Reflect on Your Year with Compassion: A Self-Care Guide to Growth & Gratitude

As the year draws to a close, many of us feel the urge to reflect on everything that has unfolded—the achievements, the challenges, & the moments in between. The end of the year is always my time to look back & figure out my next plan of action for the year to come. While reflection is a powerful tool for growth, it can sometimes be overshadowed by that nagging lil voice in the back of your head reminding you of what you didn’t do right or get done. 

     Let’s something a lil different this year: reflect with self-compassion & an open heart. Why end the year kicking yourself for all that you think you missed the mark on when you can pat yourself on the back for at least trying? As I look back on 2024, we’ll dive into how we’re doing things differently from now on. Follow me now…

Reflect With a Plan of Action

You can’t just wing this thing; you have to be strategic about the way you move. Now, it’s not some highly intelligent, secret mission-type of plan, but having a method to the madness helps make things a lil easier. Here’s a step-by-step guide to reflecting on your year without judgment, with a dash of how Intentional has impacted my year.

1. Set the Mood for Reflection

Create a peaceful environment to start your self-reflection. Light a candle, play calming music, & find a comfortable space where you feel safe & focused. You can’t really dig deep unless you’re feeling comfortable & chill. Reflecting under stress or fatigue won’t cut it. It’ll be highly counterproductive. 

My Way: I journal before bed every day. When the family is winding down & the sun has disappeared, I start to wind down too. I usually start off with reading a chapter of the Bible & meditating. Those 2 things set the mood for my mind frame for journaling. Baby, trust & believe there were plenty of days that I was mentally, physically, & emotionally drained & didn’t feel like doing a thing beyond crawling in bed. However, I stick to my routine, no matter how rushed it may be.

When I created the Intentional Journal, the purpose was to help other people learn to love & value journaling. I wanted to spread the knowledge of how well the practice has worked for me over the last decade & some change. For that to happen, I had to put everything that puts my mind at ease onto 1 page. Between a calming affirmation, pouring my heart out on the page, or listing everything I’m grateful for, my nightly sessions with my Intentional Journal allow me time to honor my journey without judgment or fear.

2. Revisit the Highlights & Lessons

Instead of labeling experiences as “good” or “bad,” view them as moments that contributed to your growth. Literally, every situation you encounter is something you can learn from. It’s just about the way you view them. Every mistake is an opportunity to learn & grow. In the great words of Marcus Aurelius: “what stands in the way becomes the way.”

My Way: Intentional Journals put emphasis on learning, planning what’s next to come, & growing from it all. Every 3 days, I free my mind with a writing prompt; something different to switch up the monotony. Whether I write a whole page or 1 sentence, reflecting boosts my motivation to continue on (some days more than others). I sure felt like there was a hard lesson learned every month of 2024, but the lessons were also blessings that didn’t hold us down.

The last 3 sections of each page are “Lesson of the Day,” “Daily Gratitude,” & “Next Day Goals,” all subjects that have you reflecting & moving forward at the same time. My lessons are anywhere from quotes I came across to actual lessons I learned that day. Those sections allow my mind to be on a more positive vibe. You can’t get good, quality sleep if your mind isn’t at ease.

3. Practice Gratitude

Gratitude shifts your perspective from what’s missing to what’s meaningful. When you shift your mind from the have-nots to the haves,  it’s a game changer.  We don’t always think about what we do have; we can be so spoiled sometimes & don’t remember all of our blessings. Acknowledge the people, experiences, & moments that made this year special, no matter how small. There’s always someone else that doesn’t have that 1 seemingly irrelevant thing that’s in your possession or memory.

My Way: I do my best to express gratitude to end every day. Intentional Journals have daily gratitude sections for you to write as much or as little as you feel. Every day isn’t gonna be butterflies & rainbows, so please believe there have been days that I struggled to write even 1 thing down. Straight struggle bus, but I push myself to think of something before I can close my journaling session.

Our 31 Day Self-Care Challenges also help with reminding you to be grateful at all times, & they came in clutch every time I felt like I was drowning in 2024’s mess. Even though I try to travel every quarter (or no more than 4 months apart), it still was refreshing to hold myself accountable for doing a bit of self-care daily. Made me realize I should be grateful to at least I have my mind & body intact.

4. Release Self-Judgment

It’s easy to dwell on what didn’t go as planned. But those moments are stepping stones, not roadblocks. We have to get rid of knocking ourselves for the decisions we make & situations we end up in. Nobody’s perfect, & we’re not gonna always get things right… & THAT’S OK!

My Way:  This one is difficult for me at times. I’m a perfectionist, so doing things I feel like I should’ve avoided sends me to a judgy place. This is where my daily affirmations come in. I choose my at the beginning of each year, & if I come across a dope one during the year, I add it to the rotation. They help remind me of the positives I have or have coming. 

All of our journals also have affirmations; that’s how important I think positive affirmations are. We all can use some pick-me-ups from time to time, so finding affirmations to say daily is something I highly recommend implementing. 

5. Set Intentions for the Future

Instead of creating a strict list of resolutions, set intentions rooted in self-care & personal growth. Focus on how you want to feel & the steps you can take to nurture yourself in the year ahead. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to achieve all this stuff, stuff that might be not worth a thing.

My Way:  I’m switching goal-planning to intentions for 2025. It takes some of the pressure off to achieve them. I think it’ll help me be a little more flexible & less pressed. I set so many goals for myself & Intentional this year & didn’t realize there were so many until I went to review progress & check boxes off last week. I can say I achieved about 90% of them, more-so personal than business, in spite of the whirlwind 2024 has been. 

I will continue to use my Intentional Planner for goal-setting on a deeper level though. I didn’t really put a plan of action together that was broken down into weekly & daily steps. I also don’t plan on setting anywhere near as many goals. I need to choose maybe 5 for the year & break those down into smaller goals. I’ll be ready though after this vacation next week. 

6. Celebrate Yourself

Reflection isn’t complete without celebrating who you are & all you’ve accomplished. No matter what this year brought, you’re here, & that’s worth honoring. Things could be far worse than they are, but the fact that you’re still alive & able to read this is quite enough to celebrate.

My Way: I think I’ll celebrate my year while I’m on vacation next week. In spite of the numerous conflicts, financial woes, health issues, kids’ worlds in chaos, changes at work, & who knows what else because it was sooooo much, I’m still here, still breathing, still blessed. I’ve learned that there’s always something to be grateful for regardless of how much things may seem “wrong.” This was the inspiration for Intentional Tees: a reminder to keep you encouraged.

Reflecting on your year without judgment allows you to honor your journey with compassion. Here’s to a year well-lived & a future filled with possibility! Get ready for some new things coming your way from Intentional. We’re gonna take it up a notch!