Written by: Vivien Hudson, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Many of us look to the end of the year as the end of a chapter and to the New Year as the start of a new one. Some of you may be scratching your head and wondering where the year went. You would not be alone. We live in a sea of busyness that is business. Meetings, planning, admin tasks, putting out fires, it all becomes a bit of a blur, and then, before we know it, December is here again.
Here are some tips to get your holidays off to a good start, reflect on the year past and take the time to rejuvenate while starting 2024 on the right foot.
1. Reflect
Set aside time to see what you have accomplished this year, such as what you have learned, who are new people in your network, new friends, and business successes.Taking 30 minutes or less to do this activity will help you realize what you did achieve, and that the year was not as much of a blur as you may think!
2. Check in
Check in with your health and well-being. Our well-being is a collection of how much we enjoy what we do each day, the friends we have, the state of our finances, the community we live in, and our mental health and fitness. Which areas could do with attention?
a. Job satisfaction: If you feel wrung out at the end of each day, there is a good chance you feel a lack of control over your time and energy. Take time to reconnect what led you to why you chose the work you do and the company you currently work for. We can get so task-focused and overwhelmed that we forget why we do what we do in the first place. If you think your job is challenging and overwhelming, what will make it easier?
Some suggestions: Talk to your manager or a coach about what you are experiencing. Voicing what you are feeling aloud is helpful! Apply a lens of positivity instead of continued frustration and make a list of what you can control – work on those and let go of the frustrations of the things that are out of your control.
b. Social connection: Loneliness is a frequent problem due to fears associated with rejection or negative judgments. This can happen within families and in workplaces. Feeling lonely is a widespread problem – 52% of Americans report feeling lonely and many of those say they have relationships that lack meaning.
Some suggestions: Use the holidays to reconnect with your family and friends with whom you may not have checked in for a while. If your social relationships lack depth, tune into being a better communicator. Improve your listening and have a couple of helpful open-ended questions handy. "What was the best part of your day/year?" or "What vacation are you planning for 2024?" could be good icebreakers.
c. Financial fitness: It will not be long before it is time to do taxes, and you find yourself saying where did all that money go? Living expenses and nice-to-haves do not take long to make six figures turn into a handful of pennies. If you are three of the four people who worry about money each week then take the holidays to set up a savings plan for next year.
Some suggestions: Pay down and consolidate expensive debt, cancel any unused subscriptions – do you need four streaming subscriptions? Do a budget of what you earn and what you must pay out, then see what you have left. Plan for the extra and how you will manage that money – push it into investments, a holiday savings account, or making extra payments on your debts. This action will help get you back in the driver’s seat of your financial future.
d. Community connection: Holistic well-being includes loving where we live. In the busyness of our work year, it can be easy to forget what is happening nearby in your local area.
Some suggestions: What does your community offer, and how can you be more active? It could be utilizing the local parks or activities – there are often Christmas markets and other fun activities your local town will put on. Part of our well-being is having a safe and enjoyable place to live, so peep into what is happening and join in!
e. Mental and physical fitness: How are you shaping up as the year closes? Stressed, anxious, exhausted, flabby, or energetic, happy, and fit? Physical fitness goes a long way to improving mental fitness, too.
Some suggestions: If you have had a stressful year, take the holidays as an opportunity to get outside and walk or go to the gym. If you are stressed, take stock of what makes you stressed and find ways to quieten your mind. Deep breathing or meditation is an excellent place to start. Get some fresh fruit and vegetables into your body – the apples and pears are so good right now! The holidays can also be a good time to visit your sleep schedule and ensure you get 7-8 hours every night.
3. Reset
Look forward to 2024 now and consider what you want to write in next year’s reflection. Take 30 minutes to write that reflection now, as if that year has already happened. Do you want to see a promotion, better relationships, be healthier, have extra investments, or have a great overseas vacation? This is permission to dream a little and get those neural networks firing to create a vision for your future.
Taking the time to reflect and reset is the perfect way to end your year. If I look back on my year, I have made some new connections – mostly business networks, completed some additional training in NLP, MBTI, and Wellness; volunteered in my local community, raised money for Blood Clot Awareness, added Wellness to my business, got better at saying no, taken a trip back to Australia, reduced the sweet foods in my diet, kept in better touch with family and worked on my personal development. Not such a bad year for one that seems like a blur!
Now to next year…
Vivien Hudson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Vivien Hudson is a reformed pharmacist who went through her own journey of discovery when she trained as a life coach, moved hemispheres, and achieved her Masters in Business Adversity. This training enlightened her to how much change we can affect in our lives by understanding stress, the stories we tell ourselves, and how we show up in our bodies. Self-awareness, finding purpose, and living authentically are at the heart of effective change and leadership. Vivien combines her experience in health and wellbeing, business ownership, and the challenges she has faced in her own life to bring depth and diversity to her work She is trained as a life and performance ontological coach, brain fitness practitioner, on purpose presenter, speaker, and corporate trainer. Her purpose is instilling courage to help those she touches live a life well-lived.
