about kind of the the relationships and support systems and, and then with that comes kind of this identity piece. And so I love this question of, how did I grow this year. Yeah. And wow, I mean, there's there's so many directions you can take that.
• 21:57
  I also think that's a great question that as you try to answer that as an individual, as some people around you, as well, and maybe contribute to that, like what did they see? What did they see? Because at minimum, you kind of hope that, that they would endorse what you think you grew in. They may not. Yeah, they may not.
• 22:15
  You would hope that they would. Yeah. What would that one be for you, Gabby? That area where maybe you grew this year. It's an area where I grew this year. I think there's quite a few, but I did pick one, growth point. It would be being more, open and maybe vulnerable and relationships, but in, just, you know, the professional setting to being able to be open and getting to know all of you.
• 22:45
  And I think that that's something that, is it's a great point for me because in the past, I am very introverted. I like to just kind of keep to myself. But I've made it a point, you know, going from, grad school to the real world, if you will. Yeah, that's been an area I've been trying to grow in.
• 23:04
  And hopefully my friends and peers would endorse that. But I'll have to check in with them and say, yeah, I haven't known you long. I didn't know your prior, but to me, you can see the fruits of that. You can see a little bit more comfort and vulnerability, which is how we've always tried to teach a little bit more, giving yourself permission to be human, and a willingness to invite others in, whether that's here in the office or on the podcast.
• 23:28
  I think the podcast has helped a lot. Yeah. To to get out of my again and open up a little bit.
• 23:35
  About email. I knew this was coming. I don't know. So so what is my question? Gabby. Yeah. Well, as a person this year, how did I grow as a person? You know, this is I'll be completely honest. I think there's my mind is always where I should be better and could do better. You know, people probably don't know that about me, but my mind is always thinking about where I am not enough or where I didn't grow enough, or I'm not consistent enough.
• 24:01
  And so that's just going to be hard when the answer for me, how did I grow as a person?
• 24:09
  I think I have been a little bit more mindful of the stress that I've probably been under most of my life, and, and at least being able to communicate that a little bit better to my family, and being able to understand some of that irritation or tone of voice, that really is probably just more stress induced. And so being able to kind of sit with that and this other question you have, we haven't talked about as, hey, where did I need more support?
• 24:39
  And so being able just to kind of ask for some support more at home or with friends and not being like, hey, I'm always the one that's giving help. You know, being willing to receive some of that help.
• 24:52
  I guess now, yeah, you are getting off the hook if you going to put me under the gun when I was unprepared for it. Yeah. No one that's on my mind. But I guess I'm a little afraid. People might disagree with that, but that's okay. I'll just go with it. Right. Because I do feel like this is the truth.
• 25:06
  I feel like I've grown, in patients. Yeah. This year, you know, when you spend three, when you can't drive for, like, three months, you better learn how to exercise some degree of patience. So, you know, and I'm sure that the gains that I made in the patients category back in the first part of this year have some of that has been lost.
• 25:29
  I have no doubt.
• 25:31
  One to another. So the net is still a positive? Yeah. I'm hoping I'm a net positive on my patients. And there's such a you know, the good and bad of life when you go through those events is life goes on. And this is another reason you need to reflect and evaluate, because where you were pretty much helpless and dependent on everybody forces you to be patient.
• 25:56
  And and his live picks back up with a sense of urgency. It's like, can we pay attention to what we learned while we were there? And without reflection, you know, I think that that you just kind of can fall back into that same kind of rut. Okay, maybe the way I should be saying this is I'm not saying I'm now a patient person.
• 26:15
  I'm just more patient. Yeah, yeah. I think you and I have a long way to go in the continuum. That is not that's probably a growth area for me for 2026. And every year I think I'm further along than I, I started. And that's progress is one of my favorite words. And it's hard to recognize, especially when you can be so mindful of how far you have to go.
• 26:36
  Okay. So now, you know, this is your your domain here on the rest, your research and your dissertation work and all that. Yeah. And then within this realm, I really like this question here is, what brought me joy? That had nothing to do with productivity? Yeah, yeah. Louie, what do you start with? That one?
• 26:59
  Right. Maybe if I read it slower. Yeah. It had nothing to do with productivity. I mean, I made everything about my kids, and the many ways that that they bring me joy. So in, my gosh, there's countless examples of those of, seeing, you know, Meg, my oldest, have a great first year of college. That brought me a lot of joy.
• 27:27
  Certainly nothing to do with my productivity. Brought me a lot of joy to see my wife, Rachel, rally around behind me when I was going on my last, just certainly I was a strong, reminder of, I think there's the power and strength of marriage and even two decades plus into it. And that brought me a lot of joy.
• 27:50
  And I could go on and on about the family, but, like, I think a lot of family wins. Brought me joy this year. Yeah. No, no. Yeah. Oh, Gabby's taken over here. I think, you know, there's one thing that I think I do a decent job of is just being mindful when things happen in my life are happen for others, to which I didn't really deserve in.
• 28:11
  And that kind of brings me joy. It kind of brings me to my faith. Really thinking about opportunities and blessings and, being a partner in someone's growth or, or a way to help minimize the pain when, when you can't solve the problems, you can't heal them, you can't fix them. But but I am thankful. It brings me joy that people trust me enough to invite me into those conversations.
• 28:37
  So that's something that I think about watching your children grow and struggle and mature and, respond. And then for me, what it's what meal partners really become. It's the one place in my life where, I don't get in a hurry. You know, there is some productivity I like. I love killing a tree. I love working on the farm.
• 28:56
  I love doing something. But it's the one place in my life right now where I don't get in a hurry. And it brings me great joy and renews and restores me, when I'm out there, that I feel a sense of peace. So how about you? Well, for me, it was definitely a year where I had a couple of months where I was done with school and in between school and job, and I'm just really appreciative for those months because I got to spend a lot of time with my friends and my family and traveling with, like, my boyfriend and, I recognize that's not something you get a lot of.
• 29:36
  Yep. Not anymore. You're working here to help us? No, no. No PTO, no time. You know, I never took a gap year between, schooling. I went straight through and, getting that time to to slow down. Even though it did kill me a little bit on the inside. Every day, I was itching to do something. And, I still had part time jobs and things, but it was just looking back on it.
• 30:02
  I'm very appreciative of the time I got to spend slowing down and just being with family and friends and, yeah, it's, it brought me a lot of joy this year. Awesome. Yeah. Really good. Yeah. Those don't come along, you know. Yeah. And and so you think about in terms of the personal piece that, that personal reflection of how you grew the relationship and support you're able to invite in.
• 30:26
  And then what brings you rest and recovery and renewal and joy? That kind of sets us up for a year of reflection and review and kind of, hey, where do I want to go? Almost like we talked about for the professional. What am I willing to give up if this is me at my best, what am I willing to give up in 2026 to keep keep moving towards that?
• 30:45
  Which kind of leads us into this last three, this he had I integrate this data and how do I use this for future opportunities and future growth?
• 30:53
  how do we move ahead. And I think the first thing you need to look at is as well as the theme of your year, what what kept showing up across work in life like that. Yeah. Similarities and commonalities between the two can be helpful. Yeah. You know, I can drop my quote here that I've really learned this year is another growth area.
• 31:14
  I was able to memorize some new quotes. And versus that's always a goal of mine. But this one from James Michener. And it really speaks to what we're about an impasse, the master and the art of living makes little distinction between their work and their play, their labor in their leisure, their mind and their body, their information and recreation, their love and their religion.
• 31:35
  They hardly know which is which. They simply pursue their vision of excellence in all that they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing to them. They're always doing both. And so to me, I don't know if there's one word that sums up what I think my year was, but but every time, a lot of the times when I start my morning, I'm looking in the mirror and I'm thinking, the master in the art of living.
• 31:59
  Like, how am I going to show up at work? How am I going to show up at home? When am I at my best? And so that theme of what is my vision of excellence that I'm pursuing, and how do I become skilled in my work in that process? So, so to me, that's how I see the integration in my life.
• 32:16
  And so I know that's not one word, but that phrase, the master, the art of living is something that I'm aspiring towards, in my work and in my life and in my relationships. That's a great one, I think, for for me, and it's been a year of letting go of control and learning to to adapt.
• 32:40
  I was I spent six years in the same place doing pretty much the same things and job and, moving, you know, we moved twice in the span of a couple months back to Mississippi and then back, and then now to Greenville. And there's a lot of stuff I could not control. And, over the course of the year, and I think learning to to be okay with that and not be so rigid has been really the, the theme of my year.
• 33:07
  Awesome. Less rigidity. Awesome. I like it, doc.
• 33:11
  I don't know if I'm ready to answer this one, because I think this is a really good question and I haven't yet done my I haven't done. Yeah, yeah. So that is we'll give a disclaimer. We have we have not answered these. Yeah I really do like the question and plan to answer it.
• 33:26
  Yeah I don't think I've done I don't have it yet. Yeah. It is hard being put on the spot. You know, we haven't really given our due diligence and time to the chat that's coming. I usually don't I don't get that in until like the very near the end of December. But it's okay. We'll we'll hold we'll wait for it.
• 33:43
  We'll wait for it. Enough. Okay. And then just as we kind of think about these final couple things related to integration path forward, I like this question as well. I think about releasing it. Yes. What am I leaving behind? And this would fall under probably a format that many people are familiar with. The star stop continue.
• 34:01
  But this on the stock component there. What do you what are you going to stop and leave behind? In other words, like what are you going to give up at no longer do? Yeah, that's a I think about it, things that you're doing and things you want to stop doing. I think that gossip and other relationships.
• 34:17
  What relationships? Yeah. Maybe don't serve you or fit anymore. Friendships. Yeah, it it's a hard area to reflect on. But it has a lot of value. Yeah. And to me, I think both those. But I would add to it, what pain have you been holding on to that you're finally going to release? Yeah. What have you been holding on to that?
• 34:41
  Especially the holidays sometimes brings out that pain, those reminders of loss in your life, the reminders of hurt in your life, the reminders of who you've lost in your life, or things that have been done to you. And so to me, this is a chance to say, what am I finally going to choose? And I think you got to choose forgiveness.
• 34:57
  Meaning I'm not going to let the thing I can't control control me. And so many people get forgiveness confused that I have so many. But like, why can't forgive them? Well, again, forgiveness is not for them. Forgiveness releases you. And so man, if there's one thing I would encourage, if you don't do anything else in this reflection, that one question could be what finally leads to freedom?
• 35:22
  Because that forgiveness, when you choose forgiveness, that forgiveness, what really leads, leads to freedom. And has Lewis made us to forgive is a set of prisoner free in rods. That the prisoner was you? Yeah. And so not only a what am I going to stop doing? What do I need to give? What relationship do I need to give up?
• 35:42
  But to me, that emotional pain that you've been carrying, what would it look like if you were able to finally release that and forgive that, knowing it's not a one time event? But that would be a huge part of your step forward towards your growth. Yeah. A lot of people just don't think about forgiveness in the way you just described.
• 36:01
  Right. Which is normal because that is very, almost a huge here's an important thing to do. Okay. So I know we need to kind of move toward wrapping up here and everything. And, you know, just maybe a final thing would be and just as we talked about, okay, if you had to think about your year, I same for your year.
• 36:16
  Nothing wrong with also kind of looking down at the horizon. Like what? Maybe you have a theme for the year upcoming. Yes. You choose a focus, a theme, whatever word you want to use there to really set your sights on, what's ahead? I think it's a great thing to do, and it's fun to kind of look back on that word and everything and it also set the stage for how we reflect on next year, you know, how will you evaluate next year's like, you know, where there is no vision.
• 36:38
  It says in Proverbs the people will perish. And so kind of setting the stage for not only what do I want to accomplish, but who do I really want to become? So we wrap up just the two final things I want to say is that, you know, on the one hand, we've tried to give you a effective and concrete framework today and at the same time, there's really no wrong.
• 36:56
  Yes. So you might have a process that you've run in the past and, you know, great. Keep doing that. Or maybe, you know, there might be a little more kind of a narrow or simple way you want to do it. That's all great. We just want to really encourage you to, to find the right way that works for you.
• 37:12
  And then my, my kind of final charge or challenge would be try to stick this in before the year. Actually ends. And I've done it both ways. There have been years where, for whatever reason, I didn't really get this in before the clock struck midnight worship on the 31st, and it just feels different. Yeah, when you're doing it on the other side or you're already in the new year, I don't know.
• 37:32
  The personally speaking ages feels different. So challenge yourself, get it in before the year's over. That's my final word. I like that it's, I like the idea of moving away from a New Year's resolution and setting a New Year's reflection. Right. That sets you up for creating an effective resolution. But you can't create a resolution that you're going to, remain accountable to if you haven't done reflection.
• 37:58
  Right. So I like what you said. Doing it before the year ends definitely feels a little bit different. I know if I went on the new year, I'm feeling like I'm already behind. Yeah, especially you guys. Yeah. And and so then that'll set you up for January. And I love kind of beginning with the end in mind. You know as you look on this reflection and think about, well, who do I really want to be, what I really want to accomplish.
• 38:20
  And how would it look different? How would I feel differently if, if I really lived my life in 2026 with intentional thought and purpose around these questions? And so we get really excited about that. And it's part it's kind of why we get excited about helping you be better, pursue better. And so I've really enjoyed our conversation.
• 38:38
  I do think we could take a deeper dive. For our listeners, hopefully you'll see. You will have this handout ready for you to kind of walk through and print out and answer these questions and give us some feedback as you walk through what worked for you, what didn't work for you? If you have any questions, as you subscribe or like us, please pass those along to us.
• 38:58
  And, you know, just my final thought, I guess this is coming out Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas to everybody. And, we look forward to our next conversation right on. Have a great Christmas. Thank you. Merry Christmas.