As the year comes to a close, Cooper Alexander and Mary Sullivan, co-founders of Sweet but Fearless, invite you to pause and reflect on what this past year really asked of you.

What one pattern repeated itself and quietly ran the year. The one that drained your energy levels, delayed decisions, or kept things heavier than they needed to be. You're not to judge yourself or the pattern but just recognize and understand it. Patterns form to protect us, but once we recognize them, we don't have to keep living inside them.

Mary and Cooper talk through patterns many women leaders see again and again - over-responsibility, minimizing your own needs, taking care of everyone else first, delaying decisions out of fear, hiding ambition, or working hard without visibility - and how one of these often becomes the core lesson of the year.

You're encouraged to think about that pattern, what it taught you, and whether you want to carry it into the new year - or finally let it go.

From there, the questions get simple and honest: What needs to shift? What are you refusing to repeat? And what might next year look like if this pattern stopped running the show?

This podcasts goal is to help you name what shaped you this year - so you can choose what comes with you into the next one. Here's to a focused and succesful 2026!

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