79: Our 2019 Reflections & Lessons Learned

Christian Woman Leadership Podcast with Esther Littlefield & Holly Cain

English - December 24, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 60.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 193 ratings
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Previous Episode: 78: The Power of Empathy and Curiosity in Communication with Kathleen Peters [Communication Series]

Next Episode: 80: How to Avoid the Trap of Niceness and Speak Boldly with Sharon Hodde Miller [Communication Series]

As this year and this decade comes to a close, Holly and I are sharing our reflections on 2019… lessons learned, what worked, what didn’t work, and looking forward into the new year as well. We hope this honest and transparent discussion will inspire you to do the same for yourself.

Last year on the podcast, we did a whole series on goal setting, and we did several episodes related to goals, reflecting, dreams, etc. Now is a great time to go back and listen to those, especially if you weren’t a listener last year.

Last year’s Goal Setting Series episodes: Episode 24: What You Should Do Before the New Year Begins Episode 25: How to Grow and Reach Your Goals by Doing Less with Barbara Carneiro Episode 26: The Importance of Dreaming and Creating a Vision for the Future Episode 28: Three Practical Approaches to Goal Setting Episode 30: How Your Personality Impacts How You Set and Accomplish Goals Episode 31: The Key to Accomplishing Your Goals Episode 33: My Favorite Tools for Goal Setting, Planning, and Creating Habits

Our Reflections and Lessons Learned in 2019

We want to encourage you to start with reflecting before you attempt to set goals for the coming year. Reflecting is foundational to the goal setting process. It’s important to know where you’ve been before you can know where you’re going.

In this episode, we share our reflections using the following questions. Feel free to use these questions* for your own reflection process as well.

What worked in the past year? What didn’t work? What lessons did you learn in 2019? Did you have a word for the year? What was it and how did it go for you? Have you decided on a word for 2020? What’s next? What are a couple things you are excited about for 2020? What was the single best thing that happened this past year? What was the single most challenging thing that happened? What was an unexpected joy this past year? What was an unexpected obstacle? Pick three words to describe this past year. What were the best books you read this year? What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year? What was the best way you used your time this past year? What was the biggest thing you learned this past year? Create a phrase or statement that describes this past year for you. What was your favorite place that you visited in 2019? Which of your personal qualities turned out to be the most helpful this year?

“Slow growth is better than no growth.” - Holly Cain

*We developed some of these questions on our own, and others came from the following blog posts:

Your Year in Review: 50 Questions to Help You Reflect, Appreciate and Get Excited for 2015 20+ Questions For a New Year

If you want to dive deeper into reflecting and goal setting, I recommend the PowerSheets.