Maximize Your Year-End: Reflect, Let Go & Celebrate!

Hey everyone. Welcome to the Meaningful Revolution podcast. I am your host and certified high performance coach, Sean Buttner. In the last few episodes of the Meaningful Revolution this year, as we're nearing New Year's, we're talking about how to end the year strong. And before we break for the year, we're in this episode, we're going to be talking about going through a quick reflection exercise and sharing a couple of reflective questions for us to really take learnings from this year, take things that are happen to us, to celebrate, to stop things and to really look forward and just do a nice kind of bookend for 2023. As a coach, I'm constantly encouraging people to think and reflect a bit more because I feel like we live in a world where it's always we're kind of the next thing. There's not a lot of time to celebrate the small wins or the big wins. And there's been a lot of struggle this year and there's been a lot of angst and it can seem really dark and dreary and it's part of the human experience and sitting with those feelings for a little bit, okay, but it's also not where you want to live. If you want to live a fully vibrant, meaningful, purposeful life. That's what we talk about here on the podcast all the time. If we're talking about how do we live more purposeful, how do we have more intention with the activities we're doing and how do we work on those meaningful pursuits that drive value in our lives every day we need to have these types of reflections. So if you've started to think about winding down, this might be a little bit early because we're releasing early December, this particular episode. But get thinking about this and plan some time. If there's one thing I could suggest that would be beneficial is to pick a day where you pick an hour to go through and journal about these five different questions that I have for you. Find that there's a couple of follow ups, but five main lines of questions for you to to think about how 2023 went. Because I'm sure if you think about it, there's a lot to celebrate and if you think about it, there's a lot of things that went right or there's a lot of things that you might need to change. And being able to start 2024 strong is going to be really important. And on that I got a quick commercial for you, so let's go to that and then we'll get hello revolutionaries. As we step Into a new year full of possibilities. I've got something special for you. It's time to kickstart your year with our exclusive New Year's Personal Revolution Challenge. It's a three day transformative workshop series to help you start your year the best. Now on day one, it's all about self reflection and goal setting. We're going to dive deep into understanding where you are in your life and where you want to be. And during that day, we'll go through some activities that will help you craft your goals in a way that'll truly resonate with your aspirations. Then on day two, we're going to focus on habit formation and planning. So we're going to learn the secrets to building life changing habits and routines that align with your goals. And it's not about dreaming, it's about doing. And it's using science based habits to get you where you need to go. And then finally on day three, it's all about implementation and momentum. You know, we'll take that plan, put it into action and set you up for sustained success throughout the year. Plus you'll be part of our vibrant community. So if you need extra support or cheering on or just being on the journey with other like minded folks, we got you. So if you are ready to revolutionize your new year, visit meaningful revolution.comchallenge to join our challenge. And let's make this year your most phenomenal one yet. And remember, it's not just a challenge, it's a personal revolution. Now back to our episode in 3, 2, 1. Okay, we have the thing at the end of the year, but here are five questions to ask yourself to really tie up this year in a nice little bow so you can relax, enjoy the time with your family and friends and get after it in 2024. Okay, the first thing is just a quick survey, right? So in your journal or if you're driving or walking or whatever, make a note to come back here. I'll put actually I'll put these questions in the show notes so if you want to come back to reflect on it later, you can do to check out the show notes. But the first thing to rate yourself is how well did you celebrate your wins this past year. And that could be major life changes. You got a new job, you moved to a new town, you finished that big project, you married that person that you absolutely love less can go on and is very unique to everybody. But what are the things that are worth celebrating? I finally kicked my soda pop habit. Who says soda pop anymore? It's pop I've come. I'm from the Midwest. We call it Pap, the path. So did you quit habits that were not serving your meaningful pursuits, or did you have a health victory? So think about your life in terms of your relationships, your career, your health, and your just general wellbeing. Right. Did you finally get into that health routine where you're running more regularly and you just feel better about yourself and the world because you burn off the stress and you're looking a little bit more fit and a little bit better looking and so you're happy about that? How well did you celebrate on a scale of 1 to 10? Anytime I talk about rating yourself, I always say add three, like little words or sentences or phrases on why you chose that number. And from a scale of 1 to 10, right? 10 being you celebrated everything perfectly and you are very much in your heart connected to the things you accomplished this year. And one being like, I. I'm just trying to get by and survive. Scale of 110. How well did you celebrate this past year? Your wins, and then those three reasons why. And those three reasons why? Again, if you're not familiar with this, just move this from an arbitrary number to something that's a little bit more heartfelt. Like a lot of times if you do the three words, you'll be like, oh, I actually bump this word or this score up or down. Or maybe this is more of a nine than an eight or, oh, I thought this was a seven. This is really a four, right? This is, you know, you'll discover that because you're thinking and feeling into that particular score more and you'll connect with it so it'll sit with you more. Also, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being great, 1 being not so great, how well did you let go of emotions, of tasks, of projects, of mindsets that didn't serve you or anything else that didn't serve you this year? Right. So were there things kept in your head that you're like, oh, this is such a drag. This really is just grading on my sanity, Or I can't believe that I put up with this for so long. It's time to let it go, or, why am I holding onto this thing that isn't a priority anymore? Like, like those are all common scenarios for this. How well did you let things go? Because sometimes we get so attached to things or things that were important shift priority or things change and the things that we that were important to us aren't anymore. And sometimes you just need a little bit of permission to Be like, it's okay to let that go. When I first started working with my coach years and years ago, I had started a business trying to help people figure out their student debt and cause something I struggled with. And that business failed. But I was gonna do this ebook and for four years I was writing this damn book and I made a commitment to finish it and I, I ended up finishing it. But after the, after the, the completing of the, the final draft that I would create, I through talking with my coach was like, I need to let this go. I'm not gonna promote it, I'm not gonna push it. I did a lot of effort for it, but I don't have that business anymore. I'm not really interested in talking about this particular topic anymore. And it was such a huge relief, right? And it sounds a little silly to say that I needed a coach to say, hey, what is that serving? And I'm like, I don't know, it's just causing a lot of stress and a lot of. I made that promise to myself to finish this thing and I'm going to do it. And, but negotiating, okay, Like, I don't need to do more. I don't need to rewrite it for the 17th time and try to make it work. It's just okay, Like, I can put that to rest. And so I'm sure there's things in your life that you put to rest. So on a scale again, 1 to 10, how well did you let go this year? And so with those. That's question one, right? That's the assessment part. Second question. And just do like a bullet point list very quickly in your journal is like, what went well this year? What did you crush? What was a victory, big or small? Oh, I learned how to knit. I learned how to make pizza. I learned how to make a great cup of coffee to. I had that a hundred million dollar deal in my business that closed. And it's amazing, right? And create that list and keep that somewhere. Right? I highly recommend, if you have your list of accomplishments, that you keep it somewhere that's visible. Because sometimes when you're not feeling like you're making the progress you want in life or you're not feeling motivated or you're not really sure where you're going, this list can help inspire you, can help say, oh, you've done a lot. And sometimes if the accomplishments you've had are not bringing you the sense of progress you want, that's a whole other set of journaling and reflection to say, you know what I might need to change some things in my life. And that starts that whole self discovery process. And that's really great. So what went really well this year and bullet point, all of your accomplishments in 2020. Third question that is what do you need to release to close out 2023 with Spirit, right? No spirit, like where you're like, okay, I can let this go and feel good about it. I did all this great, all these great things. You have that wisp, especially if you did that exercise. And then what's going to help you say, this was a great year, I can start next year fresh. Right. And that could be, you know what, this major project, I was going to write a book this year. That's gonna be next year or that's gonna be in two years. Right. I, I, I didn't get it done this year and it's okay to not have that over my head. I just need to reorganize what's going on and focus on what's important. What are emotions you need to release? I'm very resentful to a family member because they were, they said something funny at Christmas, whatever that is, what can you let go so that it's not taking up emotional, mental, spiritual space in your life? And sometimes if you're like, I need to let this go, but I can't, great. The question is, what would it take for you to let this go? And that follow up question of, oh, I need an apology. Oh, I need to just do some meditation and just figure out like, I can't influence this. So why is it such a heavy weight for me can be very powerful. Okay. A fourth question or set of questions to ask yourself is what do you need to do in the next three weeks to make sure that you feel accomplished for this year? Right. We have a couple weeks left before the holidays. So this final push, what is the main focus? What can you finish? What needs to get done before breakfast? If you picture yourself adding it to your list of accomplishments, I think that could be really motivating. And this isn't like a grind until you die type thing. Cause we're already talked about stuff we might need to let go or punt till next year. If there's one or two things where if I just pushed this next week so I could relax and rejuvenate and do all the journaling and reflection and stuff that you need to do at the end of the year and enjoy your family, that'll be super helpful. And then this last question I really love is, what do you need to stop doing. So there's things that you're letting go, but what are the things that you absolutely just need to just stop, right? It could be, I need to stop worrying, I need to stop eating potato chips. I need to stop always complaining in my relationships. Like, again, like, the Do not do list is not talked about enough in personal development. And give yourself that gift of thinking, like, what am I not going to do in stressful situations? I'm not going to raise my voice. I'm not going to yell at this person. I'm not going to buy into their drama. I'm not going to compromise myself for other people. These could be some examples of the do not do list or so much more. Part of it is just again, getting awareness of, oh, I need to stop this. Keep that list up. This next year. I think you'll find that you'll at least have a shot of recognizing it when those things are happening. To be like, oh, no, I don't do this anymore. I don't say yes everything on a project. So I never get the things done that I'm assigned to do because I'm trying to help. I think that could be really, really powerful. So with that said, those are the five main questions, which is to assess how the year went by scoring yourself on how well did you celebrate? And how well did you let go of things this year? Second thing to do is to list all of your accomplishments for 2023. A third thing to do is to talk about what you need to let go of to close out 2023 strong. Fourth is to think about what your goals are for the next two weeks so you can finish it and really enjoy the time and break with your friends and family over Christmas and New Year's, or find the other holidays you celebrate and then finally to come up with what are you going to stop doing in 2020? What's really going to help propel that meaningful personal revolution that you're out there fighting for every day? And we're cheering you on for what's going to stopping these things, what's really going to help you move forward. I'm cheering you on this next week. I think next week we're going to have our final podcast of the season of the year. Then we'll do some free plays and stuff for the back half of the year. And again, as you heard in the commercial earlier, on January 1st through 3rd, I'm running the New Year's Personal Revolution 3 Day Challenge where we talk about New Year's resolutions, but I like to call EM revolutions. It should be something that helps inspire the next bold version of yourself and makes 2024 the best yet. And so we do that through taking the assessment of your habits. At the beginning of the year, we start planning habits for the next year and we talk about how you're going to implement them on that third day. So first day assessment, second day planning, third day implementation. I've done this the last three years. People love it. It's had a couple of different forms, but I'm looking really much forward to interacting with y'. All. So if you love the podcast and you'd like to join me for free on January 1st, 2nd and 3rd, you can hit the link below or go to meaningful revolution.combackslash challenge and sign up and get the email notifications. There'll be more information coming out probably next week on it. It's just a placeholder, but yeah, I'm excited for this. I'm excited to see y' all on zoom. So please go sign up and if you like this episode, share it with a couple of friends. Let's grow the podcast for the end of the year, and we'll see you guys next week on the Meaningful Revolution Podcast. Ra.