As the year comes to a close, I wish you the joy of learning and positive thinking. Whether the year has held huge success, or many challenges for you, December is a great time to pause and reflect. Experience is what makes you unique. Your ability to learn from, and reflect on, that experience is what makes you stand out.
Here are my favourite questions for ending the year on a learning note:
- What have been the most memorable experiences of the year?
- How do you feel about those experiences?
- What have you learned about your strengths?
- If you imagine using those strengths in the next year, how will you do things differently?
- What are you grateful for?
- Who will you share that gratitude with?
For me, the answer to that final question is YOU, my valued subscribers. I am grateful for the feedback and comments you’ve sent through the year. I am grateful for the success stories you’ve shared. I am grateful for the conversations and contributions many of you have made in my classes or coaching programs. These are conversations in which I learn as much as you do.
Learning after all, is something which brings out the best in us. I am proud to work with people like you, who are life-long learners. I’m also proud to be learning and growing myself. A few years ago, a young graduate in one of my training programs said to me ‘I think it’s amazing that someone your age is still learning’. I’m sure she meant it as a compliment. I choose to take it as one, because in that comment I heard a recognition that she had connected with the thing I most value in life—growing from my experiences, learning new ideas, and most importantly, sharing those ideas with other inspiring women.
May the close of the year bring mindful calm and a state of contentment, no matter what experiences you’ve been through this year. Here’s a favourite picture which, I took in Bali a few years ago. A beautiful symbol of cross-cultural communication and the spark of creativity that lives in all of us.
About the author of this tip sheet
This tip sheet was created for you by Australian coach and trainer, Eleanor Shakiba. Eleanor’s dedication to women’s development is reflected in her nickname – ‘the glass ceiling smasher.’ Eleanor has been running training and coaching sessions for women in high intellect professions since 1994. She is qualified in Social Anthropology, Applied Psychology, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming.