Reflect & Reconnect: A Treasure Hunt for Growth and Gratitude
Before you rush into the holiday season or the next goal, pause and reflect. What if the most powerful way to finish strong is to first notice how far you’ve come?
In this episode, Christian Life Coach Shanna Pyzer walks you through a year-end reflection designed to help you reconnect with your purpose and celebrate your progress — without guilt or perfectionism.
You’ll learn to:
Reflect on what worked and what didn’t
Find the hidden wins and happy by-products
Reconnect with your “why”
Decide what to reclaim or release as you finish the year
📖 Scriptures: Philippians 1:6, Galatians 6:9, Romans 12:2
Watch Here
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Hello, and welcome to the Christian Life Coach Podcast. I am Shanna, your Christian.
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life coach. Welcome, welcome. This episode, if you're listening in real time, is going to come out the first week in November.
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of 2025, which… is insane to me. Time… Mime just keeps passing, y'all. It just keeps passing.
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So, we, through October. have been talking about coming into the end of the year.
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rested and restored. And… ready… to finish this year strong, and to start 2026.
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from a place of being rested. Creating momentum, and just finishing the year strong, and then.
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starting 2026. off the same way.
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And we've talked about being very intentional about rest.
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about protecting your peace. And we… I did a couple episodes about decluttering.
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decluttering your mind. decluttering your physical space.
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decluttering your calendar. Decluttering your social.
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Oh my goodness, so good. So, if you have not listened to those, I highly recommend.
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that you go back and… Listen to those to find encouragement.
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And maybe even permission to slow down. And to refocus.
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And now… It's November! What happened?
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I… we are gonna talk about how to finish 2025 strong, to start 2026 with momentum.
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And before we jump into that, I just feel like.
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it's… it's a good place right now. to kind of start the… transition, but I don't want to just jump into finish strong, go gung-ho.
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Because we're wanting to do this. From a place of rest, from a place of restoration.
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From a place of peace. And so, I want to, before we kind of forge ahead into this final.
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part of the year. And also… Side note, I… I want to encourage us, also, encourage you, encourage me.
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The year's not over. We still have a good chunk of time.
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We have 2 full months. It's not time to throw in the towel. It's never.
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time to throw in the towel. Let me be clear about that. It is never time.
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To throw in the towel. maybe you want to shift focus. Maybe you want to decide that what you're… what you've been working towards.
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isn't what you want to continue, but you never throw in the towel.
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You may change your mind with intention, but we do not quit.
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that's just a complete side tangent that I just went on.
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So, we… we are not giving up. We still have plenty of year left.
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to make some significant progress. whether it's progress.
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on ourselves, or progress towards goals that we set.
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that we're still working on, maybe that we forgot, that we want to pick back up?
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Um, we still have time. There's still time. And time is gonna pass no matter what.
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And really, the flip of the calendar from December 31st to January 1st.
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is… I mean, it's really just a ceremonial thing. It doesn't really change anything. It's just time is passing.
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And time is continuous. It doesn't say, oh, it's the end of a year.
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One day, and oh, it's the beginning of the year today.
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And so, things are different. No, it's just continuous.
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And we want to continue to build. what we want… And make progress, and be persistent.
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Whether it's just what we want within ourselves. or if it's something that we want outside of ourselves.
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Again, long tangent that I just went on. What I want to focus on today… is reflecting.
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Let's reflect back. on this… This year, up until this point.
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And then we can start shifting into looking ahead. But I feel like it's very important.
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to do some reflection. before we… forge ahead.
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So, it is November. And in January.
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You may have set some goals. So let's reflect on those.
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Did you start out with a journal? that you wrote your goals down in.
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Did you start out with some kind of a notebook?
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I… is this the right one? That is not the right one.
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I'm not going to be able to find it right this second.
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I have… I use, um, I use a lot of different things, I'm not gonna lie, let's be honest.
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I love composition notebooks. I have a composition notebook, and I… usually I decorate it, and I did not even decorate it this year.
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But I… I spent some time, so I am gonna go back and reflect.
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in my composition notebook, because that's where I wrote down my goals for the year.
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So, go back and look at those goals that you set.
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In January. whether you call them… Um, goals, or New Year's resolutions, or whatever.
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What was your word of the year for this year? My word was impact.
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And I have used that word. almost every day this year.
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I have… I have kept that front and center of my mind.
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I'm very goal-focused and goal-oriented, and impact was my word of the year, and it kind of encompasses a lot of different areas.
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And so, I'm gonna go back, and I'm gonna do some review of that. So go back and what were the goals.
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that you set. What did you want to accomplish.
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in 2025. And so, this is just… to look back, and let me… Um, emphasize.
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There is no place for judgment here. We're not going back to go, oh my gosh, I set these goals and I haven't done anything, I'm a horrible person, I never do what I say I'm gonna do.
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We are not looking back for judgment. We are looking back for information.
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And we are reflecting, and we want to use it to inform how we go forward.
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That is all. So… what are the goals that you set for this year, back in January?
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And then, which of them did you stay consistent with?
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Are there any that you are still pushing forward on right now, just as you set them?
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Back in January. And are there any… and, like, I don't know how many goals you set, but this is all just to kind of get your brain thinking, to go back and look.
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Um, did you have a goal that you kind of shifted along the way that kind of transformed into.
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another… a separate goal, or a different-looking goal? that you're still working on.
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And again, this is not for judgment. This is not to be used as a weapon against you.
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This is for tools. Tools are used for building up.
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Weapons are used to tear down. We are only building, we are not tearing.
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So, looking back on your goals. Which are you still working on?
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And any that kind of just shifted. Along the way, and where are you at?
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So, you know the goals that you set. Back in the beginning of the year. Now.
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And this… this should be… fun and enlightening.
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And kind of a memory jogger? Do a treasure hunt.
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For everything that has gone well this year. Where have you seen God's hand in your life?
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What did you do with intention that worked out?
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And it might be helpful. to go back… go back through your calendar, go back through your planners, if you use a planner.
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Go back through… your camera, or your photos, on your phone.
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And kind of scroll through the year. And see what comes up.
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What has gone well? Where have you seen God move? Where have you seen His provision?
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What are the things that you're really grateful for this year?
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What did you set your mind to that you focused on, and that you made happen?
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Or you at least made progress on it.
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And then, what… what were the happy byproducts? The things that just turned out even better than you planned, or that you didn't even… see coming that came to fruition, or maybe they were a happy byproduct of.
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something else that you did or put into place?
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And make a gratitude list. Or write a journal entry of.
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All of the good fruit that you have seen over this past year.
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the things that have been produced from the habits that you have.
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implemented in your life. from the changes that you've made in your mindset and the way that you think.
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in your relationship with God, like, what good has come?
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And make a list of all of those things.
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I love, in the Bible, how. God… God has us… remind ourselves of the good things He has done. There are so many places in the Bible where they set up.
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monuments to remind them and to remind. their offspring and the… the… people that come after them to remind them of what God did here.
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This is the place that God did this. And they… they set it up to be a place of remembrance.
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And that's kind of what I… how I think of my gratitude list every day. I… this is… I want to remember what is God… what God is doing in my life every day.
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the little things, and also the big things that accumulate over the year.
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So go back and look at. all of the things that went well, whether they were things that you planned for and that you made happen, that you worked your booty off for.
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Or things that God just… orchestrated.
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Write those down. And just so you know, I'm gonna have all of these in a… a PDF that you can download. I'm going to have all of these questions for you, so you don't have to be.
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writing like a mad person, there will be a link in the show notes for you to get all of this.
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So, reflecting on all of the things that went well.
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And then, looking at those whys, or, I'm sorry, looking at the goals that you set, those things that you wanted to accomplish.
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Reconnect with your why. Why does that matter? And anytime that I talk about goal setting.
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Um, I talk about. you… you pick that goal that you want, and then… Why does it matter to you? Why does it matter to you? Why does it matter to your life? Why does it matter to your family?
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Why does it matter? Why did you set those goals in the first place?
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Why did they matter then? And why do they matter now?
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Or do they matter? You may have set a goal that is, like.
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what was I thinking? And you just cross it off. No guilt, no shame, no regret, no nothing, just, oh.
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That one doesn't really fit right now. How are your priorities evolved? Have your priorities evolved over this past year?
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which areas of your life. feel most aligned to who you're working on becoming.
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And… and all of that fits into your why. Why does this matter?
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Why does this matter to the person that I'm becoming?
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And then… You may have some goals.
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that fell off the radar. I imagine… When I look back in my… little composition notebook.
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I have a page, I do a… I do a table of contents in here.
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Page 3 is dreams for 2025. And I have not looked at that for a while.
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And I'm sure there are some of those on there that I haven't thought about for a while that have kind of fallen off my radar.
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So go back and look at those things. There's still time this year.
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And if you don't finish it by the end of the year, who cares? If it's something that mattered to you that you kind of forgot, you're like, oh, that really does matter?
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I actually do want to work towards that. It doesn't have to be done by the end of this year, because guess what? Time just keeps on going.
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So, what fell off the radar? without any shame, without any guilt, without any regret.
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What kind of just faded away that you forgot?
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mattered to you at the beginning of the year, and ask yourself, is this something.
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That still matters. Is this… still something that I want to focus on.
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And if it is… How can I pick it back up? What is one small step that I can take this week or today.
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to put… put this back. in my… my lens of focus.
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How can I start focusing on this and working towards it?
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And if it's a no, if this isn't still something you want, just let it go. Release it.
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Cross it off the list. And… It's an educational… opportunity for you. How about that?
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And then… We don't… we don't want to add more to our plate, right?
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We want to reflect on what we had already decided for 2025.
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The things that we've let go of, that we want to pick back up.
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or the things that we just want to let go of.
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And then we want to shift into preparing ourselves.
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for the end of the year. And… and it's a little bit, um… I do see the irony, because I said the end of the year, beginning of the year, like, it really… It's… people say whatever, time… time is a… is a construct that we have invented, or whatever.
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And that's true, and also… we… we do live by that construct, so… Um, there is significance to the end of the year, beginning of the year, but it's also, again, not to be used against us.
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It is a marker. That we can use, but it's not a weapon.
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Um, so… start preparing your heart. Start… After you reflect and see, okay, this is… this is what went well.
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This is what I kind of dropped off, but I want to pick this up or not.
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And then, after you do that work, which is gonna take some time, sit down.
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With these journal questions, and really. Take some time to sit with them and write them out. Write out the answers. It can be so.
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helpful to take the time to write it down, to journal.
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your pen, your fingers. cannot write at the same speed that your brain thinks.
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So when you're writing things down, you have to slow your brain down.
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to focus on each. Each word of each thought as you write it.
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And that can help you to be so much more intentional, it helps the reflection process to be.
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Um, so much more beneficial. So I definitely encourage you to take the time with these questions to sit down and write out your answers.
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And then… Prepare your heart to finish the year strong.
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what… what can I accomplish in these next couple months?
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that I will be so proud of and thankful for going into 2026.
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Like, maybe it won't be completely finished, but what could I accomplish by the end of the year?
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You don't need to add more goals, just reconnect with.
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the goals that you set, and your purpose. And the… um… being in alignment with the woman that you are working on becoming.
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Which is the woman that God created you to be.
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And then… and just decide, okay, what is it that I could… that I can accomplish by the end of December?
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And choose one thing to work on. This is what I'm gonna do each day, each week.
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whatever, however… whatever it looks like for you, whatever that thing is.
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What is that one thing that you're gonna focus on?
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And how much progress can you make on it by the end of.
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December. And then, you're just gonna keep going.
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January 1st. You're just gonna keep going. Because, like, your purpose isn't gonna change between December 31st and January 1st.
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your identity isn't going to change overnight. You are becoming more and more of the woman that God created you to be, and your purpose is within you. You take your purpose with you.
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everywhere that you go. And… I just, again, want to encourage you, sit down with the journal prompts.
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Go on that treasure hunt. Make a list of all of the things that you can remember that went well this year. And again, use the tools.
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Use your calendar, use your notebooks. go through text messages, go through your pictures and everything.
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to go find all of the treasures that you probably forgot about.
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that you have… been blessed with over this past year.
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And then, what are the goals that you want to… reconnect with, that you want to bring back into focus.
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So that you can end this year strong. So, next week, we will be shifting from looking back.
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into looking ahead. And doing the practical work of ending this year strong.
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Um, in December, I always do a Word of the Year workshop, so that is something to be looking.
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looking forward, I don't have it as planned yet, I don't have it set up, but as soon as I do have it planned.
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I will definitely let you know all about it.
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And… what else? As you know.
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as you may or may not know, I wrote a book called.
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Self-care stewardship, a 31-day devotional, and the link to that will be in the.
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show notes as well. You can go and get your copy. It is a great practical devotion about.
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daily self-care. starting where you're at, doing what you're ready to commit to, and doing it all from a place of love, and it is a great.
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resource, and if you are interested in. private coaching with me, sign up for a right fit call, and we can talk all about how coaching can help you right.
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where you are in your day-to-day life. And if you're a coach.
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And you are listening to this in… within the month of November.
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I am… I'm branching out a little bit. I have… I got an idea, and… I like to… I like to try things out, so… Um, I am doing a 6-week.
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group program for coaches that… are certified, and that really want to have a coaching business.
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But they've just been getting held up by all the tech and all of the… um, all of the things that you think that you have to be… have done.
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the, um, imposter syndrome. the mindset garbage that's getting in your way of taking action.
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towards getting clients and getting paid as a coach.
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It is going to be a great program. It's called Full Steam Ahead.
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And that kind of… that came out of a conversation I was having with one of my clients.
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And it's going to be great. Again, the link for that is in the show notes.
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So… Go ahead and get signed up.
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And if you have questions, just reach out. It's gonna be great.
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remember that life coaching is life-changing. One renewed thought at a time.
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Thank you so much for being here.
