The Year End Review

Listen to the full podcast episode to learn about the science-backed practice that has not only changed my life but also the lives of countless people over the last two decades. This is something you can’t ignore if you want to achieve that great goal you identified for this year and write your new future.

As we approach the end of 2024, it’s tempting to dive straight into setting new goals for the new year without reflecting on the past. But what if a simple 10-minute practice of leveraging the success and wisdom from the past twelve months can confidently accelerate growth and happiness in 2025?  Would you take the 10-minutes to try it?

In this episode, I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite practices, the Year-End Review. For over a decade, this practice has guided me and countless others toward better decision-making, stronger relationships, and heightened performance. The best part is it’s based on proven success – your own – and it doesn’t require any expensive new strategies. 

Whether you’re an individual looking to grow or a team aiming for improving performance or alignment, this simple exercise is your ticket to extracting the wisdom from your past and using it to fuel a better future.

Why Reflection Is Essential

We often think our next breakthrough lies in the future, but our past holds invaluable clues. By reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons we’ve learned, we can gain clarity,  uncover patterns, amplify successes, and course-correct missteps for the year ahead.

This practice of reflecting isn’t about dwelling on the past. It’s about celebrating wins, uncovering the gold in our mistakes, and crafting a success formula for the next year.

Real Results from Reflection

Take my client Jennifer, for instance. In her year-end review at the end of 2023, she noticed that her greatest professional wins stemmed from unexpected, genuine interactions.

You see, Jennifer loves sharing useful resources and recommendations with her clients. Whether that is a podcast on the topic her client mentioned or suggesting the best wine from a restaurant. Jennifer would make a meaningful connection with people. She realized that her simple act of authentically sharing resources with a CEO led her to have a recurring revenue stream worth several hundred dollars for 2 years.

Another is John, who recognized a leadership gap while running a manufacturing company. His newfound awareness prompted him to make pivotal changes, resulting in significant improvements.

Both Jennifer’s and John’s results were born out of reflection, which is a vital but often neglected step in our fast-paced lives.  

Now, let’s explore the year-end review exercise.

Four Steps Year-End Review

Step 1: List Your Wins and Celebrate Successes

I notice week to week in my conversations with people that we are really fast moving beyond our wins or not taking time to celebrate. It can be very unfulfilling to live that kind of life. So, it’s important to acknowledge your wins, celebrate your successes, and give yourself an opportunity to recognize who you have become along the way.

Start by jotting down 10-20 successes or experiences that made you feel good this past year. These can range from major milestones to small yet meaningful moments, personal or professional. From landing a dream client to sharing a memorable trip with loved ones or getting your child into a better-suited school, own your best moments and celebrate unapologetically.

Step 2: Acknowledge Mistakes and Setbacks

Next, list the mistakes, setbacks, and disappointments you encountered in this past year. What are those things that didn’t go your way? Maybe right now you are feeling sick and uncomfortable just thinking about it, but remember that those mistakes are crucial learning opportunities. Consider them a good thing, write them down, and learn from them to create better results next year.

Step 3: Extract Insights and Awareness

For each win and mistake, write down the insights or new awareness you gained. Consider what each experience taught you. An insight could be to assess where you need to leverage your time better or be aware that you were not able to delegate properly. Hence, your project failed. This step clarifies patterns and behaviors that either support or hinder you.

Step 4: Identify Themes and Create Your Success Formula

Finally, review your lists and identify 2 to 3 best themes and learnings from 2024 that you can leverage in the next year. What lessons are most significant? What behaviors led to success, and which ones slow down your progress? For instance, you might find that “When I commit to work with others, things happen” or “When I give myself permission to take a break, I am revived and can do better.” Summarize these to create your key success formula.

Beyond Reflection: Setting Goals and Taking Action

The year-end review is not just about looking back. It’s your success formula for future planning. Use them as your foundation in setting goals in the new year to ensure your goals are aligned with what truly drives your success and fulfillment.

Start Your Year-End Review Today

Begin your year-end review now by downloading the Year-End Review Exercise from the show notes. Spend ten minutes jotting down your initial thoughts, and revisit these questions over the next few days. By embracing this reflective practice, you set the stage for a more intentional, fulfilling, and successful year ahead.

Unlock your potential by leveraging the wisdom of your past. Today’s evolved leaders are using a different approach. You can too. See how this simple practice can transform your life in 2025 and beyond.

Additionally, if you are ready to play full out on your goals in 2025 and you’ve been toying with the idea of adding a coach to your team to support your growth in every area of work and life, I am opening limited slots for my 1:1 coaching to help you navigate the transition, build clarity and confidence, so that you can guarantee you live your ultimate future guided by your design.   Don’t miss out on this opportunity in the year ahead. Send me an email or book a connection call to see if this is right for you.

In this episode, I share how to:

• Know when to take time to pause and reflect to amplify your growth.
• Acknowledge your achievements that fuel momentum and fight stress and burnout.
• Grow from the lesson of each misstep that can shape future success.

Resources and related episodes:

• Grab the Year-End Review exercise
• Tune in to the previous episode, Ten Ways To Adjust Your Strategy and Rhythm For More Enjoyment This Season
• Listen to Leading From a Heart at Peace
• If you’d like to be notified of when new podcast episodes are released, you can do so here: Playing Full Out
• Learn more about the Inside Out Method
• Connect with Rita on LinkedIn

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts for more tips, tools, and inspiration to lead the optimal vision of your life, love, and leadership. Remember, a half version of you is not enough. The world needs the fullest version of you at play.

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About Rita Hyland

With over 20 years of experience as an executive and leadership coach, Rita helps leaders — emerging and established — excel in corporate and entrepreneurial environments.

Rita believes if leaders were more clear about how transformation really works and more intentional about creating what they want, their impact, success, and influence in the world would be unstoppable.

Through her coaching programs, private coaching, and masterminds, Rita shows leaders how to win consistently and create the impact and legacy they desire.

Central to Rita’s work is the understanding that you will never outperform your current programming, no matter how strong your willpower.

When you learn to use Rita’s proprietary Inside Out Method, a technology that uses the best of neuroscience and transformational psychology to hit the brain’s buttons for change, YOU become both the solution and the strategy.

Her mission is to end talented, hard-working, and self-aware leaders spending another day stuck in self-doubt or confusion and not contributing their brilliant work and talent the world so desperately needs.