It’s late November and I just spent a little time reviewing the year for all it brought – successes and failures, tragedies and triumphs. Like so many years it had plenty of both! There was laughter and there were tears. There were some days pulsing with potential and others when I didn’t want to get out of bed.

But rather than write off this year as a terrible one, I like so many others, kept putting one foot in front of the other, and concentrated on noticing what was going well. Writing a list of wins is always a pleasant exercise mixed with surprise and confirmation of goals achieved.

In summation, it turns out I pretty much achieved everything I focused on in 2025! 😊 Before you applaud, note it also means I didn’t achieve other things that I didn’t focus on! ☹️

At the beginning of the year there were so many areas of my business I planned to build, skills I wanted to develop, personal accomplishments to reach that it was overwhelming. There was too much to do at once! Something I have learned over the years is that a to do list can only do so much.

Identify the Why before the How

It is essential to tie actions to outcomes, but before I decide the “how”, I follow a process to identify my top priorities, the “why”. Determining what is most important starts me on the right track. Committing to the why retains my focus throughout the year.

When I take clients through this step, we rate 8 areas of their personal life and 8 areas of their professional life to identify areas for potential growth. A weakness in one area may indicate a need for growth, but ultimately individuals choose if that is an area of their life they wish to improve.

Before you start planning for 2026, try assessing how you went in 2025. I hope you are pleasantly surprised!