Reflection and growth in 2025

We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience."

- John Dewey

The end of 2024: What a year....

In our rush to look ahead, it is easy to overlook the past year and focus entirely on the year ahead. But a lack of reflection and capturing your lessons learned and successes will ultimately lead to a loss of growth. Instead, reflection gives you the valuable opportunity to look back on the past year and from there make new plans for the year ahead.

Reflection is not something you should only do once a year. I look back every week, every month and every quarter and see where I need to adjust my plans and actions to continue to develop and grow. You achieve the most profitable growth by experimenting a lot, reflecting and learning from it.

Celebrate your successes as well as failures

We read everywhere that we should celebrate our successes, no matter how small. But then, what are the successes? Do you celebrate only those things that have succeeded? Or then do you also celebrate your failed attempts and the end of things?

Often we celebrate only the things that went right and not the slips, misses and wrong attempts. Because then we feel we have failed. Did that, done that. Indeed, I rather felt that I had to "pay" for what had gone wrong and was certainly not hanging up any garlands. And now I know, that of course this is not true. As if everything you did and did achieve before was also no longer successful...?

Stopping something that costs you more time and energy than it gives you, that's exactly what I think is a huge gain.

If you're thinking about ending something, it's worth asking:

What was the purpose of this?
What did it give me and what did it cost me (expressed in terms of time, energy, money, satisfaction, impact...)?
Has that intention been fulfilled?

When you end something proactively, great things happen, new people, new opportunities and possibilities come your way. After 20 years, I flipped my career in corporate business and started my own company. One door closed behind me and many new doors opened.

My personal annual review

I began conducting a personal review of my career and future plans years ago. This has had an immense impact on my personal development and growth.

I don't remember who I wrote these questions down from, but here are the 7 questions for your personal annual review:

1: What have I changed my mind about this year?

I used to think that the most successful people had all the answers. Because they were smarter and knew more than the rest of us. But as I spent more time with these people, I realized that this is not true. The most successful people don't have the right answers, but they ask the right questions. They realize that finding the truth is much more important than being right.

What did I change my mind about in 2024?
What new insights and lessons did I have this year? And this is a question to really dwell on, because your greatest growth comes from your lessons and new insights from them.

2: What gave me energy this year?

I have a framework I call the "Energy Tracker": An energy meter where you assess a day or week and color code the events based on whether they gave energy (green), took energy away (red) or were neutral (yellow). But along with that, the times of the day when I am highest in my energy - and therefore doing focus work, or the times in a day when I feel the energy to schedule appointments.

The Energy Tracker is a visual way to correct on a weekly or monthly basis if there are specific activities that are very positive or negative for your energy. This question asks you to assess your calendar on a macro scale:

Review your calendar for the past year.
What activities, people or projects consistently energized my life?
Spend more time on these in 2025.

3: What took energy away from me this year?

This question asks you to continue your calendar review, but with a reverse focus:

Review your calendars from the past year.
What activities, people or projects consistently took energy away from my life?
Fix this so you lose less time and energy on this one in 2025.

4: What were the anchors in my life?

Anchors are people, negativity/mentality and actions that hold you back from reaching your full potential. You try to move full steam ahead, but they literally create a brake on your life and growth.

Consider:

People who belittle you, drag down your achievements or ridicule your ambitions. Who laugh at your ambition and tell you to be more realistic. Who damage the quality of your environment through negativity and pessimism.
Self-limiting beliefs and stories.
Self-destructive behavior - the famous Gremlins.
Bad habits that undermine your growth.

Eliminate or minimize the energy you give to them in 2025. And surround yourself with the people who uplift you, who see, hear and appreciate who you are and what you do. So that you are not held back from truly steering your own course and inhibited in your further de8velopment and growth in all areas.

5: What did I not do because of fear?

"We suffer more in our imagination than in reality."

- Seneca

One thing I've learned: Sometimes you don't give your best effort because you are afraid of what will happen if you do your best and still fail. But this self-protection can quickly turn into self-rejection.

The thing you fear the most is often the thing you need to do the most. This question forces you to reflect and face your fear.

What was the downside if I had taken action?
What was the benefit if I had taken action?
Gain insight into your limiting thoughts and fears. In 2025, no longer live and do business from the fear of losing, but from the desire to make it happen and do achieve your goals.

6: What were my biggest successes and failures this year?

Your natural bias influences how you look at your year:

The optimist sees all the successes.
The pessimist sees all failures.

Write down all your successes and failures from last year. Reflect on why the successes succeeded and the failures failed.

7: What have I learned this year?

“When you stop learning, you start dying."

- Albert Einstein

It is easy to lose track of your progress and growth. This question requires you to zoom out to see your perspective on the whole. And just by first taking a step back and zooming out, then from the calmness arises the space to gain this insight. To know what changes you have to make to grow forward again with focus.

The 7 questions for your Personal Annual Review:

What have I changed my mind about this year?
What gave me energy this year?
What took energy away this year?
What were the anchors in my life?
What didn't I do because of fear?
What were my biggest successes and failures this year?
What have I learned this year?

Framework: More- Better - New

One of my favorite frameworks: More-Better-New. After each reflection and analysis, assess what you are going to do more of, what you are going to tweak to get a better result than last time, and what you are going to innovate/new value.

What will you be doing more of in 2025?
What will you address, improve in 2025?
What will you innovate, what new ideas will you develop?

These answers will give you the perfect insights and new perspectives to move your personal and business growth forward again in 2025.

Working together for your growth

Want to take this one step further and work with a group of like-minded people on your own growth in 2025? On January 24, I am organizing a Live Business Meeting in which we will have your profitable strategies in focus and you will know what to do to achieve your growth.

During this live day you will discover how to strengthen your position, maximize your value to accelerate your business into a relevant, forward-looking and successful business. I offer you the new perspectives, tools/frameworks, profitable strategies and personal support to take your business to the next level.

At the end of the day, you will go home full of energy with your renewed and forward-looking strategy and action plan. So that by 2025 you will be standing strong and full of focus on your personal, business and financial growth right away.

One Life. Lead it. Live it.

Sign up for the Live Business Meeting on January 24, 2025 and receive your ticket as a Christmas present when you sign up as a VIP in the LinkedIn Sprint 2025 by December 25, 2024.

Warm regards,

Gerdi

I wish you very happy holidays and a successful 2025.
Together we will peak and deliver.