Rushing into the future can mean missing important data.

Data, in this case, doesn’t mean points on a graph but really looking in the face of your experiences of the year. The good, the bad, the really hard, and the really exciting ones.

This process helps us see patterns over the course of the year so we can see our growth and evaluate what we want to leave behind and what we want to bring with us into the new year.

Rushing through the end of the year, avoiding reflection at all costs, making big promises to yourself and others to rush by the hurts and frustrations of the past year, robs us of the chance to find the best next steps for ourselves, our families, and our work.

Taking the time to truly reflect on the past year is an act of Self-leadership that can support much-needed unburdening.

This liminal space in the in-between of the years can be overrun with expectations and comparisons and feeling inundated with promises of what we need to do or buy that will make this year, the ‘best year ever!’.

But there is power in protecting this time, in protecting your brain and your heart, so you can honor your dreams and desires for the upcoming year.

Be gentle and tender with yourself, but take this time to prepare a path that is intentional and Self-led instead of reactionary.

Take the time to collect the data that will help you translate what is in your head and your heart into experiences that will help you in the next year.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Structuring your reflection for your wins, your challenges, and all the things you’re grateful for, from good TV to loved ones

Learn more about Rebecca:

• rebeccaching.com
• Work With Rebecca
• Sign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader Email

Rebecca’s 2021 Favorites:

• Hacks
• Mare of Easttown
• Ted Lasso
• tick, tick…BOOM!
• Violet
• Billions
• Nine Perfect Strangers
• Grey’s Anatomy
• Law and Order: SVU
• New Amsterdam
• The Morning Show
• A Boy Called Christmas
• Only Murders in the Building
• This Is Us
• Cruel Summer
• You
• Cobra Kai
• Colin in Black & White
• For All Mankind
• All American
• Fatherhood
• Goliath
• Bosch

Resources:

• Feeling Blah During the Pandemic? It's Called Languishing - The New York Times
• The Unburdened Leader Ep 22: Clear and Decisive Leadership with Founder of Frank and Eileen, Audrey McLoghlin
• The Unburdened Leader Ep 39: Leading with Generosity and Love with Terces Engelhart
• The Unburdened Leader Ep 41: Leading Yourself First with Moorea Seal
• *Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone*, Brené Brown
• The Unburdened Leader Ep 36: Leading with Dignity: Hard on Ideas, Easy on People with Rosalind Wiseman
• The Unburdened Leader Ep 40: Leading Authentically After Hard Falls with Dr. Ref Rodriguez
• The Unburdened Leader Ep 31: Building Resiliency and a Culture of Togetherness with Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza
• The Unburdened Leader Ep 28: Leading By Speaking Up When the Stakes Are High with Author Tiffany Bluhm