As we prepare to close out 2024 and look ahead to 2025, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and reset. In today’s episode we’ll talk about how to celebrate your successes, learn from your failures, and use both to create small daily habits that set you up for a successful year ahead. You can tune in here.
Welcome back to Small Daily Habits, the podcast and blog that helps busy women create lasting lifestyle change through simple, sustainable habits. I’m your host Christine Miller, and today, we’re diving into one of my favorite topics: end-of-year reflection.
If you’re ready to turn the page with purpose, let’s get started.
Why Reflection Matters
Before we jump into how to reflect, let’s talk about why reflection is so important.
Life moves fast, and if we don’t take opportunities to pause and reflect, we will miss valuable lessons. Reflection isn’t about dwelling on past failures it’s about gaining clarity on what worked, what didn’t, and what will serve you best moving forward.
By reflecting intentionally, you can:
- Celebrate your wins (both big and small)
- Identify habits or patterns that helped your progress as well as habits that hindered your efforts
- Realign your goals based on where you are now, not where you were a year ago. Things change so your plans need to adapt to these changes.
Remember: Reflection is a tool for growth, not judgment. Be kind to yourself during this process. If it helps imagine that you are evaluating your best friend’s life and not your own. We often are more kind to friends than we are to ourselves.
For me, one of my most powerful reflections this year was how far I was able to come with my goals even with a big move and some injuries along the way. My path was definitely not straight or how I imagined but progress was made in all aspects of my life. It reminded me that even the smallest wins can feel so empowering and give you the momentum you need to keep pushing through to the other side.
A Simple Reflection Framework
To keep this simple, I like to use three questions for reflection:
1. What went well this year?
Take a moment to list your successes— both big and small. Maybe you launched a new project at work, stayed consistent with a habit, developed a closer relationship with someone, or simply made it through a tough season. Celebrate ALL those wins!
2. What challenged me this year?
Think about the hurdles you faced. What habits or patterns contributed to those challenges? What can you learn from them?
3. What’s ONE thing I want to focus on in 2025?
This is where the magic happens. Use your insights to choose one area where small, daily habits can make the biggest impact in your life in the coming year.
Don’t worry about remembering these questions. I have created a FREE End-of-Year Reflection Guide just for you. You can get it here.
Reflection Exercise:
Take 10 minutes today to journal your answers. Set a timer if this is difficult for you and give yourself permission to be done when the timer goes off even if you didn’t finish. You can do this in small doses and come back to it again the next day to continue. If you’re not someone who journals, try a voice note or calling a friend to share your thoughts with them. Whatever you need to do to get it done.
Turning Reflection into Action
Now that you’ve reflected, let’s use those insights to fuel 2025.
Here’s the secret: The changes you want to see don’t come from big, sweeping resolutions. They come from small habits you can be consistent with.
Let’s break this down:
- From your successes: What habits helped you win this year? Double down on those in 2025. For example, if meal prepping on Sundays kept you on track with healthy eating goals, keep that habit going.
- From your challenges: What one small change could make a difference? For instance, if stress derailed you this year, maybe a daily 5-minute meditation practice would be helpful. Commit to trying it for a month and then re-evaluate moving forward. You can add to it, change it up, or adapt it in any way that would be helpful in propelling you forward.
- For your focus area in 2025: Choose ONE habit to start. Keep it small and specific. Instead of “get healthier,” try something more specific like “drink a glass of water first thing every morning,” or “up my protein intake at every meal to 30 grams.”
For me, one habit I’m carrying forward into 2025 is creating a set work from home schedule. It may seem small but will make a big difference in establishing boundaries around my work/home life. Establishing set work times, break times, and family time will help me focus on the task at hand without getting so easily distracted. It will also cut down on stress and procrastination.
Your turn, what is your ONE habit for 2025?
A Small Daily Habit to Start Now
If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a habit you can try today: End each day by writing down one thing you’re proud of and/or one thing you learned.
This takes less than two minutes but helps you stay connected to your wins and growth each and every day. As an added bonus it’s a powerful mindset shift that keeps you focused on progress over perfection.
I’d love to hear what habits you’re taking into 2025! Send me a message or share your reflections on social media!
Reset in 2025
As we wrap up today, I want to remind you: Your past is your greatest teacher, and your small daily habits are your greatest tools to propel your future. Used together you can create magic.
I encourage you to take time this week to reflect on your year. Celebrate your wins, learn from your challenges, and choose one small habit to begin in 2025. You don’t need a perfectly laid out plan. You just need one small, intentional step to propel you forward.
If you found today’s episode helpful, I’d love it if you’d share it with a friend or leave a review to share your thoughts. And don’t forget to follow so you don’t miss what’s coming in 2025. Remember to get your FREE End-of-Year Reflection Guide to learn how to turn your successes and challenges into momentum.
Thank you for listening in and being part of the Small Daily Habits community. Here’s to a reflective end to 2024 and an intentional start to 2025. Enjoy the holidays and take those quiet moments in between family gatherings to reflect. Next Friday I’ll be back with my special guest, Katie McGraw. Katie is a mental health therapist, and she will be discussing how to shift your mindset in the new year with fresh tips on staying on top of your mental health. See you there!
This is your weekly reminder that BIG changes begin with Small Daily Habits! Happy Holidays!
Until next time….
Missed last week’s episode about why stress is sabotaging your hormones and energy levels? You can read the show notes here or listen to episode 9 here.
All my best,
Christine
